Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

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By LARA KORTE, JEREMY B. WHITE and JUHI DOSHI 

Presented by California Environmental Voters

THE BUZZ: We’re getting down to the nitty gritty, folks.

Leaders in the Senate and Assembly this week unveiled their draft budget, laying out plans to send nearly $10 billion back to Californians and shore up the state’s reserves against an apparently inevitable fiscal downturn in years to come. Budget talks are far from over — now we enter into final negotiations between Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will work to reconcile the differences laid out in their respective plans to come up with a budget bill.

Legislators need to pass the budget by June 15 in order to keep getting paid, but expect trailer bills and budget bills junior to follow with more spending items. The budget plan released by legislators on Wednesday contained many of the same priorities leaders mentioned earlier this year, with some important highlights.

Here’s what's included (and left out):

They want to change the Gann Limit — The Legislature’s budget plan keeps the state $20 billion under the disco-era spending limit. But lawmakers say something needs to change if California wants to remain fiscally healthy in the coming years. The solution? A ballot measure, put to the voters, asking them to give lawmakers more flexibility in spending the state’s hundreds of billions of dollars.

Newsom has already said he’s on board with such a measure. The tricky part will be convincing voters they should change a law that requires the state to send money back to taxpayers if revenues are too high.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Friday morning. While you were sleeping, Alameda County reinstated its mask mandate in most indoor public settings. Alameda is likely the first county in the state to resume its indoor mask mandate after dropping it in February after the omicron spike. As of Tuesday the statewide positivity rate was 7.9 percent, but we’ll get updated numbers today.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up [email protected] and [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. 

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We pray that you will draw us together in a unity that serves California well." Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Merced) in floor prayer after a tense Democratic caucus debate earlier this week.  

TWEET OF THE DAY: California labor advocate Cailtin Vega @unionista27 on the departure of Meta CEO Sheryl Sandberg: “Hopefully it’s the end of the era of telling women they need to ‘lean in’ to get ahead! We have been leaning, pushing, trying our best for a long time and the patriarchy is still here. New era—time for women to stand together and fight for each other and for all workers!”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from California Environmental Voters:

Governor and Legislature: stand with our kids! Your choices in this year’s state budget can save California from a future plagued by deadly drought, wildfires, and heat waves. Invest California’s record budget surplus in climate solutions now. The governor’s $47.1 billion proposal is unprecedented but only 3% of spending over 5 years. We need at least $75 billion invested in a Climate Courage Budget. The choice is yours. Our kids’ future is at stake.

A FAILING SYSTEM — “How California shuffles its mentally ill prisoners,” by CalMatters’ Byrhonda Lyons and Jocelyn Wiener: “Three decades after California’s prisons first came under court monitoring for rampant abuse and neglect of prisoners with mental illness, the system is still failing to protect its sickest inmates. For many of these men (the vast majority of people behind bars are male) prison is not a place to heal. It is a place to disappear.”

— “SFPD, Pride parade reach compromise — some police officers marching in uniform,” by SF Chronicle’s Ryan Kost: “San Francisco police officers and Pride Parade officials have reached a compromise that will enable a small number of police to march in uniform at the June 26 event, after an earlier ban.”

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DEMS DROPPED THE BALL — “LA Democrats weren't united against Sheriff Villanueva,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Connor Sheets: “Despite anger over Villanueva’s political shift, L.A. County Democratic clubs and progressive advocacy groups, hampered by infighting and indecision, have failed to unite behind any of the candidates seeking to unseat the sheriff, according to party officials, delegates and voters.”

THE LEGEND FACTOR — “Column: John Legend is on a mission to remind us why ‘local politics matter so much’,” by the LATimes’ Erika D. Smith: “So far, he has endorsed at least 25 candidates in multiple states, including three who are running in California. He’s also come out in support of Chesa Boudin, who is struggling to fend off a well-funded recall campaign and hang onto his job as district attorney of San Francisco.”

— “Meet the young, ambitious Black man who wants Devin Nunes’ old House seat,” by the LATimes’ Priscella Vega: “Hubbard is competing in a special election runoff on June 7 to serve the remainder of Devin Nunes’ term, which ends in early January. The 33-year-old Democrat faces an uphill climb for several reasons, not least the tiny share of Black voters in a district that historically has voted Republican.”

— “Dividing issue in the race for state controller pits Californians’ hearts against their wallets,” by SF Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli: “Nevertheless, the typically low-profile controller’s race has drawn prominent candidates this year to replace termed-out Democrat Betty Yee as California’s chief fiscal officer, someone who holds the power to audit any government agency that spends state funds. The controller also sits on 78 state boards and commissions, ranging from the protection of the state’s coastline to those overseeing health care facilities.”

RENDON’S TIMELINE: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ — “A Conversation With Anthony Rendon After a Leadership Challenge,” by the New York Times’ Jill Cowan: When asked how long he wants to be speaker, Rendon said “I don’t want to comment on that. The timing’s bad. I don’t want to poke any bears.”

PERSONAL ACCOUNT — “People are attacking Chesa Boudin for diversion programs. I actually went through one,” by SF Gate’s W.E. Banks: “I’ve been reading with disappointment some of the recent attacks on diversion programs in San Francisco, and some of the blame cast on Chesa Boudin, our district attorney, for supporting these programs, which offer an alternative to conviction and incarceration. As someone who directly benefited from diversion, I know all too well how valuable these programs are.”

