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IN THIS ISSUE – “He’s always a composition problem. He’s disturbingly good-looking, and cartoonists hate that.”
Jack Ohman, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, on drawing Gov. Newsom
- Legislature Closes Out 2023 Session; Acts on 900+ Bills
- Is Newsom Planning “His Richard Nixon Moment”?
- Political Leaders as Captured by Pulitzer-Winning Political Cartoonist
- Southern California’s Import-Export Economy May Be Peaking
Capital News & Notes (CN&N) harvests California policy, legislative and regulatory insights from dozens of media and official sources for the past week. Please feel free to forward this unique client service.
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SEPT. 15, 2023
Legislature Closes Out 2023 Session; Acts on 900+ Bills
NY Times, CalMatters, Politico
Each year, lawmakers tend to delay decisions on the highest-profile and most contentious bills until the very end of the legislative session, which makes the final few days particularly hectic. After adjournment last night, legislators aren’t scheduled to reconvene until January. The governor now has until Oct. 14 to sign or veto bills passed by both houses. Though California has two-year legislative sessions and the current one runs through next November, Capitol insiders refer to the annual deadline for floor votes as the “end of session.”
The Senate and Assembly held lengthy floor sessions this week to make their way through nearly 1,000 bills. A piece of legislation needs approval from both chambers — and must have any amendments approved by the originating house — in order to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom, who can either sign or veto it. The Legislature can override a governor’s veto, but rarely does so.
The Senate chamber, an opulent hall with burgundy carpets, crystal chandeliers and an immense oil portrait of George Washington, was standing-room-only several times during the week, as legislative staff members and reporters packed in to watch major votes unfold.
That was the case when the Senate held the final vote on a bill expanding the mandatory minimum paid sick leave for workers in California to five days, from three. And the chamber was especially crowded when lawmakers considered legislation strengthening penalties for child sex traffickers, which caused a rift among Democrats this year because of concerns that stepped-up criminal prosecution could ensnare survivors, too.
A major compromise between labor groups and fast-food companies paved the way for workers to be paid a minimum wage of $20 an hour.
The most significant agreements are also big wins for Big Labor — and defeats for Big Business.
While one Republican senator complained that “the fourth branch of government in this Capitol building has a little bit too much power this year,” the head of the California Labor Federation said unions have worked hard over the past few years to elect new members who champion workers’ rights.
An attempt to bail out home insurance companies has failed for now.
In a rare 40-0 vote, the state Senate on Thursday night passed one of the most consequential reforms to the state’s mental health programs in decades, sending it to the governor for certain signing before voters get to weigh in next year.
State Sen. Susan Eggman’s bill overhauls the landmark Mental Health Services Act, funneling more money to pay for housing and expanding the umbrella of people who can get help. Since 2004, the MHSA has levied a tax on incomes of more than $1 million, providing funding for mental health programs. If voters pass this change in 2024, the funds will also be used for those with severe behavioral health and addiction problems.
The bill has received widespread support from Democrats and even Republicans, who praised it as a critical piece in the state’s fight against homelessness. On hand to celebrate the passage were key champions, former Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, the author of the original measure, and Newsom Chief of Staff Dana Williamson.
Along with the reform, lawmakers also sent Newsom a companion bill from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin to approve a $6.3 billion bond measure that would pay for much-needed housing for Californians with behavioral health problems.
Here are some more developments.
Hydrogen fueling stations: Lawmakers approved a bill that would set aside 15% of funds (about $106 million) from a billion-dollar climate program to help companies build hydrogen car fueling stations through 2030. The funding is three times less than what the lobbying group for hydrogen supporters was seeking, but Californians own only about 12,000 hydrogen-powered cars(compared to more than 760,000 battery electric cars). A spokesperson said Gov. Gavin Newsom supports the bill.
Watering lawns: A bill that would ban businesses, institutions, and other facilities from using potable, or drinkable, water to irrigate ornamental lawns or grasses is on its way to the governor. Authored by Democratic Assemblymember Laura Friedman of Burbank, the measure does not include residential lawns, but may lead to more businesses tearing out their lawns and installing landscapes that use less water. If Assembly Bill 1572 is signed into law, the measure would roll out in stages, starting in 2027 with government properties. Newsom’s office declined to comment, but he previously called for a similar irrigation ban through an emergency measure effective until next June.
