Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg have drafted legislation that would deliver a major victory to labor allies who have been fighting for years for the right to organize the more than 40,000 family child-care providers operating in California.
Assembly Bill 101, sponsored by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union, would affect both licensed family child-care providers, who can care for children in their homes, and certain license-exempt providers, including grandparents, relatives and neighbors receiving state subsidies to care for one family.
As a California resident what you need to know is that this bill has not been given a legitimate hearing in a single policy committee, nor has time been given for adequate input from the people it impacts. Simply put this bill is being strong armed through the legislative process in the waning hours of the legislative year for one purpose: to avoid public scrutiny and to catch opponents "flat footed," so they will not be able to mount any significant opposition. It is an abuse of power and makes a mockery of the Legislature and the legislative process.
This type of gross violation of the legislative process is becoming all too common. It begs the question of why there is a need for policy committees and year long sessions. The Legislature could save the taxpayers a lot of money by simply having two weeks sessions where all bills are introduced and passed in a matter of days. This would certainly be better than pretending that public input matters.
Posts
