News from the Capitol

December 6, 2022

TO:                 CLA Members, Systems, Network Contacts

FROM:           Mike Dillon and Christina DiCaro, CLA Lobbyists

RE:                 News From the Capitol

I.               NEW LEGISLATIVE CLASS SWORN INTO OFFICE

Yesterday, the state Assembly and Senate convened their houses for a celebratory swearing- in day of the newly elected legislators who won their races in November.  This year marked an unprecedented amount of departures from the Assembly and Senate, with more than 30 legislators deciding to either not seek re-election due to legislative redistricting problems, retiring, pursuing a new job, or hoping to advance to Congress.  The 2022 departures en masse, has been dubbed “The Great Resignation,” by Sacramento insiders and the media. The large turnover in both houses will impact CLA moving forward in that it will require a great deal of effort to quickly get to know these new lawmakers, as the new legislative Session kicks off January 4, 2023.

II.               NEW LAW PROTECTS ADDRESSES OF PUBLIC ENTITY EMPLOYEES

A few months ago, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an important privacy bill into law, which was authored by Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) seeking to protect the address confidentiality of public entity employees and contractors.  The Senator’s staff tells us that SB 1131 was originally introduced to provide address protections for reproductive health care workers and election officers, but was expanded later in the Session to also include “public entity employees and contractors,” which would include public library staff.  Due to increased threats to the safety of public libraries and library staff, this new law by Senator Newman may provide some welcome privacy protections for individuals who may be directly impacted.

Specifically, SB 1131:

“Expands the Safe at Home (*) program to public entity employees and contractors by permitting an adult person, who is domiciled in California, to have an address designated by the Secretary of State to serve as the person’s address, as specified and if certain conditions are met.  Provides, among other requirements that the basis for the application to the Safe at Home program is that the applicant is a public entity employee or contractor who faces threats of violence, or violence or harassment from the public because of their work for the public entity and is fearful for their safety or the safety of their family because of their work for the public entity. 

a)    Defines ‘harassment’ as repeated, unreasonable, and unwelcome conduct directed at a targeted individual that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own safety or for the safety of an immediate family member, domestic partner, or a household member.  Harassing conduct may include, but is not limited to, following, stalking, phone calls, or written correspondence. 

b)    Defines ‘public entity’ as a federal, state, or local government agency.

c)    Defines ‘work for a public entity’ as work performed by an employee of a public entity, or work performed for a public entity by a person pursuant to a contract with the public entity.”  (Source:  Senate Rules Committee/Office of the Senate Floor Analyses, SB 1131-Newman, Aug. 24, 2022, author:  Amanda Mattson.)

(*) = The “Safe at Home” program was established in 1998 and seeks to allow domestic violence victims to apply through the Secretary of State’s office for a substitute address to be used in public records.  The program has been expanded over the years to address additional victim-needs.

III.            CELEBRATING THE RETIREMENT OF 40+ YEAR CLA LOBBYIST,

MIKE DILLON

It is with mixed emotion that we report that Mike Dillon, who has served as CLA’s lead lobbyist for almost 45 years, will be retiring on December 31, 2022.  Mike was nicknamed the “Dean of the Lobbying Corps” by the former Senator and Assembly Speaker, Bob Hertzberg as Mike is currently the longest-serving registered lobbyist in Sacramento, enjoying a remarkable 55-year career.  Mike was honored by Senators Hertzberg, Jim Nielsen, and Patricia Bates at the close of the 2022 Session, with a framed Senate Resolution, honoring his body of work as a lobbyist.

Mike leaves an incredible legacy of work on behalf of the public library community, including the passage of a $75 million and $350 million library construction bond that he shepherded through the legislature in 1988 and 2000 respectively.  He also helped former Senator Jim Nielsen advance the Public Library Foundation into law, which created a discretionary source of library funding for city, county, and special district libraries for decades.  At one point, the baseline in the Foundation fund was previously up to $56 million annually for libraries, until Governor Davis cut the program by 70%, followed by a modest cut by Governor Schwarzenegger, and then Governor Brown zeroed out the program entirely when he came into office during the Recession.  In recent years, Mike helped to secure funding that allowed public libraries throughout the state to connect to CENIC’s high-speed broadband network, he brought state literacy funding back up to its pre-Recession levels, and bolstered both the California Library Services Act and Lunch at the Library funding in the State Budget.  Without question, his greatest success was the work in the 2021-22 Budget Act, which produced an historic $500 million in total library funding, including $439 million for library construction grants, thanks to the leadership of Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, Governor Gavin Newsom, and State Librarian Greg Lucas.  Mike was also instrumental in the passage of legislation that created a 1/8 cent sales tax that so many public libraries rely on today for their library operations. 

CLA owes Mike Dillon a great debt of gratitude for his selfless work on behalf of California’s public libraries.  And as his daughter, I thank him for his incredible mentorship for the last three decades.  Congratulations Mike on your wonderful career and “Cheers” to you as you embark on your well-deserved retirement!