For now, Communists working in state government cannot unite.
An effort to end the ban preventing Communist Party members from working in California’s state government has died, a week after passing the State Assembly.
AB 22 from Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) barely passed off the Assembly floor on May 8, drawing bipartisan opposition. On Wednesday, Bonta announced the legislation was being shelved.
“Through my conversations with veterans and members of the Vietnamese-American community, I heard compelling stories of how AB 22 caused real distress and hurt for proud and honorable people,” said Bonta in a statement on Wednesday. “For that, I am sorry.”
The legislation was intended as a “cleanup” bill, to remove language that Bonta said violated the constitutional right of free association. He said the bill would instead require “evidence and due process to prove that conduct” was threatening to the United States.