Legislative Report
November 2023
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
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LEGISLATIVE SESSION: New legislation has ended for this session, so there is no news to report as we contend with all the new laws that have already been put into place. Have no fear though, the unelected bureaucrats are busy implementing “laws” that will further upend our lives and economy.
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California Large Truck Emissions Regulations (courtesy of the California Air Resources Board): CARB plans to implement a three-month reporting season projected to run from October 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. By December 31, 2023, vehicle owners need to complete registration of their vehicles in the Clean Truck Check database and pay a $30 per vehicle 2023 annual compliance fee. CARB estimates that periodic testing requirements will become effective starting in July 2024. This means that a passing compliance test would be required to be submitted to CARB for all vehicle compliance deadlines on or after July 1, 2024. California is working to meet the Governor’s goal of 100% zero-emission transportation, where feasible, by 2035 for off-road transport refrigeration units (TRUs) and drayage vehicles and 2045 for all other heavy-duty vehicles.
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California is only adding to the national trucking problem. Uber Freight CEO says the shipping recession is at a new tipping point. Hopefully SOMEONE is concerned about supply lines, but don’t hold your breath. Yellow Trucking entered bankruptcy in August and Convoy recently shut down. All the details at
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/02/freight-recession-is-at-a-new-tippint-point-says-ubers-shipping-ceo.html.
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Supervisor Jim Desmond attended the California Public Utilities Commission public meeting regarding the proposed new fixed rate electricity plan. The proposed fixed rate bill fundamentally operates on an income-based charging model. The more you earn, the higher the flat-rate electricity charges (regardless of your usage). Median-income household in San Diego would end up paying $876 annually for electricity, irrespective of their actual consumption. You are not exempt if you have invested in residential solar. There will be a Virtual Public Forum on November 20th where you can participate. If you wish to make a comment during the forum, please refer to the phone-in information provided at 1-800-857-1917, Passcode: 6032788#. To contribute a comment, after entering the passcode, when prompted, press *1, unmute your phone, and record your name. Please note that during high call volumes, there might be longer wait times, and the operator will call on you when it’s your turn to speak. Participation and voice in these forums are crucial to ensure your concerns are heard and considered. (How are they going to be able to obtain our incomes????)
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Our Attorney General Rob Bonta continues his weekly torture email updates: A few tidbits: “Healthcare is a Human Right, addressing racial bias in pulse oximeters, to addressing the Black maternal mortality crises, Standing up for LGBTQ# Students as all students deserve to be represented in the school curriculum to incorporate LGBTQ+ inclusive books into language arts curriculum.” Bonta is proud to have launched the California DOJ’s Housing Justice Team.
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GAVIN NEWSOM & CHINA: We California Taxpayers were blessed to be able to pay for Gavin Newsom’s trip to China to discuss a partnership on climate change (and do a little sight-seeing). Your tax dollars at work for Newsom’s presidential aspirations. BUT there is a bright side! China’s Xi is visiting San Francisco today to meet with Biden and Newsom. Like a miracle, San Francisco has been cleaned up, barriers erected and the homeless moved (somewhere) so as not to be seen.
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CALIFORNIA’S LEGISLATION’S HARM TO OUR CHILDREN. Great article that further explains what has passed and been signed into law: https://californiaglobe.com/fl/gov-newsom-signs-legislation-supporting-or-harming-lgbtq-children/
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LAKE HODGES & OUR COUNTY DAMS: Good News! Our city officials are “Speeding Up” their studies and assessments and expect to have their assessments completed in 5 YEARS. That means they currently calculate that they will be able to begin some of the repairs by 2029. Part of this assessment is whether the $1 Billion cost is accurate. Since this is for city water, the repairs assessment will be passed along to water customers. Forgive me for asking a stupid question but wasn’t this part of the “Infrastructure Bill”. This bill was to repair our crumbling infrastructure, but apparently, not here. More on this: https://www.ranchosantafereview.com/news/story/2023-10-29/san-diego-speeds-up-fixing-dams-lake-hodges-dam-rebuild.
