Shannon Grove

Shannon Grove
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 34th district
32nd district (2010–2012)
Assumed office
December 6, 2010
Preceded by Jean Fuller
Personal details
Born (1965-03-18) March 18, 1965
Bakersfield, California
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Rick Grove
Children Five children and stepchildren
Residence Bakersfield, California
Alma mater Arvin High School
Occupation Business Owner
Religion Assembly of God
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Unit Headquarters Company 5th Corps
Frankfurt, Germany

Shannon Grove (born March 18, 1965) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Republican representing the 34th district, which encompases most of Kern County. Prior to being elected to the California State Assembly in 2010, she was the chief executive officer of an employment agency she started in 1993 with her sister-in-law.[1] The company provides permanent and temporary employees to energy and agriculture businesses throughout California's Central Valley.[2]

Grove is a graduate of Arvin High School in Arvin, California. After graduating, Grove joined the U.S. Army, where she served three years at Headquarters Company, 5th Corps in Frankfurt, Germany.[3]

Legislative Reform

During her first term, Grove introduced a ballot proposal to turn the California State Legislature to a part-time body by reducing its legislative session to 90 days a year and cut lawmaker salaries from $8,000 per month to $1,500 per month.[4] Grove believes getting legislators out of the Capitol and back home living in their communities would help them avoid the corrupting influences of power in Sacramento and instead turn them into citizen legislators that serve the best interests of their constituents.

Developmental Disabilities

Grove has been a vocal advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities. She supports increased funding for services to help this vulnerable population live within their communities. Funding for these programs has not had an increase in decades.[5]

Grove also introduced a bill to close two state-run developmental centers, which care for individuals with developmental disabilities, after learning about the neglect and abuse residents have endured over the last several years resulting in 13 deaths and several rapes. The closure of these over staffed centers would also save California taxpayers money, with funding instead going to non-profit organizations, because community-based care is cheaper than in an institutional setting.[6]

Water

Grove produced a video placing the blame of California’s water shortage problems during a statewide drought on state and federal water policies. The video released on Grove’s Facebook page received more than 370,000 views and 2950 likes, and was shared over 17,100 times.[7] She specifically blamed the Endangered Species Act, which protects the endangered delta smelt, for requiring state agencies to release 1.2 million acre feet of water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to protect the 3-inch fish instead of giving it to farmers and urban areas.[8] Grove concludes the video saying, “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.”[9]

Religious Liberty and Freedom of Speech

Grove introduced legislation to restore religious liberty and freedom of speech within the California state university system. Her bill would have restored a student clubs’ ability to have belief requirements for club leaders. “Why can’t a student LGBT club insist its leaders believe in same-sex marriage?” Grove said. “Real tolerance allows differing groups to hold diverse points of view.”[10]

Prolife Legislation

She introduced legislation to stop the state from mandating that religious organizations buy health insurance that includes abortion coverage for its employees, and thereby forcing them to violate their moral convictions.[11] Grove also advocated for legislation to ban sex-selection abortion. Testimony during the hearing pointed to U.N. estimates that indicated 200 million girls around the world have been aborted for being “the wrong gender.”[12]

Ironically, while claiming to be pro-life, Grove has opposed providing financial assistance to poor families struggling to afford diapers for infant children.[13]

Assisted Suicide

In 2015, Grove opposed the right-to-die bill and said, “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.”[14]

Pro-Business Legislation

Grove is an advocate for small businesses in California. In 2015, she proposed a bill to prevent lawyers from filing million dollar lawsuits on businesses for minor paycheck stub mistakes.[15] The Democrats took that bill, made it their own, got Governor Brown to sign it later that year.[16] Current state law, the Private Attorney General Act of 2004, allows employees to bring lawsuits directly against their employer for a variety of California Labor Code violations. Governor Brown included additional PAGA reform proposals to his 2016 budget that would give the Labor and Workforce Development Agency the ability to slow down the number of frivolous PAGA lawsuits being filed.[17]

