Legislature confirms Bonta as AG

Both houses of the Legislature confirmed Assemblyman Robert A. Bonta as California’s attorney general on Thursday morning. The Assembly approved the Democrat from Alameda 62-0, the Senate 29-6.

In brief remarks before the full Assembly just after that vote, Bonta laid out his vision for the office.

“The attorney general should be the people’s attorney, to fight for everyday folks, the vulnerable, the voiceless, the disadvantaged, those who are hurting, being abused, and to push back against those in power,” he said.

The votes were a brief formality compared to the hourslong confirmation hearings legislative committees held on Wednesday. In those sessions, Bonta said his priorities would include investigating police misconduct and hate crimes against Asian Americans. His confirmation took place against the backdrop of racially motivated attacks — Bonta is Filipino American — and the conviction on Tuesday of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd.

Opposition was minimal, with the state’s major law enforcement groups releasing statements saying they “look forward” to working with him.

At the onset of a Wednesday night hearing of the Assembly Special Committee on the Office of the Attorney General, the committee’s co-chair apologized for how one-sided the three-hour hearing was going to be.

“We did make an effort to be able to hear both sides,” said Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-South Los Angeles.

Bonta also announced on the Assembly floor that his Assembly chief of staff, Viviana Becerra, would take on the same role at the attorney general’s office. She is not related to former attorney general Xavier Becerra.