Last Call

California Dem Gov. Jerry Brown has gotten a lot of props around here for the bills he's signed into law...but he also has earned a couple of rotten tomatoes tossed in his direction this week for a pair of pretty awful vetoes.

Sunday night, Brown vetoed both the TRUST Act, which would have changed how local law enforcement complied with Immigrations and Customs enforcement against undocumented immigrants, and AB889, called the “Domestic Bill of Rights,” which would have allowed more than 200,000 household employees formal access to overtime and meal breaks.

A member of an immigration advocacy group, the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), told The Raw Story Monday that the two vetoes were a missed chance for Brown to show leadership on the part of the state.

“He lost an opportunity to demonstrate how states can advance legislation to value the important contributions of immigrants here in California,” said CIPC policy manager Gabriela Villareal. “With the TRUST Act, it was a constitutionally-sound bill that would have limited unfair detention and deportations of immigrants, and certainly with the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, it was an unfortunate disappointment that the governor didn’t recognize the people caring for California’s families as real workers.” 

Ahh, but California's wealthiest one percent, who no doubt employ many of those 200,000 domestics, had problems with the bill, so down it goes.   And the TRUST Act veto too was a major blow to immigration fairness in the state.  Both strikes are nasty reminders that even in blue California, workers' rights and immigration laws remain a major issue in the state, and Brown isn't nearly as liberal as everyone thinks he is.

One percenter issues in a state like California will continue to hold sway.