The CA Assembly Appropriations Committee made a surprising decision last week when they reversed their position on a bill (Senate Bill 680) that will require a new category of people to register. The category will include everyone convicted of Penal Code Section 261.5, unlawful intercourse, on or after January 1, 2026.
This is the same committee that attempted to stop the Tiered Registry Law in 2017. And it happened on the same day of the year, the Friday before Labor Day.
What appears to be different this year is that unlike 2017, the current Governor did not tell the head of the committee that she had made a mistake. It’s not too late, however, for Governor Newsom to make his position known. He has at least two opportunities to do so.
First, he could tell members of the Assembly prior to their vote on the floor that he is opposed to the bill. Given the large number of Assembly members and the Governor’s expected run for national office, that is unlikely to happen.
Second, the Governor could veto the bill for one of several reasons. For example, the bill is opposed by the California Sex Offender Management Board which rarely takes a position on pending legislation. Or the bill would reverse progress made by the Tiered Registry Bill which aims to reduce the size of the registry.
The timing of the Assembly Appropriations Committee reversal on Senate Bill 680 is auspicious in that this year is the 50th anniversary of the movie “Jaws.” Who can forget the movie’s theme music as well as the question asked by the beachgoers on a holiday weekend. Is it safe to venture into the waters?
We thought it was safe when the Assembly Appropriations Committee stopped Senate Bill 680 last month by placing it on the committee’s suspense file. We learned an important and difficult lesson, however, when the committee reversed itself and moved the bill forward for a vote by all Assembly members in the near future.
ACSOL will try to stop Senate Bill 680 from passing in the Assembly and if that doesn’t work, we will try to persuade the Governor to veto the bill. Success is not certain and we will only know if our boat is big enough on October 12, the last day the Governor can veto a bill.
The problem is Newsom is the democratic party’s only hope in 2028 he can’t even get involved if he wanted to, especially when the TRUMP and Epstein files are looming. He don’t want or need that type of attention on him like that right now.
I see alot of people on here saying Florida is the worst place for PFR but in my experience and from doing my own personal research, California created the monster what is now the registry,
Florida like all the other states are still eight years behind.
Wow. Who is quietly influencing their last-minute decision?
That is a cold, calculated, and shady move by someone in the legislature to do that the Friday before a long weekend. Very reminiscent of what the White House or Congress does with their late Friday press releases before a weekend so nobody’s really paying attention to them. I hope whoever did it is able to be discovered and outed for the shady move. It’s a very politically hot potato that the governor really has no choice but to sign if he really wants to make any move for ’28.
So much for the new progressives being a voice for the people, of the down trodden, the working class, and those minority groups without a voice.
Time to start knocking on their doors even if they aren’t waiting for you. Time to continue calling them until they know your name. Time to continue sending them emails and more than a few. Now isn’t the time to play nice because these people should think twice. It’s your right to do and for them to know not to screw with you too.
Sorry I was watching Threes Company.
Looks like SB 680 was signed