Capitol Briefs: Odds, ends and numbers to consider

It’s been another busy week around the Capitol, with some of the highest profile activity centered on the horrific events taking place in Minneapolis. But not everything under the Capitol Dome this week was all about ICE.

Newsom sues Oz: Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a civil rights complaint against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the former TV talk show host and current administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claiming that in a recent video Oz implied the Armenian American community was connected to health care fraud.

Three (non-ICE) bills of the week: Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) introduced AB 1652, a proposal that would prohibit officials at state agencies from using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) related to legislation and regulations. California law already bars the use of NDAs by lawmakers

The Assembly unanimously approved AB 1382, a bill authored by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo (R-Corona) that would prohibit the sale of animals that have been genetically modified for cosmetic purposes. The measure was spurred by an article in Wired that profiled an L.A.-based startup company planning to use cutting edge technology to create genetically modified animals, “from glow-in-the-dark rabbits to unicorns.”

The Assembly endorsed AB 1406, a bill from Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) that would increase current limits on homebuyer deposits in new housing developments from 3 percent to 6 percent of the expected final purchase price. The bill’s intention is to help builders lower construction and financing costs by reducing risk to lenders and investors. It moves to the Senate.

Politics by the numbers (Courtesy of McGeorge law professor and Capitol lobbyist Chris Micheli): Saturday January 31 the constitutional deadline for two-year bills to pass out of the house of Origin. Each house dealt with about 60 measures this week. In the meantime, members in the two houses have introduced about 160 bills, a relatively low number for the month of January. If past years are a good indicator, then we are expecting close to two thousand more bills to be introduced before the February 20th deadline. This is also the first two-year session under rules limiting legislators to 35 bills per two-year session. As a result, it awaits to be seen how many of the 120 legislators will introduce the maximum number.

Quote of the week: “F*CK ICE. F*CK TRUMP.” – Assemblymember Mark Gonzáles (D-Los Angeles) on Jan 24^th shortly after the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal ICE agents in Minneapolis. (We couldn’t completely ignore the ongoing ICE issue.)

Meanwhile, elsewhere: The Indiana House shot down a bill that would have added the use of a firing squad to the options for carrying out capital punishment in the Hoosier State. The proposal, HB 1119, failed by three votes. Alas, as the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports supporters are reloading for another try next week.

The Mississippi House Education Committee passed a bill that would require local school boards to enact policies that restrict or prohibit the use of cellphones during the school day. According to Education Week at least 33 states and the District of Columbia ban or restrict cell phone use by students.