State Legislature Scorecard - 2011-12
SACRAMENTO - Several good bills came to a vote in the state legislature but failed to pass this year. Below are recorded votes on 4 key measures:
(1) Cultivation Decrim: AB 1017 by Tom Ammiano (SF) would have downgraded marijuana cultivation from a mandatory felony to an optional misdemeanor. Although the bill would have saved taxpayers millions of dollars in felony prosecutions, only one Republican, Chris Norby (Fullerton) voted in favor, and several liberal Democrats opposed or withheld their votes. AB 1017 was defeated in the State Assembly 24-36.
(2) Drug Decrim: SB 1506 by Senator Mark Leno, which would have downgraded simple possession of narcotics and dangerous drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor, was defeated in the State Senate by a vote of 11-24. The bill wouldn't have affected marijuana possession, which is already an infraction, but would have ended felony penalties for hashish and concentrated cannabis. Like AB 1017, SB 1506 failed to attract support from legislative moderates, who were afraid to buck the state's powerful law enforcement lobby.
(3) Medical Marijuana Regulation : AB 2312 by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano would clarify state medical marijuana laws so as to legitimize and establish a state regulation system for sales, distribution, production, processing, transport, testing, etc. AB 2312 was approved by the Assembly, 41-28, but was withheld for further hearings by the State Senate. AB 2312 was based on a draft initiative sponsored by a coalition of advocates including ASA, the UFCW, the former Prop 19 team, California NORML, the American Cannabis Association, the Emerald Growers Association, and others. The bill was stripped of numerous user-friendly provisions in order to get through the Assembly, to the point where the original sponsors had to withdraw their support and call for amendments. Nonetheless, AB 2312 was a key test vote on medical marijuana: legislators who support Prop 215 voted yes on AB 2312, while opponents voted no.
(4) Hemp : SB 676 by Sen. Leno, which would have allowed cultivation of industrial hemp in designated counties, was approved by the State Senate 26-13 and the Assembly 49-22, but was vetoed by Gov. Brown on the grounds that it conflicted with federal law. The bill enjoyed comparatively easily sledding because it did not change existing criminal laws, which are strongly supported by law enforcement.
State Assembly Scorecard- 2011-12
Marijuana Reform Legislation
Green = Pro-reform vote; Red= Anti-reform A=Absent /not voting
| Assemblymember | Party | District | Cultivation Decrim AB1017 |
Medical MJ Regulation |
Hemp SB676 |
| Achadjian | R | San Luis Obispo | N | N | N |
| Alejo | D | Salinas | A | Y | Y |
| Allen | D | Santa Rosa | Y | Y | Y |
| Ammiano | D | San Francisco | Y | Y | Y |
| Atkins | D | San Diego | Y | Y | Y |
| Beall | D | San Jose | Y | Y | Y |
| Berryhill | R | Stockton | N | N | Y |
| Block | D | Lemon Grove | A | Y | Y |
| Blumenfield | D | Van Nuys | A | A | Y |
| Bonilla | D | Concord | Y | Y | Y |
| Bradford | D | Inglewood | Y | Y | Y |
| Brownley | D | Santa Monica | Y | Y | Y |
| Buchanan | D | San Ramon | A | A | N |
| Butler | D | El Segundo | A | Y | Y |
| Calderon | D | Whittier | A | A | Y |
| Campos | D | San Jose | N | Y | Y |
| Carter | D | Rialto | A | Y | Y |
| Cedillo | D | Los Angeles | Y | Y | A |
| Chesbro | D | Ukiah | Y | Y | Y |
| Conway | R | Visalia | N | N | N |
| Cook | R | Yucaipa | N | N | N |
| Davis | D | Los Angeles | Y | Y | A |
| Dickinson | D | Sacramento | Y | Y | Y |
| Donnelly | R | Hesperia | A | N | N |
| Eng | D | Alhambra | Y | Y | Y |
| Feuer | D | W Hollywood | N | N | Y |
| Fletcher | I | La Jolla | N | A | N |
