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California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s age has become an increasingly unavoidable part of her biography. “At age 84, Dianne Feinstein is the oldest of the 100 United States senators,” Los Angeles Times columnist Harold Meyerson began a July op-ed that argued she shouldn’t run for re-election. A December Washington Post article also highlighted that Feinstein is the oldest member of “the oldest Senate ever.” Saturday Night Live even featured the veteran Democratic lawmaker – or rather, an impersonation of her – in a November skit mocking Democrats’ bid to repackage their aging leaders as fresh new faces. Now, as she gears...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California legislative leader announced Sunday he will challenge U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, setting up a 2018 contest between two Democrats that will highlight generational, geographic and ideological contrasts in the party that dominates state politics. The 84-year-old Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor and grande dame of California Democrats, will face state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, 50, a Los Angeles Hispanic who is largely unknown statewide. In a brief video announcement posted online, De Leon promised to work for job growth and economic security in Washington, recalling his single immigrant mother who...

The finale of the state's legislative session was a primal scream aimed at the president. SACRAMENTO — Ripping into Donald Trump in the final hours of this year’s legislative session, California lawmakers passed measures urging Congress to censure the president, bucking his immigration policies and seeking to force him to release his tax returns. They also formally called on Trump “to publicly apologize to all Americans for his racist and bigoted behavior.” If there was any question about the location of the nerve center of the anti-Trump resistance, it was settled with a defiant fusillade of legislation Friday and Saturday...

http://www.courthousenews.com/california-closer-creating-sanctuary-state/ California Closer to Creating Sanctuary State Posted by DEREK FLEMING SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) – Over objections from sheriffs’ unions and the California Police Chiefs Association, the California Assembly Judiciary Committee took a step forward in making the Golden State a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, D-Los Angeles, said his measure, Senate Bill 54 or the “California Values Act,” is intended to prevent state and local law enforcement from cooperating with what he calls the “Trump Deportation Machine.” Opponents call it a “sanctuary state measure” that goes against federal immigration law and obstructs...

Kevin DeLeon, head of the California State Senate, release the linked press release today. In the last paragraph, he threatens the Police and Public: “If you want to ensure ongoing safety of the public and law enforcement personnel, my recommendation is to drop the mass deportation threats roiling our communities and instead focus strictly on dangerous felons.”

In testimony provided before the California Senate's Public Safety Committee, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) decided to admit that "half of his family" is residing in the United States illegally and with the possession of falsified Social Security Cards and green cards. Lest you think we're exaggerating, here is the exact quote: "…I can tell you half of my family would be eligible for deportation under [President Donald Trump’s] executive order, because if they got a false Social Security card, if they got a false identification, if they got a false driver’s license prior to us...

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats announced Wednesday that they are scaling back their ambitious proposal to address climate change amid ongoing opposition from the oil industry and some lawmakers. Brown and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat, had pushed a far-reaching proposal to cut petroleum use by half, boost renewable-electricity use to 50 percent and double energy efficiency in existing buildings. De Leon announced Wednesday that they he was dropping the mandate to cut oil use from his proposal. With just two full days remaining for bills to emerge from the current legislative session,...

With little time and deep-pocketed opposition from oil interests, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats were forced on Wednesday to retreat from their ambitious proposal to address climate change by dropping a key mandate to cut California’s petroleum use by 50 percent. Amid the political setback, they vowed to intensify their fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through other means and pledged to continue to champion the environmental cause for the good of future generations. Brown, a Democrat who has made climate change the centerpiece of his final term, said state regulators will announce toughened reporting rules on low-carbon fuel...

State Senate Democrats have decided to resume the annual Pro Tem Cup golf fundraiser in 2015, a year after the event was canceled in the wake of criminal charges filed against three Democratic Senators. The event at Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego is the Senate Democrats' largest political fundraiser for the state party and has been criticized for allowing special interests to mingle with lawmakers in exchange for tickets costing between $15,000 and $65,000 per person. The indictment of Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) on public corruption charges a week before this year's event was to be held...

