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Roman Catholics account for a bit more than 20% of the U.S. population. Yet they are on track to hold six of the Supreme Court’s nine seats now that President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to fill a vacancy. It’s a striking development given that the high court, for most of its history, was almost entirely populated by white male Protestants. Catholic academics and political analysts offer several explanations for the turnaround. They cite Catholics’ educational traditions, their interest in the law, and – in the case of Catholic conservatives – an outlook that has appealed to recent Republican presidents. Barrett, a favorite of conservative activists for her views on abortion and other issues, will likely be an ideological opposite of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Jewish justice whose recent death created the vacancy.Margaret McGuinness, a professor of religion at La Salle University in Philadelphia, noted that Sonia Sotomayor is the only current Catholic justice appointed by a Democrat. The others — Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh and likely Barrett – were appointed by Republicans. 1187

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As the political battle to overturn California's gas tax increase intensified, the state transportation agency coordinated frequently with the public affairs firm working to block the repeal on behalf of unions, construction companies and local government groups, emails obtained by The Associated Press show.The California State Transportation Agency and Sacramento-based Bicker, Castillo & Fairbanks organized news conferences and other efforts to promote legislation to raise the tax to fund road and bridge repairs, which passed the Legislature in April 2017. After Gov. Jerry Brown signed it, the agency and firm continued planning events and coordinating social media posts as opponents gathered signatures for repeal.Three ethics experts interviewed by the AP said the emails raise concerns that the agency's relationship with the firm was too close, but none saw a clear violation of campaign laws, which prohibit the use of public resources for political campaigns.REPORT: Gas tax funds reportedly being used to campaign against Prop 6The repeal qualified for the November ballot in June. The firm, BCF, continues to work for the anti-repeal coalition, which includes the League of California Cities and the California Chamber of Commerce.Some communications between BCF and the state agency involved politics, according to more than 200 emails from 2017 and the first half of this year obtained by the AP through the California Public Records Act.Last fall, the agency and firm discussed opinion pieces "targeting" U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa and three other vulnerable Republicans in Congress. National Democratic leaders see those seats as key to winning control of the U.S. House.RELATED: Caltrans' gas tax freeway signs raise concerns with FedsIn January, a BCF partner, Kathy Fairbanks, communicated with the agency about designing a campaign logo for Proposition 69, a June ballot measure involving how gas tax proceeds are spent. And an undated memo shows the agency and firm also planned to coordinate efforts for several months through the primary.Loyola Law School Professor and government ethics expert Jessica Levinson said the relationship between the firm and agency appears too close, and the exchange about the congressmen crossed an ethical line.RELATED: California campaign watchdog investigates gas tax campaign"I mean way over the line," she said.BCF and agency officials said the communications were appropriate to educate the public about the law and that they ramped down coordination when the firm took an official campaign role."Clearly the agency was trying to coordinate with the campaign, and they shouldn't have," said Bob Stern, a government ethics expert who helped write California's campaign laws. But he added the actual amount of time government workers spent coordinating with the firm was likely minimal.Ann Ravel, who served on the Federal Election Commission and California's Fair Political Practices Commission, said the volume of emails raises questions about whether the agency aided one side.RELATED: Poll: Support strong for Proposition 6, which repeals California's gas tax"It seems like maybe it's a little too cozy, but I wouldn't say that it's clearly inappropriate," Ravel said.The legislation approved last year raised gas taxes by 12 cents per gallon and added diesel and vehicle fees to generate billion annually. Proposition 6 would repeal the increase and require voters approve gas and vehicle tax increases.The ballot measure is a centerpiece of California Republicans' efforts to boost turnout. GOP Congress members — including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Orange County's Mimi Walters — are among the repeal's biggest financial backers.Leaders of the repeal campaign have asked the federal government to investigate their claims that public resources have been used against them, based on emails and other documents that show local government workers discussing the repeal effort. Those documents are different from the ones the AP obtained. Opponents also circulated a video of a Caltrans contractor passing out anti-Proposition 6 fliers to drivers.The California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, falls under the state transportation agency.Melissa Figueroa, the agency's deputy secretary for communications and strategic planning, said it's the agency's job to inform the public about the impact of laws, and it has done so in the past, including for California's "motor