California legislators are back in session Monday and ready for a massive one-month sprint with more than 1,300 bills in play.
Lawmakers spent almost all of July on summer break, and although they had already wrapped up tough budget negotiations, there is still much more to do, from taxing the tech industry to streamlining solar and wind energy projects.
One high-profile bill would prohibit library review committees. The bill would require state public libraries to detail their policies for accepting or rejecting books, including a plan that would allow Californians to voice their objections. The measure prohibits libraries from banning material that deals with race or sexuality.
The legislation is part of a larger culture war playing out across the United States in which communities want to limit access to gender-identity and graphic content. In Virginia, nearly 400 book titles were targeted for bans in state libraries in 2023, the most in the nation, according to the American Library Association. Nationally, 4,240 different titles were targeted last year compared to the previous record of 2,571 in 2022.
“The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching the highest levels ever documented by the American Library Association (ALA),” the group said in a statement.
In California, LGBT advocates have been pushing lawmakers hard on the topic and say it’s important to have library books about marginalized groups available to the public.
The Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California is among the supporters expected to rally at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Monday in support of a bill that expands disclosure agreements for school districts that are implementing ethnic studies courses.
Lawmakers in the Golden State will also decide on an anti-nepotism bill that would bar state and local officials from voting on public contracts that would benefit their relatives. The bill was introduced by Democratic state Sen. David Min and promoted by Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA).
“There’s a certain sense that corruption is just part of the political culture here in Orange County,” said Min, who is running for Porter’s congressional seat in November. “In the new Orange County, we are here to say that political corruption is unacceptable.”
Porter took herself out of the race earlier this year when she ran for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. She lost in the Democratic primary election to rival Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).
California lawmakers will also take up legislation that would tax online platforms such as Google and Meta in order to pay for a fund to support local journalism. There’s also a bill that would prohibit “deepfake” videos generated by artificial intelligence from being shared on social media platforms if they involve elections.
Another bill would end legacy admissions at private universities such as Stanford, and there’s also one that would ban grocery stores from offering reusable plastic bags.
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Lawmakers have until Aug. 31 to send bills to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) for his signature. He has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto any legislation on his desk.
