On March 20, the Republican Women of California, South Lake Tahoe, held their annual President Lincoln/Reagan Dinner featuring Congressman Kevin Kiley. This event was pre-scheduled two months ago.
A packed house was in attendance to hear Congressman Kiley give an update on events at our US Capitol, goals, policies, and successes. Congressman Kiley has been working very hard for the Tahoe region, including assisting in getting reauthorization for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, holding a virtual town hall for 25,000 constituents, and making several other stops in South Lake Tahoe.
A few other recent successes for the Tahoe Region are: (1) $1 million of federal funding to STPUD to install fire hydrants and waterline along Pioneer Trail, (2) $1.25 million for the North Tahoe PUD to replaced old water pipes, install new hydrants and improve water supply for fire suppression in the King’s Beach community, (3) $468,000 for Town of Truckee Law Enforcement Land Mobile Radio Funding Project. Upgrading the radios will enhance response capabilities, first responder safety, and overall public safety, particularly in the event of major wildfires or other emergencies. Officers will now be able to communicate with CalFire and other emergency responders simultaneously.
Some of the topics he addressed at this session were:
- Proposition 36 Success–Make Crime Illegal Again: Representative Kiley led the ballot initiative on Proposition 36, which passed in a landslide vote. Prop. 36 aimed at providing certain reforms to Prop. 47, which reduced penalties for theft crimes. Prop. 36 corrected this and allows felony charges for possessing certain drugs and thefts under $950 for repeat offenders. It toughens penalties for fentanyl and drug traffickers while also allowing offenders to opt in for drug treatment to avoid jail under certain conditions. It also increases penalties for large-scale and organized property crimes with multiple perpetrators. There are other provisions of Prop 36 which are designed to help the police make our communities safer.
- Taming Election Chaos (Voter ID): In recent years, Gavin Newsom has turned California’s electoral process on its head. Under current law, every single registered voter is mailed a ballot, whether they requested one or not; no form of identification is required in order to vote; and any person can collect and return an unlimited number of ballots that have been sent to other voters. The result has been growing voter mistrust in the integrity of our elections process. Representative Kiley is working on a ballot initiative to establish voter ID in California (a common past practice to ensure only eligible people can vote). Polling shows such a measure enjoys broad support from the public – among Republicans, Independents, and Democrats alike.
- Safe Home Act (Home Owners Insurance): Representative Kiley has re-introduced the Supporting Affordable Fire Emergency Hardening through Optimized Mitigation Efforts (SAFE HOME) Act. Kiley said that Californians are struggling to pay higher home insurance rates while also trying to harden their homes against fires. Homeowners would find financial relief under this new legislation. This bill would create a 25 percent refundable tax credit for wildfire mitigation with a cap at $25,000 annually. It would also include an inflation adjustment and would be an amendment to the IRS Code of 1986.
There was a lively discussion by the audience on the above topics and a few other important issues affecting constituents.
The Republican Women of California – South Lake Tahoe (RWC-SLT) meets most months on the second Thursday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. For more information, please email us at: sltrepublicanwomenofca@gmail.com
-Republican Women of California, South Lake Tahoe