Enough is enough

Sacramento needs to clean up its act.

Over the past several weeks, as American women from different walks of life have spoken up about the still-pervasive role of sexual harassment in their workplaces, it became abundantly clear that there was a need for change on Capitol Hill.

There have been multiple allegations about the misconduct of state Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia (Los Angeles County).

There have been serious questions about what powerful people did or didn’t do.

State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, has been accused of retaliating against aides who complained against Mendoza, who was de León’s roommate in Sacramento until recently.

Under pressure, de León and other members of the state Senate Rules Committee announced Sunday that the committee would no longer handle complaints about sexual abuse or assault. Instead, allegations will be passed on to “an independent outside legal team.”

That’s not good enough. For one thing, it effectively means no one is in charge right now. That leaves Capitol employees nowhere to turn with their complaints at a critical time.

For another thing, any solutions need to be bicameral. The hundreds of women who signed the “We Said Enough” document in October were a bipartisan group of legislators, aides, staff and lobbyists in both houses.

Cultural change involves everyone in Sacramento’s workplace.

Finally — and most importantly — Sacramento won’t take sexual harassment seriously until it changes its own laws and practices.

It’s unconscionable, for example, that the Legislature has enacted whistleblower protection laws and other anti-discrimination policies for other government employees but has refused to extend the same protections to those who work under the Capitol dome.

“They’ve affirmatively exempted themselves from following basic and important practices that protect people who are the victims of this behavior,” said Adama Iwu, a lobbyist for Visa and an organizer of the “We Said Enough” effort.

That needs to end.