COVID-19 crossfire. Winning will have to wait for 2021. A COVID-19 crossfire ended the forward progress of CPA sponsored AB 1976 and AB 2015. In preparing to reconvene on the July 27th ending of an enforced recess both houses notified bill authors about bills moving forward. Or not. CPA’s won’t.
Merit. Neither AB 1976 (Eggman) nor AB 2015 (Eggman) were removed from hearing agendas with prejudice. Their merit was not challenged. No deep opposition strategy stopped them. Sad fact, both were killed by COVID-19.
Crosshairs: Particularly in the Senate, the crosshair was on bills not immediately necessary to address current and projected state emergencies, text below illustrates. Richard Pan, MD, is a pediatrician, chairs the Senate Health Committee. A sympathetic advocate for mental health issues, he had this to say to CPA’s author:
Dear Asm. Eggman:
COVID-19 presents many challenges for all of us in the legislature, especially with recesses called to ensure our safety and that of staff and the Capitol community. As a result, hearing schedules are condensed limiting the number of bills that can be heard in committee.
The Senate Health Committee is scheduled for a single hearing on Thursday, July 30 after adjournment of the Senate Floor Session. Senate Rules Committee referred forty-five Assembly bills to the Health Committee, and committee chairs and vice-chairs were directed to evaluate and prioritize bills for relevance to COVID-19, wildfires, and other urgent issues in deciding which bills to set for hearing for the end of session.
After careful consideration, I regret to inform you that AB 1976 will not be heard by the Senate Health Committee on July 30. I hope we can revisit the issue if you choose to reintroduce a bill in the 2021-2022 session.
Senator Richard Pan