California could soon license Arizona abortion doctors unable to practice in their own state
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CALIFORNIA COULD SOON OFFER LICENSING TO ARIZONA ABORTION DOCS
Arizona abortion providers may soon be able to render their services in California.
California Senate lawmakers voted on party lines for SB 233, a bill from Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, that is intended to allow Arizona doctors to practice medicine in the Golden State until Arizona’s repeal of a Civil War-era law that bans all abortions goes into effect later this fall.
The bill provides expedited licensing for Arizona doctors through Nov. 30 of this year. SB 233 was a Legislative Women’s Caucus priority bill. The bill has already passed out of the Assembly, and now it moves to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom. If he signs it, as expected, it will immediately become law.
“SB 233 is in response to the Arizona Supreme Court’s resurrection of a dead law criminalizing any and all abortions, a law passed in 1864 when women couldn’t vote and husbands could legally beat their wives.,” the caucus said in a statement.
“With SB 233, California offers a lifeline to Arizona doctors to provide the health care their patients need without fear of a prison sentence. Once again, California has made it loud and clear we will remain a safe haven for reproductive care,” it said.
The bill came at the request of Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who called on California and other states to allow abortion providers to continue offering care while state lawmakers worked to overturn the ban.
According to a caucus statement, over the last year, California has seen a surge of abortion-seeking patients from other states, and more than 25 million women of child-bearing age live in states that have banned abortion.
CAIR-LA CONDEMNS ZBUR STATEMENT
The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) is not happy with Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Hollywood.
The group sent a letter to the lawmaker condemning his “one-sided response” to the attack on the pro-Palestinian protesters camped at UCLA earlier this month.
Recall that Zbur called the attack on the largely peaceful protesters by a pro-Israel mob both “horrific” and “abhorrent,” saying in a statement, “No matter how strongly one may disagree with or be offended by the anti-Israel demonstrators’ messages, tactics, or goals, violence is never acceptable and those responsible must be held accountable.”
CAIR-LA was unimpressed with that.
“As a civil rights leader, you should recognize the anti-Palestinian hate on display during the attack at UCLA. Instead, your May 3rd statement shows a dangerous double standard in dealing with the civil rights of Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. It also disregards the clear Islamophobic, xenophobic, and anti-Palestinian attacks on students, focusing solely on the ‘safety’ concerns of those not involved with the encampment,” the letter by CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush reads in part.
The letter discussed an April 29 meeting CAIR-LA’s policy team had with Zbur, that left the former feeling disappointed with the latter.
“We call on you to release a statement affirming your commitment to protecting the first amendment rights of student protesters. Your Palestinian, Arab and Muslim constituents deserve the same humanity and empathy as any other constituent,” the letter reads.
CALIFORNIA CONGRESSMEMBERS AMONG MOST BIPARTISAN
Via David Lightman...
California’s congressional delegation is dominated by Democrats, but several of them are among Washington’s most bipartisan lawmakers.
A new report by the nonpartisan Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy ranks members of Congress according to bipartisanship last year. Ten House members ranked among the 100 most bipartisan.
Topping the California list was Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Salinas, at 13. Close behind at 16 was Rep. Young Kim, R-La Habra.
Two more Republicans followed, Reps. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, at 34 and David Valadao, R-Hanford, at 38. Rep. Michele Steel, R-Seal Beach, was 85th and Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, was 87th.
The rest of the top 10 were all Democrats: Jim Costa of Fresno, 44; Salud Carbajal of San Luis Obispo,,58; Ami Bera of Sacramento, 79; Doris Matsui of Sacramento, 82. Nationally, the most bipartisan member was Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.
California had 10 members, all Democrats, among the 100 most partisan.
They included Reps. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, 415 (out of 436), Maxine Waters of Hawthorne, 412; Adam Schiff, now seeking a U. S. Senate seat, 376; Nanette Barragan of San Pedro, 374; Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles, 365; Mark Takano of Riverside, 364; Sara Jacobs of San Diego, 363; Kevin Mullin of San Mateo, 357; Barbara Lee of Oakland, 350 and Robert Garcia of Long Beach, 341.
Most partisan nationally was Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the outspoken House Judiciary Committee chairman.
In the Senate, California’s Alex Padilla, a Democrat, ranked 62nd for bipartisanship. Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., was not ranked since she was not in office for most of 2023.
The rankings try to measure how well and how often members of the different parties work together. It uses data on bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship.
Former Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, explained in a statement before his death in 2019 that the index uses this method for two reasons.
He said it allows the center to “construct a highly objective measure of partisan and bipartisan behavior” and helps reveal partisan tendencies. Sponsorships are “very carefully considered declarations of where a legislator stands on an issue,” Lugar said..
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“@californialabor stands in solidarity with @newsguild calling on the full Senate to pass SB1327 today. If passed, this bill will dramatically improve the capacity of local newsrooms to deliver news that preserves democracy and informs communities.”
- California Labor Federation boss Lorena Gonzalez, throwing her organization’s weight behind a Senate bill to tax online advertising to pay for a tax credit for media organizations, via X.
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