Democratic Club
by Mary Larson
LW contributor
Over the next months, Leisure World Democratic Club members will address the impact of a number of measures passed by the California Legislature in 2021. Gov. Gavin Newsom has closed out this landmark session by signing the last of 770 bills and vetoing 66 others.
Special attention will be directed to understanding the implications of the passage of SB 380, which extends the life of and improves access to the 2016 End of Life Option Act. Legislation involving nursing home reforms—known as the Protect Plan—will also be on the club’s agenda.
Club members will closely monitor the newly signed legislation that makes California the first state in the nation to require high school students to take an ethnic studies course to graduate. This legislation will apply to both public and charter schools. AB-101 is especially significant in relationship to recall efforts currently underway to replace members of the Los Alamitos Unified School District Board over this issue. To learn more about this situation, Google “Support Los Alamitos Unified School District.”
Club members can find more information about additional legislation signed by the governor on the club’s website at https:// sblwdems.wordpress.com.
Looking ahead, club members will also be following The Skilled Nursing Facility Ownership and Management Reform Act of 2021. Action on this bill was delayed until January, when it will be heard by the Assembly Health Committee. Google “AB-1502 Freestanding skilled nursing facilities” for more information.
••• The Democratic Club will continue to hold its membership meetings via Zoom. Anyone who needs the login information can email democraticclubsblw@gmail. com or call (562) 296-8521.
On Nov. 17, the club will hold its annual meeting, during which 2022-2023 board members will be elected. Pete Hardin, the 2022 Democratic candidate for Orange County District Attorney, has been invited to be the featured speaker.
Hardin’s campaign is centered on implementing modern criminal justice policies that will enhance safety while reducing the costly overreliance on incarceration. He has said that, if elected, he would focus on ending cash bail, stopping prosecuting children as adults and abolishing the use of the death penalty.
••• LW Democrats and supporters who are interested in more in-depth, up-to-date reporting on the issues can subscribe to the club’s free electronic newsletter by emailing democraticclubsblw@gmail.com or calling editor Mary Larson at (562) 296-8521.
