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California Tag

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is clutching her pearls about the court's decision freeing non-union employees from paying union dues, worried about "weaponizing the First Amendment." Meanwhile, in the #Resistance capital of the nation, the politicians are proposing legislation that is essentially a weapon at the heart of the First Amendment's free speech protections.

I blogged last week that Seattle's city council pulled its head tax less than a month after the members passed it after legitimate pressure from Amazon, Starbucks, and other businesses. I detailed in my blog the trouble with unnecessary corporate taxes such as fewer new jobs and less expansion. Despite this, the cities that make up California's infamous Silicon Valley wants to pass its own head tax.

Despite the fact the drought is officially over in the Golden State, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed two bills that will force water districts and municipalities to permanently adopt aggressive water rationing levels.
The two bills will set water-efficiency goals for water suppliers throughout the state. The governor said the measures will help California be better prepared for future droughts and the effects of climate change.

June 5 was the most important primary night for 2018 with a handful of states hitting the polls. Most eyes stayed on California since the state has a crazy jungle primary, which means the top two candidates will land on the ballot even if they're in the same party. It looks like the important House races in California remain undecided and we won't have an answer for days, which means the GOP could still shut out Democrats in those districts. The Democrats also had a huge blow on the governor's ballot as a Republican grabbed the second spot over a former Los Angeles mayor. What about other states? Here are a few key points I put together from a crazy night.

The Obama administration once touted Covered California as a wonderful example of state health insurance exchanged. However, in the wake of more freedoms offered to Americans under President Trump (e.g., the end of the individual mandate), it turns out many Californians are opting out of forced purchase of health insurance.  This is especially true as premiums are set to soar.
According to an analysis by the Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP), enrollment drops in exchange based plans managed by Covered California could result in as many as 1.2 million more uninsured Californians in 2019.

Earlier this week, my colleague Mary Chastain reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is pouring money into key districts in southern California. The Democrats are counting on taking seven seats in deep blue California to help get them to the 23 seats needed to win to take back the House of Representatives from the Republicans.  After a Democrat-majority House takes over in January, then it's time for impeachment of President Donald Trump.

California seems determined to do everything it can to spite Trump, even if their decisions ultimately bankrupt the state. They already have an illegal immigration problem. Won't offering free healthcare to illegals make the situation worse?

We have been following "The Most Interesting Governor's Race in the Nation", as California's "jungle primary" system offers a sizeable selection of gubernatorial hopefuls. Because of the primary rules, it is quite possible that two Democrats will be the ones on the General Election ballot. However, it is hoped that the Republicans can consolidate behind one of their better-known candidates: Businessman John Cox or State Assemblyman Travis Allen.

California has an odd primary known as "top-two primary system," which means that "the two candidates who get the most votes move on to the November vote regardless of party." This could cause a major headache for the state, which is why the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is pouring money into key districts in southern California to take advantage of the retirement of two representatives and a Hillary Clinton win in 2016.