Kevin Kiley: “Near the beginning of last year, I rose on the floor of this House to say a few words about my home State of California…”

“Near the beginning of last year, I rose on the floor of this House to say a few words about my home State of California and how it was on potentially a path back to sanity, and how that opportunity lay ahead of us. The reason for that optimism was that there were two potential policy changes then being considered that could set our State on an entirely new course when it comes to the key issues of public safety and homelessness. California voters were about to consider Proposition 36, an initiative to make crime illegal again in California by largely reversing the disastrous proposition known as Prop 47. Then there was a case before the United States Supreme Court, which I wrote an amicus brief for, called the Grants Pass case that would potentially liberate our communities from a Ninth Circuit decision that made it virtually impossible for them to clear out homeless encampments. These two opportunities together presented a path back to law and order, sanity and livability in California, especially in our major cities. Of course, we were victorious on both counts. With respect to Prop 36, despite the Governor, the supermajority doing everything they possibly could to stop it from passing, California voters gave it a smashing victory, almost 70 percent of the vote, passing it in each and every one of California's 58 counties. The U.S.…”