Federal Update
Over the weekend, the U.S House and Senate approved a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) that extends the government operations for 45 days. This CR avoids more support to the Ukrainian government, U.S-Mexican border patrol and will keep the government open until November 17. The CR was signed by the President over the weekend with the following vote margins:
- House vote: 335 ayes, 91 noes
- Senate vote: 88 ayes, 9 noes
With a majority of Democrats supporting the CR, Speaker McCarthy drew no shortage of critics from his caucus and most notably by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida who made a motion to oust the Speaker. The motion was successful after a long debate and the Interim Speaker of the House is Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
After the death of U.S Senator Dianne Feinstein (D), the Governor appointed Laphonza Butler to represent California in the U.S Senate. She was sworn in on Wednesday, October 4th and will term out in 2025. She previously served as the President of EMILY’s List, a PAC that specializes in electing female Democrats. This is another consequential appointment by the Governor following the appointments of U.S Senator Alex Padilla, CA Attorney General Rob Bonta, CA Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, etc.
State Update
SB 799 (Portantino) was vetoed by Governor Newsom due to budgetary constraints and the potential hits that would further impact the State’s unemployment insurance (UI) fund, see his veto message. This bill would’ve authorized employers to pay UI benefits for striking workers. Support for the bill had lost steam after a deal had been reached between the Writers Guild of America and major production studios.
The Governor also signed SB 616 (Gonzalez) This bill increases annual paid sick leave from 3 to 5 days. For more about what this means for your business please view this article from Fisher Phillips.
The Governor has until October 14 to sign or veto legislation.
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