Democratic Sen. Kevin de León was sworn in as the first Latino to head the California Senate in more than a century with an expensive and out-of-the-ordinary soirée Wednesday night in downtown Los Angeles. The event at Walt Disney Concert Hall with an estimated price tag of $50,000 resembled a presidential inaugural more than the low-key affairs at the state Capitol held by past senate leaders. […] The California Latino Legislative Caucus Foundation, which receives donations from special interests seeking influence in the Legislature, picked up the tab for the event and organizers emphasized no taxpayer money was involved. …

“Flanked by representatives from law enforcement and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Senator Kevin de Leόn (D-Los Angeles) today unveiled legislation to ban the sale, manufacture, purchase and trafficking of plastic and self-assembled firearms – often referred to as “ghost guns” — in California. Senate Bill 808 requires self-made or assembled guns to contain permanent pieces of metal and to be registered with the Department of Justice through a serial number and gun owner background check.” This short video display of California State Senator Kevin de Leon’s ignorance about firearms is both laughable and scary. It’s not unusual...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJmFEv6BHM0

Following passage last year of some of the strongest gun-control laws in the nation in the wake of the school shooting in Newton, Conn., leading California Democrats will open a new front in the fight against gun violence this year with a proposal to conduct background checks on people who purchase ammunition. State Senate Democrats will push to require a comprehensive background check on anyone seeking to purchase ammunition, and to require a one-year permit for ammunition purchases. “Anyone can walk into any gun store, a bait and tackle store, and purchase all the ammunition they want to, no questions...

Senator says ATF “no-show” directed by DOJ “Officials aim to halt flow of guns and ammo to Mexican cartels,” Corey Moore of Southern California Public Radio reports. He’s referring to State Senator Kevin de León’s Select Committee on Immigration and the Economy community meeting in Los Angeles Tuesday, “California’s Gun and Ammo Pipeline to the Mexican Drug Cartels.” Gun Rights Examiner alerted readers to it on Monday, with the expectation that “Project Gunwalker” would be ignored and that “Authorized Journalists” in attendance would ask no questions challenging panel talking points. That has been confirmed. As well as has been the...

Its not a done deal yet, but lawmakers in Sacramento want a new law that would force all California hotels to start using 'fitted sheets.' The law, is designed to cut back on hotel health problems for maids. Supporters of the law - claim many of the injuries are preventable - if hotels started using fitted sheets and made other changes in the work load for hotel maids. The California State Senate has passed a bill proposed by Sen. Kevin de LeÏŒn (D-Los Angeles) that would help prevent or reduce housekeeper injuries. "A representative of the hotel industry, led by...

Fitted or flat? That’s the weighty question facing the California Legislature, which is considering a bill that would regulate what type of sheets can be used on hotel bed mattresses across the state. Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce worker injuries by eliminating the need for workers to repetitively lift extremely heavy mattresses when making beds. They contend that flat sheets cause workers to strain their backs, shoulders and wrists, and are often responsible for repetitive motion injuries. State Bill 432, sponsored by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), also calls for the use of long-handled tools like...

Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that will help law enforcement officials track down and apprehend armed criminals and other prohibited persons. AB 962 by Assembly Member Kevin DeLeon (D-Los Angeles) had the support of law enforcement officials from across the state and was modeled after successful city ordinances, including the cities of Sacramento and Los Angeles. AB 962 was the Brady Campaign´s top priority bill in this year´s legislature. The law requires maintenance of purchaser records by handgun ammunition vendors. Local law enforcement can use these records to find illegal guns. "The purchase records will...

After being placed in the suspense file, and everyone thinking it was dead, Assembly Bill 962 is moving through the state legislature again. It passed the state Assembly Wednesday and now moves to the state Senate. How it got this far is a mystery. In case you've forgotten, Los Angeles Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon's bill would: 1. Stop the sale of more than 50 rounds of handgun ammunition per month to individuals. Since "handgun" ammunition is not defined anywhere in the bill, it effectively means "all" ammunition, since you can buy handguns in just about any metallic cartridge today. It would...

California gun laws could get tighter On the tenth anniversary of the deadly high school shootings in Columbine, Colo., California lawmakers announced new efforts to keep guns and ammunition away from people who are barred from possessing those items. Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, is backing a bill to require people who sell handgun ammunition to be licensed. It would also require sellers to conduct business face-to-face, bar Internet or mail order sales and require a thumbprint and other identifying information of people who buy ammunition. That information would be given to state officials who could check it against...

For the second year in a row, a Los Angeles assemblyman is pushing a bill that would create a handgun-ammunition licensing system for firearms dealers statewide. The bill would require dealers to purchase an annual license from the Department of Justice to sell more than 50 total rounds of handgun ammunition each month. These licenses would cost an estimated $50, according to the department.