In attendance: LWV Humboldt: Sharrone Blanck and Jessica Schlachter; LWV Marin: Ann Wakeley and Laurie Nardone; LWV Mendocino: Ren Ramos and Dorine Real; LWV Sonoma: Donna Roper and Debbie McKay. Also present were Senator Mike McGuire and two of his legislative assistants, Kerrie Lindecker, who assists constituents from the Golden Gate to the Oregon border, and Brook Pritchard, who works in his Capital office and assist with legislative issues.
Ann Wakeley moderated the meeting and introduced all of League members in attendance. She also conveyed congratulations to Senator McGuire on being selected to be the new Senate Majority leader.
Ann Wakeley asked Question #1: Redistricting Changes in Advance of 2031 What changes, if any, would you support for the next redistricting cycle in 2031?
- Expanding the current requirements for cities and counties to school district and/or special district redistricting?
- Requiring independent redistricting commissions for local redistricting?
- Expanding the public outreach and transparency requirements beyond what is currently in place?
Senator McGuire explained that the state Senate has just begun a debrief of the statewide process for redistricting the legislative seats. He expects that many more city and town councils will be moving to district based elections in the future. Senator McGuire said that Democrats are in support of cities and counties going to district elections rather than at-large based on idea that electing by district provides better representation of voters. Senator McGuire finds that districts elections are beneficial in many ways, including giving a voice to groups who have not always been represented in at-large elections.
Regarding expanding requirements currently in place for cities and counties to other local jurisdictions and expanding requirements for outreach and transparency, he does not believe that a one-size-fits-all approach will work. Needs are different for smaller versus larger jurisdictions. He is open to looking at ways to expand the use of independent commissions, but also has some concerns. He is worried about small jurisdictions having insufficient resources to be able to fund an independent committee to conduct the districting or redistricting process. He provided examples of very small school districts and small towns and cities in northern California. He also finds there is a need for flexibility and does not support a one size fits all situations approach. He does not have particular recommendations, but is willing to hear about anything the League might recommend.
The state review will also be looking at the issue of third-party roles in the redistricting process, in particular the issue of off-the-record, side conversations with individual council or board members. Regarding requiring independent redistricting commissions for local redistricting, said he would support this in some situations but, again, stressed view that one size does not fit all.
Ren Ramos asked Question 2: Climate Change, Water, and Equity What do you see as ways California can help these communities while dealing with the water effects of climate change upon the state? How do we move toward equity and sustainability? Please tell us about both proposed and potential legislation and funding sources.
Senator McGuire reported that the Senate will be proposing the most significant legislation ever proposed on climate change issues. There is a Climate Action Committee that is preparing a series of recommendations. For the last month and a half, Committee members have been meeting with stakeholders, including social justice groups, environmental justice groups, and environmental groups for input and ideas. He expects there will be 12 to 15 bills introduced by the Committee, which will focus on the following areas:
- Energy grid improvements: The current grid is not capable of carrying the load produced by off-shore wind generation and other such renewable energy sources.
- Ending our state’s reliance on fossil fuels, which also creates the need for retraining of the people who work in those industries, so that they will be able to move into other well-paying jobs. This has been ignored in the past, but McGuire is working towards making sure funding for such training is included.
- Career training in emerging renewable energy technologies so that we have the workforce to carry out new projects to replace fossil fuels.
- The state will phase out the selling of fossil fueled vehicles by 2035. About 60% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by vehicles burning fossil fuels. Another 15% of green house gases come from uncapped, idle oil and natural gas wells. The state will require such wells to be capped.
- $120 billion for the expansion of the solar tax credit
- A program to buy back used electric vehicles to make them available to lower income residents at a reasonable cost.
- Funding to assist those currently living near ports to reduce emissions from large trucks that transport goods in and out of the ports.
Senator McGuire said that we need specific plans to reach our goals, not just goals. We have to put funding behind programs to ensure they deliver results.
Concerning the severe drought, Senator McGuire is concerned not only about the current crisis, but for the impact on future generations. There are no easy answers. He is hopeful that the government will more fully fund bold new programs to address the water supply. There is money needed for both the central valley as well as for cities and towns in northern California. He gave examples of Fort Bragg, which had to move to a desalinization plant and more storage, and the town of Mendocino, which needs funding to provide centralized water storage.
Senator McGuire is also concerned about another impact of the severe drought, which is the recent increase in wildfires. Wildfires are a significant source of air pollution. The 2021 wildfires released pollution equivalent to 24 million cars. There are only 30 million cars actually on the road in California, so pollution was nearly equal to the annual pollution from all the cars on the road. The Senate will be researching a number of ways to prevent wildfires in our state.
Sharrone Blanck asked Question #3: California’s Children and Youth Mental Health Emergency What more needs to be done to address the mental health needs of California’s children and youth? Do you anticipate proposing or supporting any legislation to confront the growing problem?
Mental Health services for students is one of Senator McGuire’s top priorities. He is partnering with State Superintendent of Schools, Tony Thurmond, to work on this issue. To increase the supply of school counselors there is a proposal for the state to pay the full tuition for state college for individuals who agreed to serve as a school counselor for three years after graduation. The State is committing $2.5 million in the hopes of recruiting 10,000 additional school counselors through this new tuition reimbursement program.
ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences): McGuire said that the highest number of ACES are in the North Coast. The past few years of wildfires, floods, COVID, and distanced learning has caused a record level of ACES among children. The state is considering spending $250 million on funding to secure the services of Marriage and Family Counselors (MFCCs) from non-profits who will provide services to school age children and their families. The state may spend an additional $1 billion by 2026 to fund long term goals to address mental health services in schools.
Senator McGuire said that current state law requires mental health assessments for students to be covered services. In addition, Medical will now cover virtual and tele-visits at the same reimbursement level as in- person visits for mental health services. eThis is one of the good outcomes of COVID, which highlighted the need for virtual medical care.
Donna Roper asked Question 4: Personal Priorities of Legislator What other major issues do you think the legislature must deal with in 2022?
Senator McGuire provided the following list of Senate Priorities
- Addressing climate change: Addressed in Question # 2 above.
- Housing: The state plans to spend $2 billion on permanent supportive housing for the unsheltered, largely through project Home Key, with funding for up to three years of supportive services. The state will be adding funding for affordable housing units with wrap around services.
- Affordable Housing: Women and children were the most adversely impacted by COVID. Many lost their jobs and access to childcare. Without sufficient income, how does one afford housing in California?
- Child Care: Approximately 52% of childcare slots have disappeared in the last year. Lack of affordable childcare, and the lack of childcare at any price, is a barrier to people returning to work.
What are your personal priorities?
Senator McGuire’s said that many of his priorities are aligned with the Senate priorities, including addressing climate change, housing those facing homelessness, and affordable Housing. Additionally, he is focusing on raising the minimum wage, making education more accessible and affordable, and making health care accessible and affordable, which is why he supports a Single Payer approach to health Care. Approximately 50% of all bankruptcies are due to uncovered medical costs.
Senator McGuire concluded by thanking us for meeting with him and said he is always interested in receiving input from the Leagues. “Now more than ever, our democracy needs the League and its members’ tireless work,” he wrote afterwards.
