California’s main Capitol building in Sacramento was completed in 1874. It is a historic treasure, but after World War II it became obvious it wasn’t large enough to handle the needs of our growing state. An annex attached to the Capitol was completed in 1952, and at approximately 325,000 square feet, the space problem was solved for decades.
May 27th was the “House of Origin Deadline,” the final day for bills to pass out from the legislative house in which they were first introduced. Since this is the end of a two-year session, any bills that failed to pass by the deadline have died.
Valley Center – Today, Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R -Valley Center) issued her statement on the Democrat majority’s failure to support their own members in calling for immediate gas tax relief for hardworking Californians.
On May 13 Governor Newsom released his “May Revise,” which updates the proposed budget he released in January. The state’s $301 billion budget, larger than most countries, contained a big surprise -- our budget surplus has grown to $97.5 billion.
Valley Center – Today, Assemblymember Marie Waldron (R -Valley Center) issued her response to Governor Newsom’s May Budget Revise.
California has 12% of the nation’s population, yet we have 30% of the nation’s homeless. This administration has spent $17 billion on the problem, but the homeless population has surged. Californians are fed up.
The cost of gasoline continues to spiral out of control. Gas prices rose by 38% last year, fueling overall inflation, which rose by 7.9%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that was the highest inflation rate in 40 years, and unfortunately, there is no end in sight.
On April 26, due to time-consuming debates in previous sessions and untimely equipment failures, the Health Committee, which I serve as Vice Chair, dealt with 56 bills in a hearing that lasted well into the evening. Several important pieces of legislation made it through the committee.
The rising cost of virtually everything is costing Californians dearly. March inflation surged to 8.5%, the largest increase in 40 years. This spike, driven largely by the cost of gasoline, made March the tenth straight month with inflation over 5%.
Last November the Centers for Disease Control reported over 100,000 overdose deaths in the United States, a new record. This represented a 30% increase over the previous year, a number driven by fentanyl and related substances. 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is a deadly scourge.