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Last night on the Senate Floor, Senator Steven Choi, Ph.D. (R-Irvine) rose to speak on the condition of the file, which is an opportunity for members to express their perspective on a matter relevant to the House. Earlier in the day, the Senator made a motion to withdraw his Senate Bill 405 from the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, to have it heard on the Senate Floor. His motion was voted down by Senate Democrats.
“As the Vice Chair of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, I introduced SB 405 after seeing polls and surveys indicating widespread, bipartisan support for requiring proof of ID for voting,” said Senator Choi. “When I asked my Democratic colleagues on the committee to at least give my bill a courtesy motion to bring it to a vote, no one made that motion.”
This bill deserved a vote in committee at the very least. The problem is that because there are no other Republican members on the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, and authors are prohibited from making a motion on their own bills, SB 405 stalled.
All Californians deserve representation, regardless of their party affiliation. Committee membership should be representative of those diverse political opinions. The Majority party should think long and hard about what type of government they want to portray- one that shuts down opposition or one that encourages healthy debate.
Watch Senator Choi speak here.