Wildfire insurance: Months after State Farm, Allstate and Farmers announced they would limit their insurance offerings to Californians, legislators failed to reach a deal to help insurers at a time of unpredictable wildfires. Negotiators couldn’t strike a balance between loosening regulations on insurance systems and maintaining protections for homeowners. The Legislature won’t reconvene until January, so the focus now shifts to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Based on what Lara does this fall, some lawmakers said they would introduce a proposal next year. But that means the issue remains unresolved for another fire season.
And a landmark bill approved this week would require major companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. The move could have global repercussions in the fight against climate change.
NOTEWORTHY BILLS on the Governor’s Desk:
https://calmatters.org/explainers/new-california-laws/
Is Newsom Planning “His Richard Nixon Moment”?
CalMatters & Politico e-newsletters
Is Gavin Newsom looking for his Richard Nixon moment?
The governor announced Tuesday night that he will travel to China next month to build on California’s past collaborations on climate change in the country, framing the trip as an outstretched hand at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.
“Divorce is not an option,” Newsom said during an interview hosted by Politico California. “The importance, the imperative of maintaining a relationship on climate with China is about the fate and future of this planet and it’s too important. It’s another example of where California needs to lead.”
His two immediate predecessors, former Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, made their own climate-focused sojourns to China while in office, and Brown even founded a California-China Climate Institute after he termed out.
But suspicion of China has dramatically increased since then, particularly among Republicans, and relations with the United States are at an ebb.
Newsom said he does not know whether he will get an audience with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Brown did in 2017, emphasizing California’s subnational partnerships in the country. His office declined to provide additional details on the trip. The governor, who has made climate action a priority, already plans to attend Climate Week in New York City next week.
The governor also again slammed a federal judge who has blocked San Francisco from clearing homeless encampments until it makes more shelter beds available. City officials have appealed the ruling, arguing that it has prevented them from addressing public health and safety concerns, even as many people are rejecting shelter offers.
Newsom said the judge was using a “perverse interpretation” of previous court rulings to maintain the injunction on clearing encampments and announced that his administration would file an amicus brief in the case.
“I’ve had it. We’re going to intervene,” he said. “ I hope this goes to the Supreme Court. And that’s a hell of a statement for a progressive Democrat. But it’s just gone too far. People’s lives are at risk.”
He also opined on:
BARBARA LEE: Newsom revealed over the weekend that he intends to appoint an interim senator to Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat should she vacate it early. That didn’t impress Rep. Barbara Lee and other progressives, who said a Black woman should get a full appointment, not a temporary one. Asked Tuesday night what he would say to Lee, Newsom demurred, saying “It’s a hypothetical on top of a hypothetical.”
ON STRIKING WORKERS: Hot Labor Summer is dragging on, and there could soon be a high-profile bill burning a hole in Newsom’s desk. The Senate needs to give another round of approvals to Senate Bill 799, which would allow striking workers to use unemployment funds before it becomes the governor’s problem. Newsom said he was familiar with the proposal “broadly,” but brought up concerns about a deficit in the state unemployment insurance fund. “One has to be cautious about that, as you enter the conversation about expanding its utilization,” he said.
ON TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: The governor had a lot to say on this issue. First, he bemoaned the fact it’s getting more attention than actual school subjects like math and science (“Why consume ourselves with that?” he asked sarcastically.) He spoke forcefully about the need to protect transgender students (“These trans kids, they want nothing more than just to live.”) but also didn’t fault the parents that he said were “ginned up” by Republicans and conservative news outlets.
California’s Political Leaders as Captured by Pulitzer-Winning Political Cartoonist
Politico’s California Playbook
Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Jack Ohman’s take on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Gov. Gavin Newsom. | Jack Ohman, special to POLITICO
Covering California’s mercurial political figures is no easy feat — but neither is capturing them in cartoon form. The Golden State is home to so many political giants — from San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi to Bakersfield’s Kevin McCarthy — and to celebrate POLITICO’s expansion as we go even deeper in our coverage of the power dynamics across the state, we commissioned Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Jack Ohman to draw five-foot caricatures of those personalities. Ohman, a Sacramento institution in his own right, has carved a storied career, most recently with The Sacramento Bee. He drew 18 political figures for the official launch of our expansion at a party in Sacramento this weekt that featured a fireside chat between our Christopher Cadelago and Gov. Gavin Newsom. (See interview above.) Here’s a sneak peek at three of the 18 figures and Ohman’s thoughts on the process.
