State Senate meets without 10 GOP senators amid virus tests
Associated PressSACRAMENTO, Calif. — All but one of the Republicans in the California Senate were barred from the state Capitol on Thursday after they were exposed to the coronavirus, prompting unprecedented changes that will allow them to vote via video conference from their homes as the Legislature rushes to complete its work by Monday’s deadline. “To forbid an entire caucus from voting when all members were exposed defies logic and robs my constituents of their voice,” said Sen. Ling Ling Chang, a Republican from Diamond Bar. Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, a Democrat, said the Senate worked without the Republicans on Thursday because “we need to get work done.” She said lawmakers cannot pass bills after midnight Monday unless the governor calls them into a special session. It will be the first time in the Legislature’s 158-year history state Senators will vote without being present in the chamber — something the Office of Legislative Counsel has said is likely illegal.
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