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CBS Sacramento Weekend Anchor tweet, 9:27 PM - 1 Jul 2016 (Original Post) proverbialwisdom Jul 2016 OP
There are clearly a lot of stupid people in California (n/t) Spider Jerusalem Jul 2016 #1
Sure, in the state legislature with some exceptions (eg. Gatto). History... wait for it. proverbialwisdom Jul 2016 #2

proverbialwisdom

(4,959 posts)
2. Sure, in the state legislature with some exceptions (eg. Gatto). History... wait for it.
Sat Jul 2, 2016, 01:09 PM
Jul 2016
"Can science today be sure that science tomorrow will not wonder why it was so unenlightened?"
- Assemblyman Mike Gatto.


http://www.allgov.com/usa/ca/news/appointments-and-resignations/influential-assemblyman-quitting-to-join-pharmaceutical-lobbyists-151225?news=858049

Influential Assemblyman Quitting to Join Pharmaceutical Lobbyists
Friday, December 25, 2015


The Los Angeles Times headline made it sound like a sports acquisition, which, in a sense, it may be: “Pharmaceutical Industry Group Scoops Up Assemblyman Henry Perea.”

The powerful, termed-out lawmaker, who can’t run for re-election in 2016, announced on December 1 he was going to bail early and take a job working for some entity that lobbies in Sacramento, but did not say who he would be advocating for. Now he has.

Fresno Democrat Perea, 38, will be a senior director of state advocacy for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). That didn’t come as a huge shock to the Sacramento Bee, which noted when Perea announced his impending resignation that he was one of the top beneficiaries of Big Pharma contributions in 2013 and 2014 and a possible candidate for a job there.

By law, Perea cannot directly lobby his former colleagues for a year. But he will still be a busy man. The industry has already socked away $23 million to fight a November 2016 ballot measure that will “prohibit state agencies from paying more for a prescription drug than the lowest price paid for the same drug by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.”

The VA pays about 20% less for drugs than California by leveraging its ginourmous buying power. The agency is also required by the law to keep prices low. The California Drug Price Relief Initiative would reduce costs for state retirees, AIDS patients, many Medi-Cal recipients and prisons.

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Perea led a caucus of business-friendly Democrats in the Assembly who wielded significant power on critical issues. They successfully fought to scale back climate change legislation this past session and in 2014 were credited with scuttling legislation that would have helped low-income workers receive decent health care.

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https://www.statnews.com/2015/11/19/california-drug-price-referendum/
https://ballotpedia.org/California_"Drug_Price_Relief_Act"_Initiative_(2016) Cut + paste link to view.
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