Sacramento Democrats kill universal healthcare bill

Organizers attempt to move universal healthcare legislation forward despite being held back by Sacramento Democrats. by Barry Hermanson Once again, a universal healthcare bill in Sacramento has failed to move forward. AB 2200 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and did not advance to the full Assembly for a vote. There is a long legislative history of bills introduced in Sacramento that have failed to move forward. When Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, the Democratic Party-controlled State Assembly and Senate passed universal healthcare legislation twice. Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills. When Democrats Jerry Brown and then Gavin Newsom were elected governor, universal healthcare bills failed to move forward in the Legislature.& Passing and establishing universal health care in California is a “no brainer,” candidate Gavin Newsom exclaimed. Once in office, he has been silent on the issue. In February of 2021, Assemblyman Ash Kalra and the California Nurses Association introduced AB 1400. It was wonderful to see that my representatives, Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Phil Ting, were principal coauthors. The other San Francisco Assemblyman at the time, David Chiu, was also a principal coauthor. I took that as concrete evidence of the many years of effective organizing work done...