CA Democrats Killed All 3 of Her Affordability Bills | Suzette Valladares

**Guest** Suzette Valladares, California State Senator **Guest Bio** Suzette Valladares represents California's 23rd Senate District, spanning Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley, and the high desert. Born and raised in Los Angeles to a family that has been in California for a hundred years, she was first elected to the State Assembly in 2021 before moving to the Senate, where she has made affordability the test she applies to every vote. She is a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and one of Sacramento's most persistent authors of public safety legislation, from human trafficking enforcement to lifetime protective orders for victims. **Show Summary** Senate Democrats killed all three of Senator Suzette Valladares' affordability bills in a single day. She joins host Jon Slavet fresh out of session to explain who runs Sacramento, starting with the story behind her politics: A Latino family a century deep in California, now watching relatives leave for Texas and Arizona because they can no longer afford the state they were born in. The same pattern runs through her public safety work. Her MAST Act, a statewide human trafficking task force bill built to include survivors, passed the Senate without a single no vote and died in Assembly appropriations. Kayleigh's Law, which would let judges issue lifetime protective orders so victims can stop re-petitioning courts every few years, was whittled from lifetime to 25 years, to 20, and then gutted entirely. She also explains why every sexually violent predator released in Los Angeles County has been placed in her high desert district, and what would happen if one were ever headed for Beverly Hills. The back half is about how she wins anyway: The bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, a build-first energy answer that pairs small modular nuclear with extending Diablo Canyon, the E15 fuel bill that could save drivers 20 to 40 cents a gallon, and the Reagan rule she governs by: It is amazing what you can achieve if you do not care who gets the credit. **Chapters:** 00:00 – Welcome: Senator Suzette Valladares 00:28 – Three Affordability Bills, Killed in One Day 00:49 – 100 Years in California, Family Leaving Anyway 01:42 – The CARB Letter: Refineries and Cap and Invest 04:17 – Mend It or End It? 04:30 – Build First: Small Nuclear and Diablo Canyon 05:26 – Public Safety and the MAST Act 10:15 – A Task Force Without a Single Survivor 11:47 – Kayleigh's Law: Gutted in Appropriations 13:33 – Predator Placements in the High Desert 16:16 – The Beverly Hills Double Standard 16:56 – Inside the Problem Solvers Caucus 19:24 – E15: 20 to 40 Cents Off a Gallon 21:10 – Reagan's Rule: Credit Doesn't Matter 21:48 – Writing an Op-Ed Across the Aisle 23:44 – What Gives Her Hope: The Next Generation **Connect with Suzette Valladares** - X: https://www.x.com/senvalladares - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senatorvalladares - Facebook (Official): https://www.facebook.com/SenValladares - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzette-martinez-valladares-53794a28/ Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe to our podcast, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join the conversation on Instagram and LinkedIn with the hashtag #stateofgoldpodcast **Connect with State of Gold** - X: https://x.com/realjonslavet - Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/company/stateofgold/about - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateofgoldpodcast/?hl=en - Website: www.stateofgold.com