Contributor

John Campbell

John Campbell (R-Irvine) is an Assemblyman representing the 70th District in Orange County. Mr. Campbell is the Vice-Chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee. He is the only CPA in the California State legislature and recently received a national award as Freshman Republican Legislator of the Year. He represents the cities of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Woods and Lake Forest. He can be reached through his Assembly website and through the website for his California Senate campaign.

Last Days and Licenses
Going from bad legislation to very bad...
[John Campbell] 09/06/03

Countdown to End of Session and Recall

Three critical dates are approaching. These dates are impacting everything going on in Sacramento right now. September 12th is the last day for bills to be passed by the legislature until January of next year. October 7th is the recall election. And October 12th is the last day for the Governor (and it will likely still be Governor Davis, because the Secretary of State has up to 28 days to certify the election) to sign or veto all bills passed this year. So, the Democrat controlled legislature is scrambling to pass all kinds of terrible stuff while they still have a Democrat Governor to sign it.

These next 7 days are likely to be chaotic and the mood up here is already testy as Democrats craft last minute legislation and amendments to beat the clock, as Republicans use the limited power of the minority to block them. I will be sending you updates as frequently as daily during this period to keep you informed of just how much worse this one party junta can make Californians' lives...... until the hope for change on October 7th.

The Worst of the Worst

The worst piece of legislation to pass this year so far is SB60 (D-Cedillo) which is the driver's license for non-citizens bill. This bill passed this week on a strict party line vote. It allows anyone to get a driver's license in California by simply signing an acknowledgment that they have no social security number, and then providing some identification which can include a foreign military or foreign driver's license ID. How is the DMV clerk going to know if you present them with a real driver's license from Liechtenstein, Luxemburg or Libya or if you actually made it with your new Photoshop PC? Unlike current driver's license application, these driver's license applications will not undergo any background checks or be linked with any law enforcement records. So, the privacy of non-citizens is more protected than that of citizens.

This bill does not just have loopholes, it is a superhighway for criminals, terrorists, identity thieves, people wanting to have false or second identities and of course, those in the country illegally, to hurt us and carry out more crimes. Why did Democrats pass this dangerous bill? They continue to believe that fostering ethnic division helps them secure their political power base. All of us who voted against this bill were called "racists and bigots" by a number of Democrats in their floor speeches. They typically resort to this type of name calling when their arguments are without merit. They are willing to jeopardize your security in order to galvanize their support amongst certain ethnicities by perpetuating the myth that opponents of bad legislation are racist.

And Governor Davis, who vetoed similar legislation last year that had many more protections in it, because he said it was a terrorism risk , has said he will sign this bill. There is no justification to veto the bill last year and sign this one except that he always puts his political well being above the needs of the state. This is a perfect example of why people want to recall him.

So what do we do after Davis signs it? A lawsuit will be filed to attempt to get an injunction and we should all support that. We are investigating putting a referendum on the ballot in November of 2004 to overturn this legislation. We are working with the Federal Government, who has already warned Davis' administration that SB 60 poses security risks. And finally, vote out of office all who voted for this bill.