A planeload of lawmakers is headed to Maui and Asia to discuss the power of California transportation

This is the time for California lawmakers to travel the world, some to beach resorts with rowdy lobbyists, at no expense to themselves.

A hand-picked group of elected officials has spent the past few weeks traveling — for free — to Hawaii, Vietnam and Taiwan to discuss big-picture policy ideas.

But these trips continue to be criticized as “trash,” because they are funded and attended by special interest groups. The lawmakers were convicted when, during the COVID-19 crisis, at least 10 lawmakers traveled to Maui, Hawaii, where travel was severely restricted.

“It's not a good look,” said Sean McMorris, program manager at Common Cause, which raises questions about the trips put together by special interest groups. He said that although there are “laws and restrictions” set to limit lobbying, it is “not easy” to monitor. “You go according to everyone's word.”

Lobbying is more than “talking to the legislature about your policy goals,” he said. “And it's about having fun, building goodwill and actually, to some extent, creating a clear obligation to do something for you. It's a form of building relationships but, in politics, those relationships are very suspect.”

This year, 12 officials went to Asia, including four state senators and five members of the assembly – most of whom sit on the energy and transportation committees – and three state administration officials including Fiona Ma, the country's treasurer. Together, they spent three weeks traveling to Taiwan and across northern and southern Vietnam, where they met with government officials, viewed electric vehicle factories and solar equipment and rode high-speed railways. They returned to California on Wednesday night.

Another small group of lawmakers took a four-day trip to Maui, beginning last Monday, and stayed by the beach at the Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel, a luxury hotel in Wailea, where the average five-night room rate is about $4,000.

Dan Howle, executive director of the Independent Voter Project, a nonprofit that has hosted the Maui convention for 21 years, said they get a group discount that cuts the cost in half.

They spent the morning talking about topics related to health, energy, technology and public safety. Lawmakers are free to roam around all day and sit poolside with lobbyists.

“There's a lot of hate in Sacramento,” Howle said. “If we can get them out of the Capitol and normalize, there's a barrier going down that's hard to break through in Sacramento.”

Financial backers of the Maui event have ranged from special interests including health care, technology and law enforcement. Other major donors from past years include AT&T, the California Retailer's Assn., Walmart, Pfizer and the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., according to donor disclosure forms available from the past three years.

Howle declined to say how many legislators attended the trip, or which sponsors or promoters participated this year, but referred to public disclosure forms that will be made public next April.

Howle added that anyone who asks is “not invited back.”

“Obviously, having this kind of exposure and seeing these things… the legislature will be more efficient, more educated and able to make better decisions on behalf of its members,” said Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), called Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), who was called to leave the Legislature at the end of the month but got the chance to go to Asia after another lawmaker couldn't go. “We often say that we are the fourth largest, the best economy in the world. But this is a big world we live in.”

The goal, Dodd said, is “to see what other countries have that moves the needle.”

“Being in the Legislature is like drinking a fire hose,” said Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), who chairs the Transportation Committee and is a member of the climate, energy and transportation subcommittee.

Wilson said taking time away from the Capitol and talking about policy allows them to slow down and have thoughtful conversations. “You get these deep conversations.”

Wilson said he doesn't think of it as a vacation at all and has been working from sunup to sundown most days. The legislator also attended the Maui convention in 2022 and 2023, according to financial disclosure forms. He opted out of this year's conference to travel to Asia.

“You do too much work on that trip to call it a junket,” he said. “I don't know if people go on their holidays. I get a lot from them. “