Keeping up with the capitol

Senator Brian Jones

District 38

August is a busy month up in Sacramento with the California Legislature returning from summer recess. Now that we are back in session, I am focused on getting my bills passed and signed into law by the Governor.

Over the next few weeks, I will be voting on hundreds of bills impacting Californians’ everyday lives. Rest assured, I will be opposing bills that increase the cost of living, threaten our public safety, or worsen the homelessness crisis. A few issues to watch out for are gas price relief, trash pollution, and heroin shooting dens.

California’s gas prices are still way too high. With nearly a $100 billion surplus, I've been fighting to suspend the state gas taxes and fees, which would immediately lower gas prices by $1 per gallon. After months of stalling, the Governor and Sacramento Democrats finally agreed on a gas price relief plan that includes providing as much as $1‚050 in tax refunds and a partial suspension of the diesel gas tax.

Although the negotiated plan will not provide the same immediate and direct relief as suspending the gas tax would, I'm glad to see Sacramento Democrats finally waking up and acting. Now the only question is how many weeks will Sacramento Democrats be telling us “The check is in the mail”? Payments likely won’t start arriving until late October at the earliest. Californians need relief at the pump now and I will continue fighting for a gas tax suspension.

On the topic of pollution, if you look around our state, trash overflows our streets and waters. We need to clean up California and leave it a better place for the next generation. To help us get there‚ I proudly supported Senate Bill 54, also known as the “Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.”

This bipartisan bill is a strong, meaningful compromise between environmentalists and industry to make positive changes for our future. I’m pleased to share that the Governor signed this important bill into law.

Finally, Democrats in the California Legislature passed a bill legalizing drug shooting dens in certain cities and counties. Allowing people to get higher than a kite on heroin and other dangerous drugs, then turning them loose afterwards onto the streets is just crazy.

Even Governor Brown knew this was not a safe thing to do. As Brown said when he vetoed a similar bill back in 2018, “enabling illegal and destructive drug use will never work.” In this instance, I strongly agree with former Governor Brown. That’s why I wrote a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to veto this dangerous bill.

If you agree that drug dens are not the answer, join me in my efforts to stop this outrageous policy by calling the Governor at 916-445-2841 and telling him to veto Senate Bill 57.