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POLITICAL BITS & PIECES​
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OUR FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS: Are there any elected politicians that have the American Citizen’s interests at heart when they look to spend YOUR tax dollars? Yesterday our legislators passed ANOTHER Continuing Resolution to continue this same spending path through February 2 (5 months into the 2024 Fiscal Year), without making ANY cuts. In addition, our legislators want an emergency spending bill to pass in the amount of $106 billion for Ukraine ($60 Billion), Israel ($14 Billion) and the remainder to facilitate more illegal immigration (processing facilities and NGO’s). It is estimated that we are spending approximately $450 Billion on illegal immigrants, which is not appropriated in the federal budget. This does not include what is being spent on illegal aliens at the local, county and state level.
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OUR BORDER: It is estimated that we have facilitated 8 million illegal entries (these numbers vary from different sources) into our country as “asylum seekers”. The majority are fighting aged men and come from 140 different countries. Also, it is estimated there are approximately 1.5 Million “Got Aways”. Current influx per month of illegal aliens (due to better weather and more efficient pre-authorizations via our federal government) is at
500,000/month. The best reporting on this issue is from Ben Bergquam and his team – Real American’s Voice (Frontline America). (Twitter, RAV, Gettr). The videos from the Darien Gap and across our Southern Borders (from both sides) are terrifying. Another amazing source is Todd Bensman, with the Center for Immigration Studies (cis.org). For a concise “How to” on this administration’s facilitation of illegal immigration, you can go to www.uscis.gov/. This is the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, welcoming and facilitating people from all over the world to come on in. LaJoyce Robinson has shared a great site to keep us up to date on issues. Specific to the border issue: https://www.fairus.org/legislation/federal-immigration-legislation/activist-toolkit-2024- homeland-security-spending-bill
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OCTOBER 7 ATROCITIES AGAINST ISRAELIS: It’s hard to imagine that we have people in the U.S. that are rioting and protesting the existence of Israel, and particularly the voices coming from our campuses throughout the country. Did any of us know there was widespread antisemitism? We must assume that this is being taught beginning in the early grades and not just a phenomenon at the college level. Apparently, history is being taught that perpetuates concepts of “colonialism” and a false history of the middle east. For some great historical context, please read Victor Davis Hansen’s article: https://victorhanson.com/the-mindset-of-our-anti semites/ and also the following article: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/10/25/hopeless-on-gaza/
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WHERE ARE WE NOW? The left has succeeded in fundamentally changing America. Victor David Hansen’s summary https://amgreatness.com/2023/09/25/is-the-left-happy-that-they-got-their-wish/
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BillBlaster: This is a new app available through the app store that simplifies contacting our lawmakers. You will need to upgrade your phone or IPAD to iOS 17.1.1 (if you haven’t already) for this free app.
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AN ACCURATE POST ON X/TWITTER:
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT UKRAINE MORE THAN YOU.
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT ILLEGALS MORE THAN YOU.
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT BIG PHARMA MORE THAN YOU.
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT VIOLENT CRIMINALS MORE THAN YOU
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT THEIR MILLIONAIRE MEGA DONORS MORE THAN YOU.
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM MORE THAN YOU
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY CARES ABOUT NATO MORE THAN YOU.
THE DEMOCRAT PARTY ONLY CARES ABOUT THREE THINGS – POWER, MONEY, AND CONTROL –
THAT’S IT
FACTS (FOR YOUR HOLIDAY POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS):
UNITED STATES ECONOMY:
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The Biden Administration presented a $7 Trillion Federal Budget to Congress for passage for Fiscal Year 2023. (Source: White House.gov)
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The House of Representatives lead by Kevin McCarthy (and company) signed a Continuing Resolution, which funded this budget (Prior to being ousted as Speaker).
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Federal Spending in FY 2023 was $6.13 Trillion (which was more than collected in revenue, resulting in a deficit). Source: Treasury.gov
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Total Revenue for FY 2023 was $4.44 Trillion. Source: Treasury.gov
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The Deficit for FY 2023 was $1.17 Trillion, which must be financed, and interest must be paid. Source: Treasury.gov
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The estimated interest on our debt is $1 Trillion Annually (Source: Bloomberg)