President Trump may not appear on the primary ballot in California if a bill passed by the state Senate becomes law.
Senate Bill 27 prevents anyone from appearing on the state’s presidential primary ballot if they have not publicly released five years’ worth of income tax returns, according to the Associated Press. The bill, created in response to Trump not releasing his tax returns, passed 27-10.
If it becomes state law, it would apply to any Republican or Democrat running for president.
“We believe that President Trump, if he truly doesn’t have anything to hide, should step up and release his tax returns,” Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire said.
For the past 40 years, every US President has released their #taxreturns. That is, until @realDonaldTrump took office. SB27 – which passed 27-10 in the Senate – will make presidential tax returns public in CA just in time for the 2020 election. Great teamwork with @Scott_Wiener! pic.twitter.com/ujVr0KHnVF
— Mike McGuire (@ilike_mike) May 3, 2019
The state Senate passed an identical bill in 2017, but it was vetoed by then-California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat. Democrats hope new Gov. Gavin Newsom will back them this time around, though Newsom has yet to say if he will sign it.
The bill will “be evaluated on its own merits,” the governor’s spokesman, Brian Ferguson, said to the AP.
“I never want to put words into his mouth, but here’s what I’ll say: Gov. Newsom has led by example,” by releasing his own tax returns, McGuire told the AP.
All 10 Senate Republicans voted against the bill. “I get that playing the resistance card may be good politics for the majority party, but I would submit that it’s bad policy for Californians,” Republican state Sen. Brian Jones said.
