SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KRON) - Vaccine mandates, gas prices, and the future of legalized sports betting in California – The leaders of the California legislature weighed in on all of this Wednesday.
This discussion was part of a Sacramento Press Club event that our Capitol Reporter Ashley Zavala helped moderate.
The legislative leaders are trying to figure out the best way to spend taxpayer dollars this year while juggling an election year and several lawmaker departures.
For the first time this year, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins sat down together to talk about some of the business moving through California’s State Capitol.
As the state prepares to move from a pandemic to an endemic, several new bills aim to bolster vaccine use, some set mandates for school children and workers. Neither legislative leader was willing to say if they’ll support it.
“I of course support vaccines, I support boosters. I think there are details in these pieces of legislation that I think we need to take a look at,” Senate Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said.
Another big issue in California is the rising cost of living and lawmakers say they want to address it.
This year’s state spending plan could include a $45 billion budget surplus.
With that, the governor proposes pausing an increase to the state’s gas tax but that’s giving legislative leaders pause of their own.
“That’s something that could jeopardize a tremendous amount of jobs in this state, it could inhibit some economic growth in certain sectors. We passed the gas tax for a very specific reason, we need to make sure our transit operations are running smoothly, we want to make sure our roads are safe,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said.
As money flows into the state, lawmakers are eyeing what could be a huge cash cow for California: Legal sports betting.
There are currently four separate ballot initiatives to do so and each could head to voters later this year.
Atkins and Rendon revealed they’re considering working on a deal that could help consolidate them into one.
“I think it’s always confusing to voters, if you want to see progress it’s helpful to be more simple. So maybe there will be an opportunity,” Atkins said.
But business for the Democratic-led legislature could be more difficult this year as more than 30 members between the Assembly and Senate have either already resigned or plan to skip reelection. Rendon says he’s concerned as the Assembly already lost five lawmakers this year.
“How many bills pass by one, two three, votes, that’s very significant. That’s very real,” Rendon said.
This is just a fraction of what was talked about. Other topics we covered include crime and how they think it could affect the upcoming election, changes to the state’s recall process and more.
To see the full discussion, visit this Facebook page.
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