California may allow registered communists to work in government

May 10, 2017

The California Legislature is considering eliminating a provision of state law that allows government agencies to fire public employees for being members of the Communist Party or advocating on its behalf. A bill proposing the change passed the Assembly on Monday.

AB 22, introduced by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda), would amend a Red Scare-era law that aimed to prevent the overthrow of the state or federal government by communists or other subversive groups. The existing law also allows local agencies, the state Legislature and the United States Congress to subpoena public employees to answer questions under oath about their ties to the Communist Party.

Bonta’s proposed amendments to the law would eliminate provisions mentioning communism, the communist movement and the Communist Party. Advocating the violent overthrow of the state or federal government would still be a fireable offense for public employees in California.

“AB 22 is a cleanup bill that removes archaic and outdated references to the Communist Party in our state law,” Bonta said on the Assembly floor. The Democratic assemblyman added that the existing legislation should be “updated so the law focuses on the actions of individuals and evidence of their conduct.”

Assemblyman Traveis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) responded by saying the bill is offensive to all Californians and that communism killed more than 90 million people in the 20th Century alone.

“Communism stands for everything the United States stands against,” Allen said. “To allow subversives and avowed communists to now work for the state of California is a direct insult to the people of California that pay for that government.”

Provisions in the existing state law warn of the possibility of communists entering government in California and advancing the policies and objectives of international communism.

“There is a clear and present danger, which the Legislature of the State of California finds is great and imminent, that in order to advance the program, policies and objectives of the world communism movement, communist organizations in the state of California and their members will engage in concerted effort to hamper, restrict, interfere with, impede, or nullify the efforts of the state and the public agencies of the state to comply with and enforce the laws of the state of California and their members will infiltrate and seek employment by the state and its public agencies,” the existing law states.

On Monday, the Assembly voted 41-30 in favor of AB 22. The bill now advances to the state Senate.