voter" registration law."We're trying to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars," Figueroa said.The agency communicated much less frequently with the firm and stopped coordinating social media posts once the official anti-Proposition 6 campaign started, Figueroa said."Prior to that point, it was more of a collaborative effort because they were not in campaign mode," Figueroa said.BCF partner Brandon Castillo said the coalition registered as a fundraising committee in December and officially became a ballot measure campaign in March to support Proposition 69.BCF and other gas tax supporters routinely asked the agency for information, but they did not coordinate on creating campaign materials, Figueroa said. The agency also fulfilled numerous public records requests filed by gas tax opponents, she said.However, an undated memo outlining agency and coalition plans from March through the primary election shows the firm and the agency coordinated the timing of announcements and events. It details plans for the state to tout new construction projects while the coalition campaigned for Proposition 69.The agency and coalition coordinated their schedules, but the agency wasn't involved in campaigning for Proposition 69, Figueroa said.Castillo sent the email about op-eds focused on GOP candidates Sept. 20, 2017."Hey Melissa — We're penning opeds (sic) targeting the following congressional republicans," he wrote. He identified Reps. Jeff Denham, Steve Knight, Walters and Issa and asked Figueroa for information about projects funded by the gas tax increase in their districts.At the time, the coalition was working to persuade California's influential Republican congressional delegates to reject the repeal.Several days after Castillo's email, Figueroa suggested she or Brian Kelly, then the agency's leader, help find an author for the piece targeting Issa, considered the most vulnerable California incumbent before he decided against seeking re-election.Castillo responded saying coalition members were working on it and asked: "Do you have anyone in mind that could influence Republicans/Issa?"The documents obtained by the AP don't include further exchanges on the issue. In interviews, Castillo and Figueroa said the agency never suggested an author. Figueroa said she offered help because the op-ed would educate people in Issa's district.The piece ultimately was written by the mayor of Encinitas, a suburb north of San Diego, and ran the following month in the San Diego Union-Tribune. It touted projects in the district funded by the gas tax increase but didn't mention Issa.Levinson found the exchange surprising because it seemed to directly reference campaign activities."I don't want to say it's a smoking gun, but that is so much more explicit than I ever would have predicted they would be," she said.Prominent gas tax repeal supporters, including gubernatorial candidate John Cox and conservative activist Carl DeMaio, criticized the agency's activity."It's against the law, and it also shows that you can't trust them with money," DeMaio said. "I think that what you're seeing is just the tip of the iceberg." 7732

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is adopting nearly two dozen laws aimed at preventing and fighting the devastating wildfires that have charred large swaths of the state in recent years and killed scores of people.Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he had signed the 22 bills, saying several also will help the state meet its clean energy goals.The measures largely enact key recommendations from a June report by a governor’s task force and build on billion in the state budget devoted to preparing for wildfires and other emergencies, Newsom said.Newsom signed the legislation as the state approaches the anniversary of the wildfire that killed 85 people and largely leveled the Northern California town of Paradise last November.It’s just short of the second anniversary of the firestorms that raced through the wine country counties north and east of San Francisco, noted state Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat representing Healdsburg in the affected areas. But he said the state is learning from its mistakes.The fires changed the lives of tens of thousands of Californians, but the losses of lives and property “should not go in vain,” McGuire said in a statement. “We have a new normal in California and our state is stepping up.”Several bills encourage communities to adopt standards for making homes and their surroundings more fire resistant. One requires state officials to work with communities in high-risk areas to create a retrofit program to update homes built prior to stricter building codes in 2008.Others address the precautionary power shutoffs that utilities have begun using more frequently to ease the risk of blazes sparked by electric lines, which have ignited some of California’s deadliest wildfires in recent years. One, for instance, will help low-income people receive backup power if they rely on life support equipment.Some increase state regulation of utilities’ wildfire prevention efforts. One of those bills requires an independent third-party to verify the clearing of vegetation from utility lines.Others try to safeguard and streamline communications systems including those used to notify millions of Californians during disasters. Another bill creates the California Wildfire Warning Center, a network of automated weather and environmental monitoring stations that will help officials forecast bad fire weather and better assess the threat.