Lawmakers continue to struggle with priorities as California’s unprecedented “top two” June primary election approaches and lawmakers face voters in newly drawn districts. Uncertainty about political futures has created an odd climate in Sacramento, with more than 2,000 bills introduced in 2012—many of which are rumored to be destined for the trash heap as soon […]
Category: California Perspective
Posted in, California Perspective, West
Redistricting Creates New Problems
For the first time, California’s once-a-decade reapportionment process is being undertaken by an independent Citizen’s Redistricting Commission. The Commission, created in 2008 by voter-approved Proposition 11, is a 14-member panel charged with redrawing California State Assembly, Senate, Board of Equalization and Congressional districts to reflect population changes noted in the 2010 U.S. Census. In prior […]
Posted in, California Perspective, Guest Contributors, West
Banning the Bag: The Sequel Coming to a Store Near You
Every summer you can bet on two things coming from California: A blockbuster story hitting the movie screen and blockbuster legislation. Last year’s story was Assembly Bill 1998, a statewide bill to ban plastic bags and require a charge for paper bags. Grocers made the difficult decision to support the bill because we knew that […]
Posted in, California Perspective, Guest Contributors, West
Help Us, Mr. Attorney General — Our Industry Is on the Ropes
CGA President Ronald Fong continues his series of open letters to our newly elected state constitutional officers. This issue’s letter is addressed to California Attorney General Kamal D. Harris. Dear Attorney General Harris, California is the nation’s leader in many things and most of them are admirable. But our state’s increasingly anti-grocery regulatory and litigation […]
Posted in, California Perspective, West
An Open Letter to Gov. Brown from the State’s Grocery Community
With California facing the challenge of a fiscal crisis larger than any in recent memory, state legislators, officials and the governor will have to make tough decisions to eliminate a near-$26 billion shortfall in the state budget. California’s grocery industry will be part of this process, but shouldn’t shoulder an unfair portion of the solution. […]