The Capitol, along with several downtown blocks, lost power Thursday morning, sending senators fleeing to a new swing space while the Assembly flipped on backup generators to continue floor sessions.
This added even more excitement onto an already tense day for lawmakers. It was a do-or-die moment for about 1,000 bills, as appropriations committees acted on measures held in suspense files.
The jury is still out on one notable death. Proponents had touted a bill to revive Williamson Act conservation easements as falling in step with Gov. Newsom’s ambitious conservation plans. But the $40 million proposal did not make it to Friday. Instead Newsom’s latest budget proposal would set aside $275 million for biodiversity and climate projects, which would include conservation easements.
Other measures that will likely find a second life in the budget would have added more research dollars for broomrape control, smoke taint in winegrapes and atmospheric river forecasting.
Two other Assembly bills that quietly disappeared were the brainchild of GOP Asm. Vince Fong of Bakersfield. They would have established a supply chain advisor to the governor and a commission to investigate port congestion.
Asm. Ash Kalra of San Jose, meanwhile, pulled a bill earlier that would have restricted employers from using technologies to track worker performance. On Thursday he lost a bill requiring employers to disclose any metrics they keep on workers, including pay and benefits.