“Given the realities of climate change and extreme weather events, the work is not done, but these bills represent important steps forward on prevention, community resilience and utility oversight,” Newsom said in a statement.Fire officials have blamed global warming for a longer, drier wildfire season that now stretches virtually year-round in parts of the state. Newsom called climate change “a core driver of heightened wildfire risk” and said five of the bills he signed, including one with incentives for using storage batteries, will help California keep its role as a clean energy leader.Several of those bills increase utility regulation by the California Public Utility Commission, while another sets requirements for additional utility safety reviews by the commission.Earlier this year, Newsom signed a law requiring California’s three investor-owned utilities to spend a combined billion on safety improvements and standards. That measure also sets up a billion fund that the companies and utility customers pay into that can be tapped to help pay victims of future wildfires.On Wednesday the Democratic governor vetoed a bill by Republican Assemblyman Jay Obernolte of Big Bear Lake that would have eased the state’s strict environmental laws when building fire safety routes, saying the measure is premature and could bring unintended consequences.Newsom said he would need better information on the number, location and potential impacts of future fire safety road construction projects. 3925

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An attorney and immigrant rights activist is the first person living in the U.S. illegally to be named to a statewide appointment in the nation's most populous state, California's Senate leader announced Wednesday.The Senate Rules Committee appointed Lizbeth Mateo to be an adviser on college access and financial aid. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon framed the decision as a rebuke of Republican President Donald Trump's immigration policies.As a member of the Student Opportunity and Access Program Project Grant Advisory Committee, Mateo will advise the California Student Aid Commission to help low-income and marginalized people attend college. The position is not paid.The Senate Rules committee, which oversees such appointments, does not have a record of ever before confirming a person living in the country illegally to a statewide position, according to de Leon's office.Matteo, 33, was born in Mexico and moved to California with her parents at age 14. She was the first person in her family to earn a college degree."I hope to be able to draw from my own experiences as an undocumented, first generation college graduate," she said in a statement. "I have no doubt that California can do more for all underrepresented students, especially in regions with low college participation rates, and I appreciate the opportunity to be able to help in any way I can."De Leon announced Mateo's appointment the day after Trump visited California to view prototypes of his proposed border wall and a week after the U.S. Justice Department sued the state over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Democrats who run California government, including de Leon, vehemently oppose the wall and Trump's conservative stance on immigration.Matteo's appointment comes as the U.S. Congress is struggling to reach an agreement about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which grants temporary protected status to people living in the country illegally who came to the U.S. as children. The program's future is uncertain after Trump attempted to cancel it last year and tasked Congress with reauthorizing it.Although she isn't a DACA recipient herself, Mateo has been a vocal advocate of the program.Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican from Huntington Beach, criticized the appointment."This is an insult to every California citizen and legal resident," he said in a statement. "The California Democratic Party now prioritizes illegal immigrants over California citizens."But De Leon said Mateo embodies California values."Ms. Mateo is a courageous, determined and intelligent young woman who at great personal risk has dedicated herself to fight for those seeking their rightful place in this country," he said in a statement. 2806

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's state auditor says the California State Lottery skimped on giving million in revenue to fund public education funding and spent 0,000 on food and travel expenses without considering cheaper options. The auditor's report made public Tuesday says the lottery agency should have accounted for an increase in profits for the fiscal year that ended in June 2018 by providing million in public education financing.The auditor also recommended that the state legislature amend the Lottery Act to ensure audits of the lottery's procurement process at least once every three years.The California State Lottery says in a written response accompanying the audit that it disagrees with the auditor's findings and that the agency gives the most money it can for education.“Lottery revenues and contributions to education were declining in the years prior to the passage of AB 142. The year before this change, the Lottery’s contributions to education were approximately .05 billion. In contrast, last year the Lottery provided .8 billion–the highest contribution to date. Had the Lottery utilized CSA’s interpretation of the law, it would have had to intentionally suppress sales for certain games, resulting in fewer dollars to public education," CA Lottery wrote. “The Lottery disagrees with CSA’s underlying conclusions of the value of its Fairs and Festivals program. The Lottery must continually raise brand awareness, incentivize and persuade California adults to voluntarily purchase Lottery products to meet its mandate to provide supplemental funding to education." 1623