Editor’s note: This is the start of a new weekly feature in which Capitol reporter Madeline Shannon discusses the week’s highlights in legislative news.
(The Center Square) – Last week in Sacramento, Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that would eliminate the gas tax, keep hardened criminals from qualifying for mental health diversion programs in court and criticized a bill introduced by Democrats in February that would roll back the biggest corporate tax break in the state.
Senate Bill 1372, introduced by state Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, would ensure that defendants facing serious enough charges and repeat offenders would not be eligible for mental health diversion programs in court, which were created by a 2018 law that allows those facing misdemeanor charges to get mental health treatment and have the charges dismissed. Grove and advocates for the bill said the law has been abused to allow violent criminals to walk away from punishments that fit their crimes.
Last week, Republican lawmakers also introduced Assembly Bill 1745, which would suspend the state’s 61-cent gas tax for one year. The bill was introduced to help reduce the rising cost of living in California.
Renewable energy programs created by a 2022 law still aren’t up and running more than three years after Assembly Bill 2316 successfully passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The program, which the bill says is operated by the California Public Utilities Commission, has not been launched. And Democratic Assembly members expressed frustration that commission officials have made decisions that delayed the program’s implementation. The Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee conducted an oversight hearing of that bill on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Republican lawmakers also spoke with The Center Square in an exclusive interview, pushing back on a decision made in February by the California Board of Parole Hearings to grant David Allen Funston parole after he was previously convicted of kidnapping and molesting children. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Friday that Funston faces new criminal charges in Placer County, and he was handed back over to law enforcement after being scheduled to be released from prison on parole on Friday.
Republican lawmakers also told The Center Square on Thursday that they oppose a bill announced in February that would end the state’s biggest corporate tax break, known as the Waters Edge tax break. Advocates of the bill said that it could generate billions of dollars in revenue for California’s schools, health care system, food assistance programs and other public services. Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, however, told The Center Square he believes the bill could hurt the state financially.
Also on Thursday, members of the Assembly debated a joint resolution that seeks federal aid to help with relief and rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles County. Many in the county have struggled to rebuild in the year since the Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed thousands of homes in the area. While Democratic legislators are pushing for more federal disaster aid from D.C., Republican lawmakers, like Assemblymember Carl DeMaio of San Diego, criticized lawmakers on the other side of the aisle for not doing more in the last 14 months to speed up recovery efforts in Southern California.
