Nearly 100 special interest groups spent more than $820,000 last year to send California legislators to far-off places such as Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Israel, writes CalMatters’ Jeremia Kimelman.
About three-quarters of the Legislature, or 92 Democratic and Republican lawmakers, were recipients of free trips, according to financial disclosure reports. Similar to years past, in 2022 and 2023 specifically, the largest sponsor of travel last year was the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy.
The nonprofit paid nearly $260,000 to take more than 40 lawmakers on domestic and international trips. The foundation is an unusual umbrella group that includes corporations, oil companies, environmental groups and others. Its international trips, known as “study tours,” allow representatives from these special interest groups to mingle with lawmakers.
In March, a handful of legislators attended a trip to the U.K. focused on climate change, while another trip in November explored electric vehicles and high-speed rail systems in Taiwan and Vietnam.
The second-largest sponsor of trips was the Independent Voter Project. Focusing on voter education of public policy issues, the organization spent more than $100,000 on two trips for lawmakers: An annual trip to Maui attended by 17 legislators, and another to Mexico with six lawmakers called the “Make it with Mexico Cross Border Conference.”
The Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles paid nearly $82,000 in total for a trip to Israel last February. Seven Democratic lawmakers were in attendance, including the two co-chairpeople of the Legislative Jewish Caucus.
Sen. Scott Wiener, one of the co-chairs, said he went on the trip because it was “important to see with my own eyes the horrors of the October 7th terror attack.” The San Francisco Democrat added that he sometimes thinks the Israeli Prime Minister and his administration are Iranian assets because “they’re creating more danger for Israel, in addition to the horrors in Gaza.”
Read more here and check out our lookup tool to see what free gifts and travel your elected official disclosed for 2024.
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Other Stories You Should Know
Rural hospital braces for closure as feds affirm decision
A reinterpretation of a federal rule has stripped a rural hospital in Glenn County of its “critical access” designation, leading to its likely closure in October, reports CalMatters’ Ana B. Ibarra.
For more than two decades, Glenn Medical Center has been considered a critical access hospital, which is a status for hospitals that are located at least 35 miles from the next closest hospital when traveling by main roads.
This classification has allowed the center to receive increased federal reimbursement. But in April, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revoked the center of this status, saying that it is only 32 miles away from the next closest hospital.
For months Glenn Medical Center has been making its case to the federal health agency to reverse its decision, arguing that the route most people take measures 35.7 miles. But the agency has since remained firm.
Without critical access status, the hospital, about 90 minutes north of Sacramento, will be left with a budget gap it cannot fill. Its closure means Glenn County will lose its only hospital, 150 health workers will be out of a job, and local residents and ambulances will have to travel at least 40 minutes for emergency care.
Norwalk repeals homeless shelter ban
The city of Norwalk in L.A. County is reversing its ban on homeless shelters following a legal settlement it reached Friday with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, writes CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall.
Last fall, the Southern California city temporarily banned emergency shelters and supportive housing, arguing that shelters and homeless housing could have “detrimental effects” on the community. Calling Norwalk’s actions at the time “immoral,” Newsom and the California Attorney General sued the city in November.
A judge in L.A. Superior Court still must approve the settlement, and if the deal goes through, Norwalk will also be required to put $250,000 toward developing new affordable housing in the city.
Speaking of housing development: An influential California construction union has agreed to drop its opposition to a contested housing bill, after striking a deal with the bill’s author, Sen. Wiener.
The bill would make it easier to build taller and denser housing near major transit stations (a priority for Wiener), and would now include a provision that would require some housing projects that make use of the bill to hire union workers. Read more from CalMatters’ Ben Christopher.
And lastly: Feds sue CA utility
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Southern California Edison over the deadly Eaton Fire for more than $40 million, accusing the utility company’s equipment of being the cause of the January wildfire that killed 18 people. Find out more from CalMatters’ Malena Carollo.
California Voices
An Assembly bill that would allow some California community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing programs enables students to pursue their education at an affordable cost, writes Betty Limon, a registered nurse in the L.A. area and a Cerritos College student success coach.
Other things worth your time:
John Burton, architect of CA Democratic machine, dies at 92 // KQED
Under Trump, the Federal Trade Commission is abandoning its ban on noncompetes // NPR
‘Secret policy’ alleged in lawsuit accusing ICE of interrogating unaccompanied migrant children // The San Diego Union-Tribune
Trump is attacking CA’s elite colleges. How will it impact college admissions? // San Francisco Chronicle
CA girls closed the gender gap in math; then the pandemic struck // EdSource
Point Reyes national seashore says goodbye to dairy farms — and hopes to heal // The Guardian
Massive Bay Area transit cuts likely as Newsom backtracks on $750M loan, lawmakers warn // San Francisco Chronicle
LAPD ends protection of former VP Harris amid criticism over diverting cops, sources say // Los Angeles Times
Judge says in tentative ruling Huntington Beach can’t restrict children’s book access // The Orange County Register