More legislators who traveled to Maui named

When a group of California lawmakers flew to Hawaii for a four-day conference in November, they made headlines for traveling amid a global pandemic.

“The annual gathering, which has seen up to 25 California lawmakers in attendance in past years, has faced criticism because it is partly financed and attended by special interests, including businesses and labor groups, that lobby legislators,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “This year, lawmakers are drawing criticism for their decision to attend the event during the COVID-19 pandemic and as coronavirus cases surge nationwide.”

Politico has since done some detective work that has added to the list of legislators who made the trip to Maui and has uncovered other travels lawmakers made at a time when state and federal authorities discouraged travel to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Through financial disclosures, Politico found legislators traveled to the Pacific Northwest in the fall for a $3,000 trip funded by the California Foundation on the Environment and the Economy.

The disclosures showed five state lawmakers who did not confirm their attendance with Politico last fall did fly to Maui: Assembly members Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, who also represents Lodi and Galt; Tom Daly, D-Anaheim; Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach; former Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point; and State Sen. Susan Rubio, D-Baldwin Park.

Politico confirmed in November the names of 10 lawmakers who attended. Among them were Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, whose district includes Lockeford, and State Sen. Andreas Borgeas, RFresno, whose district includes Amador and Calaveras counties.

On Tuesday, the news site revealed State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, who has since become Senate minority leader, was also there.

The November trip to Hawaii sparked a particularly big controversy as it occurred at the start of the holiday surge, SFGATE reported at the time of the conference. Fewer people attended the annual policy conference hosted by the Independent Voter Project, a San Diegobased nonprofit group, in November compared to previous years.

The Fairmont Kea Lani, the luxury Wailea resort hosting the summit, told the Sacramento Bee that guests had to show proof of a negative test result before attending. Dan Howle, the chairman of the Independent Voter Project, told the Bee that attendees followed the rules and were wearing masks on the hotel grounds.

“Nobody has been walking around without masks,” he said. “They’re not complaining about it. Of course, they’re in Maui.”