From left, Senator Roger Niello and Assemblyman Josh Hoover lead a discussion on legislative updates at the September luncheon. Photo by Abbey Wicks

 

FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) – Members of Carmichael’s business community gathered at Meristem in Fair Oaks on Tuesday, Sept. 22 for the September Community Luncheon hosted by the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce.

The luncheon’s theme “Under the Dome- From the Capitol to Carmichael” brought Assemblyman Josh Hoover and Senator Roger Niello to share legislative updates from the recent floor session which closed Aug. 31. Governor Newsom then had until Sept. 30 to sign or veto any remaining bills.

Niello relayed several frustrations with “shenanigans” that occurred this past session in the context of two bills he authored. Senate Bill 84, which related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and would give businesses with fewer than 50 employees a 120-day “right to cure” window to fix violations before facing lawsuits, was denied by the chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee after passing “overwhelmingly in the Senate.”

“I’m convinced that the assembly would pass it, but one person is able to stand in the way,” Niello said.

The senator also shared his concerns with the appropriations process after working on SCA 3, which would move the responsibility of writing the title and summary of new ballot initiatives from the attorney general’s desk to the legislative analysts’.

“The attorney general usually has a dog in the fight,” Niello said, using Proposition 47 as an example. The initiative title and summary were written by then Attorney General Kamala Harris who felt strongly about criminal reform and wanted the bill to pass.

According to Niello, SCA 3 passed three times in the senate’s elections committee. After going to the suspense file, the bill was never voted on to move to the floor.

Responding to Niello’s frustrations with the appropriations system, Hoover said he is actually on the Assembly Appropriations Committee and has served in that role for about a year.

“This is a bipartisan frustration because the leadership will also use it to kill bills in their own party that they don’t like,” Hoover said.

“It’s been really interesting to see that process up close and personal,” Hoover continued, adding that he does not receive any additional information when bills are not voted on. “I wish there was a little more transparency there.”

California voters will see 14 propositions on the ballot this November. Voters receive an official voter’s guide in the mail which includes the title and summary of each proposition. Ballot initiatives can also be found online on the California Secretary of State’s website.

“…When there’s 14 things on the ballot, it takes a while to do your research unfortunately,” Hoover said. “Start reading early.”

Gregg Fishman on the SMUD Board of Directors asked the representatives if there is a way to limit the number of initiatives on the ballot.

“It is the only way that people can petition themselves if they believe that the legislature is not addressing worthwhile issues,” said Niello. “To try to restrict that would be very difficult to convince people about it.”

“If we’re going to have direct democracy, then the participants, the responsible people for the direct democracy, that is all the people, there’s an obligation there that they take the time to inform themselves,” Niello continued.

 

AI and Social Media Use for Minors

Several bills authored by Hoover have already been signed into law, including AB 2071 to develop a digital wellness curriculum for public schools which would “teach kids best practices on how to best manage their screen time in a way that promotes physical health, mental health and reduces harms.”

The bill was part of a 13-package landmark bill aimed at protecting minors online. The package was signed by Newsom on Sept. 10.

Another bill in the package, joint authored by Hoover and Assemblyman Josh Lowenthal aimed to put guardrails in place on social media use under the age of 16, targeting addictive algorithms and infinite scroll features.

Board of Parole Hearings

Hoover and Niello both provided updates on the Board of Parole Hearings, which voted to release two sexual predators, David Allen Funston and Greg Vogel, earlier this year.

Two members of the board who voted yes for the release have since been “quietly” removed from the board by the state senate, Hoover said.

The Board is appointed by the governor, and members have to be reconfirmed by the senate every three years.

“There’s still a number of people on that parole board that also voted for that release that I think more work needs to be done on that front,” Hoover said.

The lack of publicization and transparency of the hearings is a concern for both Hoover and Niello.

“The community doesn’t know what’s happening until after these individuals get released,” Hoover said.

“The criminal justice reform is expressing far more concern for the criminal than for the victim,” Niello added.

Niello said he believes the politicization of parole board hearings is a good thing “cause otherwise the broader public wouldn’t have known about this.”

In California, Elderly Parole Program considers criminals elderly at the age of 50. Hoover and Niello both put bills forward this year to address that issue.

A bill on the governor’s desk as of press time would raise that age to 65 for more serious offenses involving children.

“I think more needs to be done to close the loopholes for sure,” said Hoover.

Data Centers

During the question-and-answer session, an audience member asked Hoover and Niello how they approached data center construction in this cycle.

Hoover said he took data-center related bills on a case-by-case basis.

“I’m still learning a lot about it,” he said.

Hoover said he believes the issue will be less relevant in the state of California, where building costs are already so high.

“Even though data centers are really critical to the technology that we use on a daily basis, we do need to figure out, in some cases, how to appropriately build them; we also need to make sure they’re not increasing costs for people in those communities where they’re being built,” said Hoover.

Niello said there is nothing new about data centers as they have existed and been operating for years. He believes the fear of data centers is driven by fear of artificial intelligence.

The senator also shared that data centers are not a particularly high use of water when compared to things that already exist such as almond groves and golf courses. Many data centers have proposed using recycled water, he said.

Niello said he is an “optimist” when it comes to artificial intelligence and wants higher education institutions to find ways to effectively teach students how to use it. The senator authored a bill this year that would establish a working group at CSU and some UC schools to address the growing challenges around artificial intelligence and higher education.

“The bill was defeated and the institutions were not in favor of it,” Niello said.

He pointed to other institutions of higher education such as the University of Chicago and the approach they take. 

“They teach their students to think without technology and with technology, so that they utilize artificial intelligence to enhance what they do, not to do for them,” Niello said.

“Artificial intelligence is tremendously powerful and, just like every other new technology that we’ve had since the beginning of time, it generally ends up increasing the quality of life and providing more opportunities. But they are different opportunities and that’s what concerns people.”