Two weeks ago, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon unilaterally decided to stop Senate Bill 562, The Healthy California Act, in its tracks, and not allow it to be heard or voted on in the Assembly. This same bill, which would move California toward a single-payer system to provide healthcare for all, had earlier cleared two committees in the state Senate, and passed by a floor vote of 23-14. Rendon’s flacks, apologists and statepaid employees have embarked on a bizarre campaign to make him look a hero for taking action to hijack this healthcare bill. Far from making him out to be a hero, here is why what Rendon has done is neither Democratic nor democratic.

SINGLE-PAYER IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT TO THE DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATURE

Speaker Rendon is making S.B. 562 out to be some sort of brand-new, radical bill that he has to take control of and sit on. Nothing could be further from the truth. Single-payer bills have passed the Democratically controlled Legislature three times already. The first time was in 1994, when a bill sponsored by then-Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi was vetoed by Republican Gov. Pete Wilson. Again in 2006 and 2008, single-payer bills passed both houses of the Legislature, this time SB 840, sponsored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl. In 2006, S.B. 840 passed the Assembly by a vote of 24-13. Not only did then-Speaker Fabian Nunez allow the bill to be debated, but voted for the bill himself. After it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a version of the same bill was also passed by the Democratic Legislature in 2008. Again, Speaker Karen Bass allowed the bill to move forwards in the Assembly, which passed it 44-32, and voted for S.B. 840 herself. Rendon’s action in hijacking S.B. 562 doesn’t deserve a medal of honor from Democrats — in fact, it places him way outside the precedent of his predecessors as Democratic Assembly Speaker.

SINGLE-PAYER IS PART OF THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLATFORM

The California Democratic Party platform itself recognizes healthcare as a “human right not a privilege,” and “advocates legislation to create and implement a publicly funded (single-payer) … health care system for all Californians.” That’s exactly what S.B. 562 does. This is a Democratic Party platform that Speaker Rendon, as one of the highest-ranking Democratic officeholders, is sworn to uphold and implement. How does a selfdescribed “progressive Democrat” like Rendon believe he is carrying out a progressive agenda by holding a bill hostage that would implement a plank in the state Democratic Party platform that was adopted in convention by delegates from every county in the state?

DEMOCRATS STRONGLY SUPPORT A SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Speaker Rendon is acting as if he has to place himself in between a bill that has already passed the Democratic Senate in order to protect … whom? Not Democratic voters, that’s for sure. The fact is, California Democratic voters overwhelmingly support a single-payer system, they don’t oppose it. Not only is single-payer a prominent part of the Democratic Party platform, a Public Policy Institute of California survey in May found that 75 percent of California Democrats support single-payer, and even 64 percent of independent voters. Overall, 56 percent of likely voters favor such a plan. Again, Rendon’s action places him way outside the mainstream of California Democrats — an unlikely Democratic hero.

PROTECTING “MEMBERS” — OR PEOPLE’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING?

There has been publicly reported speculation that Speaker Rendon made this move in order to “protect his members” of the Assembly Democratic Caucus from having to cast a vote on the matter of universal healthcare. But what is more important, protecting Democratic Assemblymembers — who are presumably elected to go to Sacramento and cast tough votes — or protecting the health, well-being and lives of all Californians? In 2016, Speaker Rendon spent millions of dollars to win back two-thirds Democratic control of the Assembly, and the Democrats now hold a more than two-thirds majority of 55-25. It is difficult to understand the benefit of two-thirds Democratic control of both chambers of the Legislature, if a bill addressing such a critical need as protecting the health and well-being of its citizens can be unilaterally pocket-vetoed by the Democratic Speaker of the Assembly. S.B. 562 is a majority-vote bill that would require only 41 votes to pass the Assembly. Do the math: Rendon could allow 14 of “his” members to vote against the bill — or take a walk — and the bill would still pass the Assembly. A Democratic Assembly Speaker’s commitment should be to Democratic principles, not playing in-house political games that average people don’t give a damn about.

SPEAKER RENDON PRIORITIZES POTHOLES OVER PEOPLE’S HEALTHCARE

It’s supremely ironic that Speaker Rendon purportedly seeks to “protect” Democratic Assemblymembers from voting on S.B. 562. Just a few weeks ago, Rendon and his leadership team heavily whipped his Democratic Caucus to vote yes on Senate Bill 1, which increased the gas tax and car taxes to pay for transportation improvements. Unlike S.B. 562, this was a bill that required a two-thirds vote because it raised taxes. Through heavy pressure and horse-trading, Rendon was able to convince 54 of 55 Assembly Democrats to support S.B. 1. Only one Democrat voted no. This tax-increase has already proven to be widely unpopular, and the measure is already threatened with a repeal attempt at the ballot. In addition, a recall attempt has been launched against a Democratic senator who voted for it. So which is more important to Speaker Rendon, filling potholes or saving people’s lives by protecting their healthcare?

RENDON HAS NO SOLUTIONS OF HIS OWN TO THE HEALTHCARE CRISIS

The Republicans in Washington appear intent on dismantling Obamacare in the most brutal fashion. We may be only days away from the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate ripping out the guts of Obamacare, which would have a disastrous and disproportionate effect on California, given that 1.4 million Californians have received health insurance through the Covered California exchange, and more than 4.4 million more have gained coverage under the ACA’s Medi-Cal expansion. Although Speaker Rendon claims he supports single-payer, he is sitting on S.B. 562 without coming up with any alternative of his own. Democrats — and Californians in general — have a right to know how Assembly Democrats, with their two-thirds 55-25 majority, propose to deal with this impending healthcare crisis. Bottling up S.B. 562 does not serve the purpose of either determining how to do that, or advancing the goal of universal healthcare in California, which Rendon says he supports. If he doesn’t like S.B. 562, he should allow — no, he should lead — the Assembly to come up with its own way of addressing healthcare. To sit on S.B. 562 and taunt the Senate to come up with a different version of the bill that is to Rendon’s liking is a leadership cop-out, pure and simple.

S.B. 562 NOT THE FIRST HEALTHCARE BILL TO DIE IN RENDON’S ASSEMBLY

Alarmingly, S.B. 562 is not the first critical healthcare bill to meet its demise in Speaker Rendon’s Assembly. Last year, S.B. 1010, dealing with prescription-drug pricing, also passed the Senate, but was so heavily loaded up with unfriendly amendments in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, that its Senate sponsor chose to withdraw the weakened bill instead of having it move forward in the Assembly. Another bill that addressed the sky-high cost of medications, A.B. 463, which was heavily opposed by the drug industry, died a quiet death twice in the Assembly Health Committee, with no apparent help from Rendon. Under Rendon, the Assembly is clearly becoming a killing field for healthcare legislation. Is this what Democrats want?

RENDON DESERVES NO HERO — OR MARTYR — STATUS FOR KILLING S.B. 562

Get real, Democrats! A Democratic Speaker of a Democratic Assembly in the heavily Democratic state of California deserves no hero or martyr status for hijacking a bill that would begin the process of finally providing healthcare to all Californians. He must reconsider his decision to stop S.B. 562 in its tracks, and allow “his” members to fully deliberate on this proposal, and be able to propose amendments and changes. Such an action would allow the debate to proceed on how to provide healthcare for all Californians, and how to protect them against the depredations of President Trump and the Republican Congress. S.B. 562, The Healthy California Act, deserves a hearing in the Assembly, allowing it to proceed through the committee process and to a floor debate, as it did in the Senate.