High-Speed Rail

Grove has been a staunch critic of California’s High-Speed Rail project, calling it an “multi-billion dollar boondoggle” that the state is “foolishly” pursuing even though the state “doesn’t have a quarter of the money needed to complete” the project.[18]

Energy

Grove opposes overregulation of the energy industry.[19] She has opposed regulation of the fracking industry, spoken out against Cap-and-Trade and attempted to exclude gas from California’s climate change law.[20]

Unions and Labor

During her time in the Assembly, Grove has fought back against union abuses and overreach. In 2011-12, she introduced a comprehensive bill to reform California’s calculation of prevailing wages so that state-mandated construction wage rates are accurate and based on the costs in a local market.[21]

Comment on Abortion and Drought

On June 1, 2015, at the California ProLife Legislative Banquet held in Sacramento, California, Grove suggested that if the drought-stricken state would only adopt laws restricting abortions, like Texas, God would make it rain. “Texas was in a long period of drought until Governor Perry signed the fetal pain bill. It rained that night. Now God has His hold on California”, Grove said.[22][23]

Grove said the reporter, from a pro-choice organization called RH Reality Check, misquoted her. “I did not say our drought is caused by God, nor did I say it is caused because of abortion,” Grove said. “I did say I believe with all my heart that the Lord has his hand on California (in the sense of a blessing to come.)”[24]

References

  1. ↑ "Your guide to voting Tuesday". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  2. ↑ Staff, CalWatchdog. "Meet New Assembly Rabble-Rouser". CalWatchdog.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  3. ↑ "Shannon Grove: Always up for a challenge". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  4. ↑ Group, Sinclair Broadcast. "Grove wants lawmakers to go part-time, cut $8k salaries". KBAK. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  5. ↑ Group, Sinclair Broadcast. "Bakersfield protesters seek funding for developmental disability services". KBAK. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  6. ↑ "Grove bill would close two state-run developmental centers, transfer funds to nonprofits". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  7. ↑ "Shannon Grove | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  8. ↑ "SoCal Already Feeling Burden of Jerry Brown's Water Mandate". Breitbart. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  9. ↑ "10 Things You Need to Know". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  10. ↑ "Bill targets CSU's 'believe it or not' edict". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  11. ↑ "California legislator introduces bill to stop forced abortion coverage | Live Action News". Live Action News. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  12. ↑ "California Democrats Kill Bill to Outlaw Sex-Selection Abortions - Breitbart". Breitbart. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  13. ↑ "California bill would start nation’s first diaper assistance program". sacbee. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  14. ↑ "Assisted Suicide Bill Delayed as Uneasy Legislators Reconsider - Breitbart". Breitbart. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  15. ↑ "Shannon Grove seeks to reform PAGA". KERNGOLDENEMPIRE. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  16. ↑ "A Cure for PAGA? At Least for Some Frivolous Wage Statement Claims | Wage & Hour Litigation Blog". www.wagehourlitigation.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  17. ↑ "Calif. Governor Moves to Curb PAGA Suits". The Recorder. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  18. ↑ "California’s High Speed ‘Browndoggle’ Breaks Ground". FlashReport. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  19. ↑ "Congressional hearing targets oil regulations". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  20. ↑ "STATE AGENDA 2015: It's all about water -- and a few other things". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  21. ↑ "California’s "Prevailing Wage" – Floor Vacuuming at $45.93/Hour | Union Watch". unionwatch.org. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  22. ↑ Kotowski, Jason (June 11, 2015). "Assemblywoman Shannon Grove blames drought on God's anger with abortion". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  23. ↑ White, Jeremy B. (June 12, 2015). "Shannon Grove under fire for linking drought to abortion". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Shannon Grove: I Never Blamed Abortion for the Drought - Breitbart". Breitbart. Retrieved 2016-03-01.

External links

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