“Democrats’ attempt to force voters into choosing between good public safety bills and the citizen-led initiative is disgraceful.”
SACRAMENTO – Today, Assembly Democrats caved to pressure from their party leadership and inserted poison pill amendments in a series of public safety bills, sacrificing the safety of Californians to protect their own political power. The bills were amended to be automatically repealed in the event voters pass an initiative to increase penalties for repeat thieves and fentanyl traffickers.
“Democrats’ attempt to force voters into choosing between good public safety bills and the citizen-led initiative is disgraceful,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City). “If Democrats truly cared about public safety, they would pass these bills with no strings attached. Instead, they’re sabotaging good solutions, ignoring law enforcement and crime victims and undermining the concerns of Californians.”
Prior to the amendments being adopted, Republican lawmakers attempted to pass the bills as-is, an effort that failed on a party-line vote.
In a leaked email this week, the Newsom administration admitted they are only interfering with the bills in an attempt to force the initiative off the November ballot.
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