Californians rally across state

Californians of all stripes — including state lawmakers, labor leaders, business owners and concerned citizens — called for state action late last week on a variety of fronts:

Cannabis: Democratic State Sen. Steven Bradford of Gardena and Assemblymember Mia Bonta of Oakland rallied with small growers and business owners outside the Capitol building, calling on the state to repeal its marijuana cultivation tax and exempt companies launched through “social equity” programs from the cannabis excise tax. “I traveled the four hours from my farm to bring a message: that the unfair taxation spells the end of the dream for so many small farms and small businesses,” said Casey O’Neill of Happy Day Farms in Mendocino County. (The rally ended with a bunch of people smoking weed on the Capitol steps, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff reports.) Indeed, some cannabis entrepreneurs plan to stage a “tax revolt” if California doesn’t reform its tax structure by July; Newsom said Monday that he wants to work with state lawmakers on changes. Meanwhile, a Thursday investigation from the Los Angeles Times found that tens of thousands of Californians still have marijuana convictions — hampering their ability to get housing and employment — despite a 2018 law intended to clear those records.

Paid sick leave: Democratic state Sen. Dave Cortese of Campbell and Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo of Los Angeles joined organized labor in urging the state to renew extra paid sick leave for COVID-19 — something Newsom has also called for. The powerful California Labor Federation made clear that it wants a one-year extension of the program, which would be three months longer than it lasted in 2021.

Solar energy: Thousands of solar workers, climate activists and other community members held marches in Los Angeles and San Francisco to protest state regulators’ controversial proposal to reform a wildly successful rooftop solar incentive program. Newsom has also said the blueprint needs changes.