Democratic Club

by Mary Larson

LW contributor

Plans are still underway to resume Democratic Club membership meetings on Aug. 18. It is still unknown if the meeting will take place via Zoom or in person. The club is erring on the side of caution, as California continues to grapple with conflicting guidelines and the possibility of a spike in Delta variant cases. The board will continue to meet via Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month.

The primary concern to Club leaders is to make sure everyone who attends membership meetings feels safe and welcome in doing so. They do not want an individual’s choice to wear a mask or not to wear a mask to become the latest controversy in this politically charged and emotionally draining pandemic.

Democratic Club members are invited to share their thoughts about criteria for deciding whether or not, as well as when to begin, in person meetings by calling (562) 296-8521 or emailing democraticclubsblw@gmail.com.

The club’s leadership continues to monitor what is happening in Sacramento. The 2021 session deadline for legislation to make it out of the house was June 4. Bills by state senators had to get approved by the Senate, while bills by Assembly members had to get the green light from the Assembly by that date.

Affirmative votes in the other chamber will have to be completed before the Oct. 10 deadline in order for them to be forwarded to the governor for signature.

A significant number of bills that met the June 4 deadline were sponsored or co-sponsored by Democrat Tom Umberg, LW’s 33rd district senator. Information about each of these bills can be found on the Internet by googling “Tom Umberg sponsored bills” or by searching for the specific bill numbers: SB14, SB17, SB41, SB43, SB65, SB211, SB224, SB233, SB237, SB241, SB349, SB361, SB366, SB386, SB390, SB399, SB420, SB498, and SB665. Club members who do not have access to the Internet can call (562) 2968521 to receive this information.

In addition, Umberg has already had two bills passed by both houses and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. SB29 will require that ballots be mailed to all voters for any elections that take place through the end of this year. This includes the recall election. SB87 deals with a California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program.

Bills sponsored or co-sponsored by LW’s 72nd Assembly District Representative, Republican Janet Nguyen, can be found at https://www.billtrack50.com/ legislatordetail/19627

Democratic Club members are reminded that the club’s voter service center booth outside Clubhouse 6 is open every Tuesday from 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Voter registration forms, membership applications, club newsletters, brochures and other resource material are available at the booth.