LATE ATTEMPT: For the third time, 4 a.m. is on Sen. Scott Wiener’s agenda. The San Francisco Democrat is trying again, along with Assembly member Matt Haney, to let some cities keep bars open to the wee hours after he was thwarted in 2018 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown (“we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem”) and in 2019 by weary Assembly colleagues. The vehicle is a to-be-amended SB 930 that started its legislative life as a housing bill.

SENTENCING STRUGGLE: An appeals court yesterday upheld elements of a prior ruling blocking Los Angeles DA George Gascón’s directives barring his deputy prosecutors — who sued to challenge the boss — from pleading prior serious and violent three strikes convictions and seeking special circumstances allegations that could result in life without parole. Gascón has modified other sentencing orders amid public pushback.

MORE TIME FOR CRIME: Democratic legislators on Thursday introduced a new bill aimed at upping the punishment for people who try to commit violent felonies at churches and schools in the wake of a string of attacks in California and across the country. Senate Bill 699 would create two enhancements for specific felonies attempted or committed at schools and churches: an extra two to four years for felonies including manslaughter, mayhem, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking and rape, and an extra 10 years for the commission or attempted commission of murder.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Susan Eggman (D-Stockton), Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine), Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua (D-Stockton) and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach).

FORMULA SHORTAGE: The California Department of Public Health’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is expanding its list of baby formula brands covered by WIC benefits from five to 130, the department announced Thursday.

A message from California Environmental Voters:

NO MORE KOREAN BBQ? — “The end of Korean BBQ in L.A.? What the gas stove ban means for your fave restaurants,” by the LATimes’ Jenn Harris: “All that may change by 2023 — at least in new Los Angeles buildings. The L.A. City Council last week passed a motion that would ban most gas appliances in new residential and commercial construction in the city, citing an effort to combat climate change.”

THAT’S GOTTA STING —  “Bees are legally fish in California, court rules. Here’s why and what led to it,” by Sacramento Bee’s Noor Adatia: “Bees are now legally considered fish in California under the state’s endangered species law, an appeals court in Sacramento ruled Tuesday.”

SECRETARY FUDGE IN LA — “HUD secretary joins Karen Bass in LA to see homelessness crisis, housing,” by Spectrum News 1: “U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge visited Los Angeles Thursday at the request of Rep. Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, to get a firsthand look at the city's homelessness crisis and how federal dollars are being used to address it.”

— “Is San Francisco Mayor London Breed's transgender homeless plan constitutional,” by SF Gate’s Alec Regimbal: “Because Breed's plan would prioritize transgender individuals, and because the state courts just struck down a law that requires companies to appoint women to their boards of directors, one may wonder whether the proposal violates the Equal Protection clauses in the U.S. and California constitutions.”

— “How Kamala Harris took down Corinthian Colleges as California’s attorney general, in her words,” by Sac Bee’s Gillian Brassil: “Vice President Kamala Harris’ decade-long “journey for justice” on behalf of Corinthian Colleges students will soon come to a close as the Biden administration promises to relieve borrowers of their remaining federal student loans.”

PELOSI VOWS ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN — by POLITICO’s Jordan Carney: Speaker Nancy Pelosi is vowing that Democrats will dig into an assault weapons ban, but she’s facing a numbers crunch as she weighs whether to give it a floor vote.

iTAXI — “California regulators approve state’s 1st robotic taxi fleet,” by the AP’s Michael Liedtke: “California regulators on Thursday gave a robotic taxi service the green light to begin charging passengers for driverless rides in San Francisco, a first in a state where dozens of companies have been trying to train vehicles to steer themselves on increasingly congested roads.”

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AMBER WANTS TO APPEAL — “As Amber Heard plans appeal, her lawyer says she can’t pay Johnny Depp $10.4 million,” by the LATimes’ Christi Carras: “Amber Heard will “absolutely” appeal the verdict reached this week in her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp, her attorney announced Thursday morning.”

METH USE — “California jail deputy suspected of meth use while on duty,” by the AP. 

— “California man allegedly groped women on cross-country flight,” by FOX News’ Paul Best.

— “The Revolt Against Homelessness,” by the Atlantic’s Olga Khazan.

SANDBERG’S DEPARTURE — “What Sheryl Sandberg’s ‘Lean In’ Has Meant to Women,” by the New York Times’ Emma Goldberg.

— “Black Alumni Criticize Cal Poly’s Use Of Their Images On Banners,” by Mustang News’ Omar Rashad.

Steve Leder ... Jason Moss … Eric Schmeltzer

A message from California Environmental Voters:

Governor and Legislature: do you stand with our kids? 

Your choices in this year’s state budget can either save California or doom it to a future plagued by deadly drought, wildfires, and heat waves. Investing California’s record budget surplus in clean energy and transportation, water, and other vital infrastructure now will provide a lifeline.

Climate change will soon bring our home state to a point of no return. We can’t overcome this massive threat to our health, lives, and livelihoods without bold leadership and a massive investment. The governor’s $47.1 billion climate proposal is unprecedented but only 3% of spending over 5 years.

Think bigger and pass a Climate Courage Budget that invests at least $75 billion over five years. The choice is yours but it’s our kids’ future at stake. Learn more here.

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CORRECTION: A previous version of this newsletter incorrectly stated how close the Legislature's budget is to the Gann Limit.