California Assembly Republican Caucus
SACRAMENTO – In a new column, Emily Hoeven from the San Francisco Chronicle laid out how Gavin Newsom’s special legislative session to “Trump-Proof” California turned into a political sideshow thanks to Assembly Democrats.
The $50 million slush fund proposal started to go off the rails when Assembly Republicans blew the whistle that the money could go to protecting illegal immigrants with felony convictions from deportation.
Republicans proposed an amendment to prohibit taxpayer-funded legal aid from helping felons, which Hoeven called “a common-sense proposal.”
Democrats rejected that safeguard, insisting it was “unnecessary” because they wrote a letter saying they didn’t intend for the money to help criminals.
But as legal scholars correctly point out, a letter in the legislative journal is NOT legally binding. It might as well be a hand-written note attached to an actual bill.
Hoeven continued: “the bill could very well result in taxpayer funds going to the legal defense of undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime. For Democrats to pretend otherwise is not only disingenuous but also a repudiation of the unambiguous sign voters sent them in the November election to crack down on crime.”
This special session serves one purpose: helping Gavin Newsom’s political career. Instead of wasting time on political grandstanding, Californians deserve real leadership and results.