| Fong | D | Mountain View | Y | Y | Y |
| Fuentes | D | N. Hollywood | A | Y | Y |
| Furutani | D | Long Beach | A | Y | A |
| Gaines | R | Roseville | N | N | N |
| Galgiani | D | Stockton | N | N | Y |
| Garrick | R | Carlsbad | N | N | N |
| Gatto | D | Burbank | N | N | Y |
| Gordon | D | Los Altos | N | Y | Y |
| Gorell | R | Westlake Village | A | N | A |
| Grove | R | Bakersfield | N | N | N |
| Hagman | R | Chino Hills | N | N | N |
| Halderman | R | Fresno | N | N | N |
| Hall | D | Compton | Y | Y | Y |
| Harkey | R | San Juan Capistrano | N | N | N |
| Hayashi | D | Hayward | Y | Y | Y |
| Hernandez | D | W Covina | A | Y | Y |
| Hill | D | San Mateo | N | Y | Y |
| Huber | D | Lodi | Y | Y | Y |
| Hueso | D | Chula Vista | A | Y | Y |
| Huffman | D | San Rafael | Y | Y | Y |
| Jeffries | R | Murrieta | N | N | N |
| Jones | R | La Mesa | N | N | N |
| Knight | R | Palmdale | N | N | N |
| Lara | D | South Gate | A | Y | Y |
| Logue | R | Grass Valley | N | N | N |
| Lowenthal | D | Long Beach | A | Y | Y |
| Ma | D | San Francisco | Y | Y | Y |
| Mansoor | R | Costa Mesa | N | A | Y |
| Mendoza | D | Norwalk | A | A | Y |
| Miller | R | Mission Viejo | N | N | N |
| Mitchell | D | Culver City | Y | Y | Y |
| Monning | D | Santa Cruz | Y | Y | Y |
| Morrell | R | Rancho Cucamonga | N | N | N |
| Nestande | R | Riverside | N | N | N |
| Nielsen | R | Redding CA | N | N | N |
| Norby | R | Fullerton | Y | A | Y |
| Olsen | R | Modesto | N | N | A |
| Pan | D | Sacramento | N | Y | A |
| Perea | D | Fresno | N | N | A |
| Perez, John | D | Los Angeles | Y | Y | Y |
| Perez, V Manuel | D | Palm Springs | A | A | A |
| Portantino | D | Pasadena | N | N | Y |
| Silva | R | Huntington Beach | N | N | N |
| Skinner | D | Berkeley | A | Y | Y |
| Smyth | R | Santa Clarita | N | N | Y |
| Solorio | D | Anaheim | N | N | Y |
| Swanson | D | Alameda | N | Y | Y |
| Torres | D | Chino | A | Y | A |
| Valadao | R | Hanford | N | A | Y |
| Wagner | R | Irvine | N | N | N |
| Wieckowski | D | Fremont | Y | Y | Y |
| Williams | D | Santa Barbara | Y | Y | Y |
| Yamada | D | Vacaville | A | Y | Y |
State Senate Scorecard- 2011-12
Marijuana Reform Legislation
Green = Pro-reform vote; Red= Anti-reform A=Absent /not voting
| LastName | Party | City | Drug Decrim SB1506 |
Hemp SB676 |
| Alquist | D | Santa Clara | N | Y |
| Anderson | R | San Diego | N | N |
| Berryhill | R | Stanislaus | N | Y |
| Blakeslee | R | San Luis Obispo | N | N |
| Calderon | D | Monterey Park | Y | Y |
| Cannella | R | Ceres | N | N |
| Corbett | D | San Leandro | A | Y |
| Correa | D | Santa Ana | N | N |
| De Leon | D | Los Angeles | Y | Y |
| DeSaulnier | D | Concord | Y | Y |
| Dutton | R | Inland Empire | N | N |
| Emmerson | R | Riverside | N | Y |
| Evans | D | Santa Rosa | Y | Y |
| Fuller | R | Bakersfield | N | N |
| Gaines | R | Fair Oaks | N | N |
| Hancock | D | Berkeley | Y | Y |
| Harman | R | Costa Mesa | N | N |
| Hernandez | D | Los Angeles | N | Y |
| Huff | R | Monrovia | N | N |
| Kehoe | D | San Diego | Y | Y |
| La Malfa | R | Butte | N | A |
| Leno | D | San Francisco | Y | Y |
| Lieu | D | Torrance | N | Y |
| Liu | D | Pasadena | Y | Y |
| Lowenthal | D | Long Beach | N | Y |
| Negrete - McLeod | D | Chino | A | Y |
| Padilla | D | Pacoima | N | Y |
| Pavley | D | Hollywood | N | Y |
| Price | D | Los Angeles | Y | Y |
| Rubio | D | Bakersfield | N | Y |
| Runner | R | Antelope Valley | A | N |
| Simitian | D | Palo Alto | N | Y |
| Steinberg | D | Sacramento | Y | Y |
| Strickland | R | Oxnard | A | N |
| Vargas | D | San Diego | A | Y |
| Walters | R | Orange | N | N |
| Wolk | D | Davis | N | Y |
| Wright | D | Inglewood | N | Y |
| Wyland | R | Escondido | N | N |
| Yee | D | San Francisco | Y | Y |
Also see: Election Guide November 2012