February seems to be a perfect time to look to filling out those 1040’s and trying to get as much money back from the government as possible. Then our minds should turn to the mid-term elections and looking at the candidates vying for the different positions. It is important to do our due diligence. Here’s a snapshot of candidates:
US Senate: Alex Padilla (Incumbent) (D), Akeyemi Agbede (D), Brian Ainsworth (R), and James P. Bradley (R) are the first four of 27 candidates that will most likely be on the June primary ballot. That’s a lot of candidates to research.
17th Congressional District: So far, only Sarah Katz (D).
18th Congressional District: Anna Eshoo (Incumbent) (D), Rishi Kumar (D), Peter Ohtaki (R), Ajwang Rading (D), Benjamin Solomon (R), and Greg Tanaka (D). Again, this list is incomplete.
19th Congressional District: No candidates yet.
Governor: Laura Smith (R) and Major Williams (R) are so far, the only two candidates that are vying for the position. They will be up against Governor Newsom in November, pending the primary.
In Washington:
The Build Back Better bill is still stuck in the Senate. Again, no matter how you feel about this bill, please let your Senators know how you feel about this piece of legislation. AARP is campaigning for the Rx drug pricing and the family and medical leave issues within the bill to be kept. Senator Manchin is still opposing the bill, citing inflation as the reason he could no longer support the bill. In the meantime, President Biden met with CEO’s from 10 different companies at the end of January, in hopes of keeping the bill alive. All ten were purported to be BBB supporters. Biden said he thought the climate portion of BBB might be able to pass the House and Senate on its own, without the social programs.
“I think we can break the package up, get as much as we can now and come back and fight for the rest of it,” he said at a White House event.
In Sacramento:
The Governor and California lawmakers reached a deal to bring back two weeks of paid sick leave for California workers after the last round of supplemental sick leave expired in September 2021. The plan is to give workers 40 hours of paid sick leave if they themselves get COVID, and on top of that, an additional 40 hours to take care of a family member who gets COVID. It goes back to January 1 of 2022, so there’s a gap from when the last program ended to when this one starts. So, there won’t be coverage for October, November, and December of 2021. Employees of companies that have over 25 workers are covered by this proposal. Part-time workers qualifying hours are dependent on the number of hours worked.