Chico Times

In Sacramento, a recent series of votes highlighted a division between Assembly Democrats and Republicans over the use of taxpayer funds. The Assembly Democrats rejected proposals aimed at preventing these funds from being used to protect illegal immigrant felons and public officials who violate federal laws.

Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher criticized the Democratic supermajority for their stance. "These votes show just how out of touch the Democratic supermajority has become," Gallagher stated. "There is no reason to oppose these policies other than petty partisanship. It’s a shame Democrats would rather play politics than support practical safeguards to protect the public and their tax dollars."

The Republican assembly members introduced two amendments in an effort to spotlight what they see as misplaced priorities by their Democratic counterparts:

The first, SBX1-1 Amendment proposed by DeMaio, sought to prevent Department of Justice funds from being used to defend public officials who intentionally break federal law.

The second, SBX1-2 Amendment introduced by Castillo, aimed to stop legal aid funds from defending illegal immigrants with felony convictions against deportation.

Instead of supporting these measures, Assembly Democrats opted to allocate $25 million for lawsuits against the federal government and another $25 million towards liberal legal aid organizations.

This decision follows a previous Democrat initiative linking wildfire aid with approval for "Trump-proofing" money and opposing a Republican proposal that sought an additional $1 billion for wildfire prevention funding.