Shannon Grove

Shannon Lee Grove (née Cain; born March 18, 1965) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly. A Republican, Grove represented the 34th district, which encompass most of Kern County. She served three terms in office. 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.

Elections and committees
Grove was elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010. She was reelected 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.

In the Assembly, Grove served as vice chair (i.e., ranking Republican member) of the Elections and Redistricting Committee, and also sits on the Agriculture, Insurance, and Budget committees.

Record and political views
Grove advocates changing the California State Legislature from a full-time to a part-time body. In 2011, as a first-term assemblywoman, Grove sought to place an initiative on the California ballot to reduce its annual legislative session from nine months to three months (90 days) and cut lawmakers' annual salaries from $95,000 to $18,000. Grove pitched the idea in a four-minute video produced by a Tea Party group in 2012. A Field Poll showed that 39 percent of voters supported Grove's idea, while 45 percent opposed it.

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 June 2016, Grove attracted attention and criticism after linking abortion legislation and the wrath of God to the drought in California. While speaking to a group of anti-abortion activists at an event in Sacramento, Grove brought a copy of the Bible to the platform and stated that: "Texas was in a long period of drought until Gov. [Rick] Perry signed the fetal pain bill. It rained that night." Grove's remarks sparked a backlash and were criticized as "patently ridiculous" by NARAL Pro-Choice California, an abortion rights group. Grove responded to criticism by saying that she had been misconstrued. In a Facebook post following the speech, Grove wrote: "Is this drought caused by God? Nobody knows. But biblical history shows a consequence to man"s actions; we do know for sure that California’s water shortage crisis has been compounded by liberal politicians' poor decisions — not properly managing our water resources and refusing to build water storage for decades."

In 2016, Grove produced a widely viewed video, posted on Facebook, which blamed California's farmers' lack of water on polices under the Endangered Species Act, which protects the non-indiginous 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."

Grove opposed the aid-in-dying legislation (S.B. 128) 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 (A.B. 2753 and A.B. 2754) to require California public-employee unions (such as SEIU Local 1000) to post itemized budgets online and to hold ratification elections every two years.

Grove has opposed providing financial assistance to poor families struggling to afford diapers for infant children.

Grove is a staunch critic of California's high-speed passenger rail (bullet train) 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 (PAGA) of 2004, which allows workers to sue (as private attorneys general) 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 (who say that forcing their loved ones to move would be disruptive), and by center employees (who note that state-run centers are more expensive because they offer more comprehensive services than community-based nonprofits, and that the rate of abuse in community settings is unclear because of looser reporting requirements for abuse in such settings). 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 (fracking), 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.

Personal life
Grove lives in Bakersfield with her husband, Rick; they have five grown children. Grove is a member of an Assemblies of God congregation.