Shannon Grove
Shannon Lee Grove is an American politician, currently serving as the minority leader of the California State Senate. A Republican, she represents the 16th State Senate district, encompassing the southern Central Valley and parts of the High Desert. Grove previously served in the California State Assembly, representing the 34th State Assembly district, which encompassed most of Kern County. She is the chief executive officer of an employment agency she started in 1993 with her sister-in-law.
Early life and career
Grove was born in Kern County, California, and grew up there. She graduated Arvin High School in Arvin, California before spending three years in the U.S. Army, serving with Headquarters Company, 5th Corps, in Frankfurt, Germany, where she performed administrative tasks.Upon returning to her native Kern County, California, Grove worked for two temporary staffing agencies: TempServ for one year and then Workforce Staffing for another year. In 1993, Grove established her own temporary staffing company, Continental Labor & Staffing Resources, with her sister-in-law; the company subsequently expanded to Bakersfield, Ridgecrest, Paso Robles and Visalia; the latter two of which are now closed. Grove is the CEO.
Legislative career
Elections and committees
Grove was elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, succeeding Jean Fuller, who was termed out and opted to run for the State Senate. She was re-elected twice to the California State Assembly, and was sworn into her third term in 2014. Due to term limits, Grove was not eligible to run for a fourth term in 2016.When Fuller was termed out of the State Senate in 2016, Grove ran for the open seat. Her assembly district was largely coextensive with the far western portion of the senate district, including most of its heavily populated area.
In the Assembly, Grove served as vice chair of the Elections and Redistricting Committee, and also sits on the Agriculture, Insurance, and Budget committees.
On January 15, 2019, Grove was elected by her Senate Republican colleagues to serve as their leader.
Record and political views
Grove advocates to support the developmentally disabled community, small businesses, farmers, and independent contractors.In 2019, Grove introduced SB 238 which would have been a solution to the Dynamex Decision in April of 2018. The decision created a new standard of employment for independent contractors and would hurt many independent contractors. SB238 died in Senate Labor Committee on a partisan vote.
Grove introduced a bill in 2019 to assist law enforcement and farmers with agricultural theft. SB 224 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom and will create a new category of grand theft for agriculture theft. This will allow for better tracking and communication of agricultural crimes between law enforcement. The bill also re-allocates and money collected for agricultural theft crimes back to rural and agriculture prevention task forces.
Grove introduced a bill in 2015 that would mandate that California public colleges and universities allow student organizations to maintain belief-based requirements for its members and leaders. The bill targeted the California State University system's "open membership" or "all-comers" policy, which bars student organizations from imposing belief-based criteria for membership and leadership.
Grove has introduced anti-abortion legislation into the Assembly, which did not pass. Grove opposed legislation passed by the Assembly in 2015, requiring crisis pregnancy centers to inform customers about where to obtain contraceptives and abortions; Grove argued that the legislation is unconstitutional.
In 2016, Grove produced a widely viewed video, posted on Facebook, that blamed Californian farmers' lack of water on policies under the Endangered Species Act, which protects the indigenous endangered delta smelt. Grove states in the video: "Our children are going to lose this blessing if water policy in California does not change. California's bread basket, which feeds this nation and the world, will be destroyed." Note that the cited article in the Bakersfield Californian falsely calls the delta smelt "non-indigenous." According to both the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity, it is "endemic" or "indigenous" to the San Francisco Bay estuary.
Grove opposed the aid-in-dying legislation passed by the California State Legislature, saying: "Suicide should never be used as a legitimate way to end human suffering. Although promoted as a compassionate option for the terminally ill, this bill will have a corrupting influence on public and private healthcare providers looking for ways to reduce the cost of end of life care." In Assembly floor debate on the legislation in 2015, Grove stated: "Sorry, colleagues, pain is part of life."
Grove opposes prevailing wage legislation for workers on public-works projects, and has introduced legislation to roll-back prevailing-wage requirements; this legislation was defeated in committee on a party-line vote. In February 2016, Grove introduced two pieces of legislation to require California public-employee unions to post itemized budgets online and to hold ratification elections every two years.
Grove is a staunch critic of California's high-speed passenger rail project, and has accused the California High-Speed Rail Authority of obscuring cost overruns. Grove has called the project a "train to nowhere" and believes that it is too costly and disruptive to farmland.
Grove sponsored legislation to amend California's Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, which allows workers to sue employers who fail to properly pay workers or commit other labor law violations. Grove specifically sponsored legislation that would, among other things, limit the scope of PAGA suits, cap the financial penalty to violations, and provide a time period for a business owner or corporation a right to cure a violation. Grove argued that PAGA suits had grown out of control, saying: "These PAGA laws benefit a lot of Los Angeles lawyers who come in from other districts to legally rape and pillage business owners in my district."
Grove has advocated for the closure of two state developmental centers, which care for Californians with developmental disabilities. Grove became interested in the issue after learning about "abuse, neglect and lack of supervision" leading to 13 deaths at the centers, reported in an investigation by California Watch in 2013. Grove has introduced legislation to close the centers and shifting the developmentally disabled residents to nonprofit community-based care, which Grove argues will be cheaper and have stronger oversight than institutional settings. Grove's legislation was opposed by family members of center residents, and by center employees. Grove supports increased funding for developmental disability services, saying: "Now we're in a critical crisis stage where programs are closing."
Grove has called for reducing regulation of the fossil fuel industry. She has opposed efforts to combat climate change, calling such measures unaffordable. In 2012, Grove invited Lord Monckton, a well-known climate change denier, to speak to the Legislature, although only five of 120 state lawmakers attended the talk. Grove opposes regulation of hydraulic fracturing, arguing that the technology is safe and that environmental critics of the practice are wrong. Along with several other legislative Republicans, Grove has sponsored legislation to exempt gasoline, diesel, and natural gas from California's cap-and-trade program.
Grove has sought to reduce the state's minimum business tax.