This week marks a new legislative session in Sacramento.
With the June 15 benchmark on the horizon, some of the work now shifts towards recovery as the economy reopens and the pandemic subsides.
The session also begins while Gov. Gavin Newsom tries to fend off a persistent recall effort that is widely expected to result in a special election. Republicans argued that the governor’s decision to fully reopen the economy in two months is politically motivated amid the recall fight, accusations that Gov. Newsom emphatically denied.
How does the cloud of the recall effort impact this legislative session and to what extent does it concern lawmakers?
"I’m concerned that the recall is a power grab. I’m concerned that the recall is going to cost an excess of 70 million dollars that we would rather spend on important things like response to COVID, getting homeless folks off the street, those type of things," explained Speaker of the State Assembly Anthony Rendon on KCBS Radio’s "The State of California"
Speaker Rendon expressed optimism that the recall fight would not hurt their ability to legislate.
"Not only have we been able to govern through COVID, we’ve governed through wild fires. The recall will just be another thing that we will have to navigate," Rendon said. "But it does seem unnecessary."
A recent poll conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California suggested that Gov. Newsom would keep his job if the recall were conducted today, as 56% respondents said they would keep the governor in office.
"The question that I think needs to be asked is could anyone else have done a better job under especially trying circumstances? It’s been one difficult thing after another for Gavin Newsom," Rendon said. "A lot of those things are acts of God, not his fault. Having this campaign, while unfortunate, will give him the opportunity to tell the story of some of the difficulties the state has faced the past few years."
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