“This budget is going to be significant, and I feel that this will set the tone for years to come.” Addressing Sacramento’s upcoming annual budget revisions, Assembly member Isaac Bryan was candid about how the anticipated shortfall could impact state programs.
One of Culver City’s representatives in Sacramento, the Assembly member for the 55th held a District Town Hall on March 25, 2024, at 6 pm at the New Earth on Washington Boulevard. New Earth, a non-profit that focuses art, music and multiple strategies to support ‘at-risk’ youth was founded in 2002 by Dr. Harry Grammer, who hosted the evening and posed questions to Bryan in an interview format.
Bryan opened by surveying the room, asking where people had come from and found much of the district represented. “The 55th is an incredibly diverse district – we take in a little slice of Beverly Hills, and run all the way though Museum Row, out to Watts, over to Windsor Hills, down to Mar Vista and Palms, and all the way to the edge of Marina del Rey. In the middle, was have this unique little space called Culver City.”
Bryan has already acquired a fair bit of fame for being the youngest Majority Leader ever elected in the State Assembly, and he won re-election to his office this March with 82.6% of the vote. Grammer asked about his Assembly committee appointments and Bryan offered some insights on how he uses his postion and his time.
He noted that “I like to try out a lot of committees, put my hands on [multiple areas] and see where I can have the best effect.”
Bryan serves on Appropriations, explaining the committee’s function by saying “Anything that has a fiscal effect, will require investment or create revenue, has to come through Appropriations. If it’s financial, we see it.” He also serves on the Judiciary, Governmental Organization, Privacy and Consumer Protection committees, and is the Chair of Natural Resources.
This post has supported the opportunity to move a bill (AB 2716) that proposes to fine oil companies $10,000 per well per day for wells that fall below the standard of production. These low-producing ‘stripper’ wells that are located “less than 3,200 feet from where we work, play or sleep…” are the target of the proposed fines. “There needs to be accountability for these low-producing wells that threaten the health of the community…and really don’t even make the oil companies any profit. The companies are just avoiding the cost of capping [them] and cleaning up.”
He also noted that the Privacy Committee was tasked with the consideration of regulating Artificial Intelligence. “Anything that has to do with the internet, the algorithms that note your purchases and your choices…we are the committee that needs to get out ahead of Chat GPT and figure what now and what next.”
The billion-dollar surplus that Sacramento had last year was largely a gift from the federal government’s COVID spending. “We will not be getting that [money] from the feds this year, and so we have to look at the programs we created, and see what we will prioritize. I’m focused on taking care of the most vulnerable, and protecting those programs that reach out to the people in our society that truly need a hand.”
Judith Martin-Straw
Photo: Dr. Harry Grammer and Assembly member Isaac Bryan
