Groups spend big money to send CA MPs on traveling to distant places

Nearly 100 groups of special interests spend more than $ 820,000 last year to send California lawmakers to distant places as Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Israelwrites Calmatters’ Jeremiah kimmelmanS

About three quarters of the legislature, or 92 democratic and republican MPs, were recipients of free trips, according to financial announcement reports. Like past years, in 2022 and 2023, the most large sponsor of travel last year was the California Foundation for the Environment and Economy.

The non -profit organization paid nearly $ 260,000 to take more than 40 lawmakers on domestic and international trips. The foundation is an unusual umbrella group that includes corporations, oil companies, environmental groups and more. His international trips, known as “tours”, allow representatives from these special interest groups to mix with MPs.

In March, a handful of legislators attended a trip to the United Kingdom, focused on climate change, while another trip in November explored electric vehicles and high -speed rail systems in Taiwan and Vietnam.

The second largest sponsor of Trips was the independent electoral project. Focusing on the education of voters on public policy issues, the organization spent more than $ 100,000 on two trips on lawmakers: an annual trip to Maui, which is attended by 17 legislators and another for Mexico with six MPs called “do it with Mexican cross -border conferences.”

The Council for Relations with the Jewish Community and the Jewish Federation in Los Angeles paid a total of nearly $ 82,000 for a trip to Israel last February. Seven democratic legislators were present, including the two co -chairmen of the Legislative Jewish Coach.

Seni. WienerOne of the co -chairs said he had gone on the trip because it was “important to see with my own eyes the horrors of the terrorist attack on October 7”. Democrat from San Francisco added that he sometimes believes that the Israeli Prime Minister and his administration are Iranian assets because “they create a greater danger to Israel, in addition to the horrors in Gaza.”

Read more here and See our search tool To see what free gifts and to travel your chosen employee discovered for 2024.