CalWatchdog Morning Read – December 7

07 Dec, 2016 by CalWatchdog Staff

Jean Fuller kept on a Senate Republican leader
Nearly one-third of Bay Area residents can’t “make ends meet”
Democrats introduce housing affordability plan
Lawmakers may block state’s pension funds from investing in controversial pipeline
Brown warns of international blowback for U.S. bucking climate change

Good morning. Happy Hump Day.

Senate Republicans in Sacramento unanimously re-elected Jean Fuller as leader on Tuesday. The Bakersfield Republican has led the caucus since August 2015.

Last month, Chad Mayes, the Republican leader in the Assembly, was also re-elected. Both Fuller and Mayes will be tasked with steering their caucuses through a particularly difficult time for California Republicans.

The November election relegated Republicans in the Legislature to mostly the role of bombthrowers and bystanders. By gaining a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of the Legislature, Democrats can approve taxes and add constitutional amendments to the ballot without Republican support.

(Of course, that requires complete Democratic unity, which is often more elusive than it may seem at first glance.)

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

“Close to 30 percent of the Bay Area’s residents aren’t able to make ends meet as they contend with high housing costs, suggesting poverty is more widespread in the region than official reports indicate, according to a study published Wednesday.” The San Jose Mercury News has more.
“After failing to pass new funding to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis last session, two state senators are trying again. Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) and Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) have re-introduced legislation to add a $75 fee to real estate transactions, which is expected to generate hundreds of millions a year for low-income housing construction, and place a $3-billion bond to finance low-income housing before voters in 2018, respectively.” The Los Angeles Times has more.
“California lawmakers will consider a proposal next year to block the state’s pension funds from investing in a controversial oil pipeline that is planned to cross North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux Reservation,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
“In brief remarks about the subject, Brown said Monday that it would be difficult for the U.S. to ‘go rogue’ on climate change. He went further Tuesday in a broadcast discussion with former Vice President Al Gore, predicting a ‘negative and very powerful’ backlash throughout the world should Trump continue to voice his denials and impede the environmental progress of the last eight years.” The Sacramento Bee has more.