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California vs. the feds over offshore drilling

The rubber is hitting the road, the gloves are coming off and California leaders are suiting up for battle. At least, figuratively.

When the Trump Administration announced that it would commence offshore oil drilling across all national waters — including six locations in California — federal agencies struck against decades of bipartisan environmental policy in California.

Political Round-Up, January 2018

On Thursday, Jan. 4, President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding offshore drilling in federal waters in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. In response, State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara Jackson and Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, reintroduced legislation (SB-834 and AB-1775, respectively) to ensure pipelines and other infrastructure can’t be built in California waters to support any new federal oil development.

Surf's up forever: California could make surfing the official state sport

Surfing could become the official state sport of California under a proposal from a Los Angeles-area lawmaker.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1782, would declare surfing California’s official sport because the state is home to world-famous surf breaks, including Malibu, Trestles, Mavericks, Rincon, Steamer Lane and Huntington and has a long history of hosting major international surfing events.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi’s statement on Governor Brown’s 2018-19 Budget Proposal

Torrance, CA –Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a member of the Assembly Budget Committee and Subcommittee on Education Finance, issued the following statement on Governor Edmund G. Brown’s 2018 – 2019 state budget proposal:

“Education is my top budget priority.  As a longtime advocate for our schools and our children, I am pleased to see the Governor begin budget negotiations with a proposal to fully fund his K-12 education plan, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).  At the same time, I am working on legislation with local South Bay and state education leaders to increase the base grant portion of the LCFF, so that school districts throughout the state will have adequate funding to meet their basic operational costs.  I look forward to working with the Governor and the Legislature toward the goal of restoring California’s per pupil funding to rank among the top ten states in the nation. 

California bill would require hotels to ban guests accused of harassment

Two California state assemblymen have proposed a bill that would require hotels to equip housekeepers with portable "panic buttons" they can press when threatened.

Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) co-authored the bill, which is the first of its kind to be proposed on a statewide basis. Similar initiatives have been approved in Seattle and and Chicago.

Hotel Worker Panic Buttons Part Of Proposed Protections

Hotel workers would get panic buttons and other protections from sexual assaults under a new bill just introduced in the State Assembly.  

Assault and harassment is a problem that affects every industry, says Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, who tells News Radio KFBK it's a well-documented problem in the hotel business.  The Torrance Democrat says a poll of Chicago-area hotel workers finds 58% said they'd been sexually harassed by a guest and 49% said they had a guest answer the door naked or exposing themselves.

Now is the time to defend SLO County coast from threat of offshore drilling

I came into the world the year the modern environmental movement was born. It seems prescient now, and perhaps it was, to be born just a few miles away in the wake of the largest oil spill in U.S. waters.

In retrospect, the tragedy that inspired the dawning of the environmental movement, seems be the genesis of my personal journey from environmental activist to elected official. I am not alone in that arc, as the unprecedented oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara was a call to action for many and continues to be.

Muratsuchi to Reintroduce Legislation to Halt New Federal Offshore Drilling

SACRAMENTO – In response to the Trump Administration’s announcement Jan. 4 to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) are reintroducing legislation to ensure that pipelines and other infrastructure cannot be built in California waters to support any new federal oil development.

Protecting California's beaches from Donald Trump

The boat left Redondo Beach's King Harbor early Friday morning under conditions so perfect, I couldn't think of one good reason to ever go back to the office.

The overnight fog had lifted, with only a thin layer lingering over the Palos Verdes Peninsula. A small swell rolled gently under the boat, gulls sailed through the salt air, harbor seals frolicked and common dolphins used our wake as a playground.