As the Sacramento legislature continues to introduce bills, the SWCLC will endeavor to keep you informed of some of the worst, (and best if we see any) impacting our lives and businesses.

1. Exercising remarkable restraint (is there a ‘sarcasm’ font?), our state legislature has only
introduced 362 bills as of this morning (assuming you don’t count the 47 various ACR’s, AJR’s
SJR’s, SJR’s etc.). Last week I updated you on some of their finest work to date but in their
continuing effort to improve on past performance, here’s a few more gems for your consideration.
You’ve seen Assembly Member Melissa Melendez’ post on this one. Actually now there’s
two almost identical bills seeking to allow candidates and/or office holders to utilize
campaign funds to pay for childcare costs.
AB 225 (Brough) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: childcare costs.
 The Political Reform Act of 1974 provides for the comprehensive regulation of
campaign financing, including the use of campaign funds for specific expenditures.
The act prohibits the use of campaign funds to pay for professional services not directly
related to a political, legislative, or governmental purpose.
 This bill would provide that campaign funds may be used to pay for child care provided
for a candidate’s dependent child if the costs are incurred as a direct result of
campaign activity.
AB 220 (Bonta) Political Reform Act of 1974: campaign funds: childcare costs.
 This bill would authorize the use of campaign funds to pay for child care expenses
resulting from a candidate or officeholder engaging in campaign activities or
performing official duties.
While the Governor’s drinking water tax has not yet been officially introduced, this bill
establishesa new state fund and committee to oversee anddispense the anticipated influx
of your money. Thinks we’re going to see that tax go into effect? Count on it.
AB 217 (Eduardo Garcia) Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund.
 This bill would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund in the State
Treasury and would provide that moneys in the fund are available, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to the board to provide a stable source of funding to secure access
to safe drinking water for all Californians, while also ensuring the long-term
sustainability of drinking water service and infrastructure.
Wait just a damn minute. Redefining BEER? Now they’ve gone too far. Fruit and honey?
That ain’t beer.
AB 205 (Daly) Alcoholic beverages: beer.
 Existing law defines “beer” for purposes of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act as any
alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley,
malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any combination thereof in water.
 This bill would revise the definition of “beer” for purposes of the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Act to include any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any
infusion or decoction of barley, malt, fruit, honey, natural sugars, hops, or any other
similar product, or any combination thereof in water.
Assembly Member Gonzalez has built a career on making life more difficult and
expensive to be a small business owner in California. Here she wants to expand the
family leave program (which she already expanded the past couple sessions to
include care and/or leave for non-family members, by non-family members), to be
compensated for 100% of their pay for however long they’re gone. Oh yeah, she
also increased the amount of time they can be gone in a bill last session. Like small
businesses, or any business for that matter, don’t have enough on their plate
already trying to do business here.

2. AB 196 (Gonzalez) Paid family leave.
 Existing law establishes, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary
disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the
provision of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a
seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or
placement, as specified.
 This bill would state the Legislature’s intent to enact legislation that would expand the paid
family leave program in order to provide a 100% wage replacement benefit for workers
earning $100,000 or less annually.
Because we don’t have enough paid state holidays already for state employees. And our
public schools already teach the fewest days of any school system in the country – what’s
one more day off? With pay.
AB 177 (Low) Election day holiday.
 This bill would add the day on which a statewide general election is held, which is the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November of any even-numbered year, to these lists of
holidays. The bill would require community colleges and public schools to close on any
day on which a statewide general election is held. The bill would require that state
employees, with specified exceptions, be given time off with pay for days on which a
statewide general election is held.
Right now if you are sentenced to a prison term for a felony and you are a repeat offender,
they can tack on an additional year for each prior sentence. Scott Wiener says ‘Ain’t
nobody got time for that!’
SB 136 (Wiener) Sentencing.
 Existing law imposes an additional 3-year sentence for each prior separate prison term
served by a defendant where the prior and currentoffense was a violent felony, as defined.
For other Felonies, existing law imposes an additional one-year term for each prior
separate prison term or county jail felony term, except under specified circumstances.
 This bill would delete the provision that requires an additional one-year term.
As pointed out last week, ACA 1 seeks to reduce the threshold allowing a municipality to
raise your local taxes from 66% to 55%. 55% seems like too high a threshold? F that, let’s
just let them do it WITHOUT ANY VOTE of WE THE PEOPLE.
SB 128 (Beall) Enhanced infrastructure financing districts: bonds: issuance.
 Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city or a county to establish an enhanced
infrastructure financing district, with a governing body referred to as a public financing
authority, to finance public capital facilities or other specified projects of communitywide
significance. Existing law authorizes the public financing authority to issuebonds for these
purposes upon approval by 55% of the voters voting on a proposal to issue the bonds.
 This bill would instead authorize the public financing authority to issue bonds for these
purposes without submitting a proposal to the voters. The bill would require the
resolution to issue bonds to contain specified information related to the issuance of the
bonds.
The Southwest California Legislative Council will continue to advocate on behalf of our
business members in Southwest County.