How bills die in the Legislature

more oil spills off the California coast. Groups representing petroleum companies opposed the bill, as did the State Building and Construction Trades union. A legislative analysis found that the bill would have cost the state up to $100 million each year, with additional potential costs for reimbursing lessees for lost profits in the tens of millions.

Election day holiday

AB1872 would have created a statewide holiday on election day. The bill would have applied to the November general election held in evennumbered years and given state workers and public-school children and teachers the day off and encouraged private companies to do the same.

Assembly Member Evan Low, D-San Jose, proposed the bill because he said it would boost voter turnout. This is the third time he has proposed the bill and seen it die since 2018. Previous estimates have projected it would cost California at least $67 millions to give state workers another holiday.

Housing on golf courses

AB1910 would have provided local government with grants to convert golf courses into affordable housing and public open space. The author, Assembly Member Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), said it would give cities another tool to help fight the housing crisis and would make more efficient use of golf course land.

About 22% of California’s 1,100 golf courses are publicly owned, according to the Southern California Golf Association. The bill was opposed by the golf industry and the Trust for Public Land, which argued that it would give cities an incentive to develop housing with minimal open space.