On capturing Pelosi: “If I can get Pelosi in her sunglasses and the red Max Mara coat, that’s a good day for me. She’s a very attractive woman, and she’s very petite and fine-boned. I tend to focus on her intense eyes and mouth.”
On sketching McCarthy: “McCarthy always looks like he’s going to sell you a tasty deli sandwich or a used car. He’s a conventionally handsome dude, with Republican hair, so I focus on his teeth and mouth. He’s rather lantern-jawed, so that’s a major element of his caricature.”
On drawing Newsom: “I was at an event the other day, and who walks into the kitchen but Gov. Newsom. I said, ‘Well! I was just drawing you!’ I enjoy drawing him, but he’s very tall and his head shape (in cartoons) is elongated, so he’s always a composition problem. I key in on his forehead, hair and jawline. He’s disturbingly good-looking, and cartoonists hate that.”
Southern California’s Import-Export Economy May Be Peaking
CalMatters commentary from Dan Walters
In retrospect, Southern California’s political and civic leaders may have erred a half-century ago in deciding that the region’s economic future would depend on developing a massive logistics industry centered on the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Countless billions of public and private dollars were committed to upgrading the ports to handle ever-larger container ships, erecting dozens of warehouses and other facilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and improving rail and highway corridors linking them to the ports.
In macro terms, it paid off.
As shipment of goods from Asia — particularly China — blossomed, the twin ports eventually claimed as much as 40% of the nation’s import traffic and logistics became, by some measures, Southern California’s largest single generator of employment. It propped up the region’s economy when another mainstay, aerospace, plummeted three decades ago after the Cold War ended.
That said, the industry may have peaked. Factors such as the enlargement of the Panama Canal, the emergence of India and other nations as suppliers of goods, congestion in the twin ports and transportation corridors, labor conflicts, and growing local opposition to the environmental impacts of logistics pose potentially existential threats.
Recently, West Coast ports finally settled a long-running conflict with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union with a new six-year contract. However, during the dispute, wildcat work stoppages had tied up traffic through the twin ports and some shippers moved their business to East Coast and Gulf ports.
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association says that the twin ports saw import volumes decline by nearly 25% in the first six months of 2023, not only due to labor unrest but a sharp downturn in the Chinese economy.
Gene Seroka, the Port of Los Angeles executive director, told the Wall Street Journal that retrieving the business “will be an uphill climb. Our job now is to be absolutely relentless in going after every pound of freight possible.”
The machinery of logistics — ships to trucks to locomotives — produces tons of particulate emissions. They and the warehouses they serve also create traffic congestion and noise and over time the physical presence of logistics breeds resentment that, in turn, morphs into political and legal action.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has steadily ramped up pressure on the industry to reduce polluting emissions by electrifying trucks and other equipment. The demands impose costs that, industry leaders say, make the region less competitive with alternatives, particularly East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports.
The SCAQMD is now on the verge of issuing an overall draft rule to limit pollution from the ports and last month, labor and management officials and a variety of business organizations sent letters to the mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach raising alarm about what they regard as a potentially fatal blow to the ports’ long-term viability.
“The initial SCAQMD staff proposal essentially establishes volume caps on port activities, which will restrict the delivery of critical imported goods including essential construction, manufacturing, and automobile components, as well as medical supplies and halt the export of California’s manufactured goods and agricultural products to foreign markets,” the coalition told the mayors.
In August, as details of the proposed rule leaked out, the state Assembly’s Select Committee on Ports and Goods Movement staged a hearing in which legislators decried the potential economic impact.
Southern California may have made a mistake when it put so many of its economic eggs in the logistics basket but it is now a test case whether California can manage the potentially immense economic fallout from converting itself into a net-zero emission society, as Gov. Gavin Newsom and other political figures pledge to do.