Why liberal lawmakers are fuming in California
DRIVING THE DAY: After 146 days on strike, screenwriters reached a tentative deal with entertainment studios late Sunday, POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports.
Read more on the details of the agreement and why it’s a boon for the governor and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
THE BUZZ — Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled out his veto pen over the weekend — and angered some of his allies in doing so.
The governor on Friday released his first round of bill signings and vetoes, killing three pieces of legislation that were major priorities for progressive groups. They included a bill that would have imposed new considerations related to transgender minors during custody disputes, and one requiring human safety drivers in autonomous trucks. He also angered fellow Democrats by rejecting legislation that would restrict the sharing of information with federal immigration officials.
News of the Friday night vetoes prompted backlash from activists and labor groups expressing outrage and disappointment with the Democratic governor.
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry’s bill to require safety drivers on autonomous trucks was heavily backed by the Teamsters and received widespread support from lawmakers. It passed the Legislature with more than two-thirds approval in each house.
Newsom in his veto message called the bill unnecessary and said the regulation of autonomous vehicles should be left to the DMV.
“The veto of this bi-partisan, common sense bill is shocking,” California Labor Federation head Lorena Gonzalez said in a statement. “We will not sit by as bureaucrats side with tech companies.”
Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo was similarly disappointed to see the governor veto her Assembly Bill 1306, which would have restricted cooperation between the California Department of Corrections and federal immigration authorities.
Perhaps most notable was Newsom’s veto of Assembly Bill 957 by Lori Wilson, which would have asked judges, in custody cases, to consider a parent’s affirmation of gender identity when determining the best interests of a child.
Newsom in his veto message said he shares “a deep commitment to advancing the rights of transgender Californians,” but took issue with approving such a singular and prescriptive mandate on the judicial branch.
We could’ve predicted this more than a week ago — when Newsom, in his interview with POLITICO’s Christopher Cadelago, seemed to dance around both sides of the transgender youth issue, which has mobilized groups of conservative parents and roiled school boards across the state.
“I think these culture wars have gone too far,” he said. “At the same time, I don’t criticize those poor parents out there that have been ginned up.”
As we reported last week, the Newsom administration played a role in an effort to delay a bill by the LGBTQ caucus that would have specifically addressed the treatment of transgender kids in schools. His decision Friday to veto Wilson’s bill angered some members of the caucus, with state Sen. Scott Wiener calling it a “tragedy.”
Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who has pushed for state and local rules that would force schools to tell parents whose children identify as transgender, called the veto “fantastic news” and “the right call.”
The governor did come back on Saturday with what one could interpret as an olive branch — signing a package of bills aimed at strengthening protections for LGBTQ Californians, including minors.
The fireworks are far from over — there are still hundreds of bills on Newsom’s desk.
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SPOTTED — DEFYING GRAVITY: San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin rappelled off the side of the Westin St. Francis hotel in Union Square on Saturday. The stunt was part of an event to raise awareness for the Aneurysm and AVM Foundation.
It wasn’t Peskin’s only recent adrenaline junkie moment. The supervisor, a potential contender for mayor, went for a sunrise swim with Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson in the frigid waters of The Bay on Friday. Turns out Peskin says he’s been making the polar plunge regularly for 31 years. After drying off, he headed to North Beach for his weekly coffee huddle with former Mayor Willie Brown and longtime SF journalist Phil Matier, followed by a coffee chat with Playbook.
GOP TUG OF WAR — As presidential candidates and delegates prepare to converge upon Southern California this week, the California Republican Party is fighting over how it wants to define itself.
A handful of party leaders on Friday sent an email to delegates pushing back against a proposal from the party’s platform drafting committee to strike opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage from the party’s guiding document.
The committee’s proposal would cut out major chunks of the existing platform, winnowing it down from 14 pages to 4.
The group of opponents, led by California RNC National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, calls the draft platform a “watered-down, fuzzy knock-off” of party principles, and implores delegates to vote to keep the platform “as is” at the convention later this week.
“Bud Light, Target, and the Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts learned hard lessons when they embraced leftist extremism and forgot their base,” the email read. “California Republicans cannot afford to make the mistake of capitulating to the woke left instead of standing firm on our traditional values and core principles.”
Co-signers included Board of Equalization Member Ted Gaines; Orange County GOP Chair Fred Whitaker; San Diego County GOP Chair Paula Whitsell; Sonoma County GOP Chair Matt Heath; former state Sen. Mike Morrell; and former San Diego GOP Chair Tony Krvaric.
The shortened draft platform has been a major source of consternation for the party as it gears up for a consequential election year — which could determine the fate of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Delegates will get a chance to weigh in on proposed changes during the convention in Anaheim, which starts Friday and runs through Sunday.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — GUN SAFETY GROUPS LEAN IN: Gun safety advocates are turning up the pressure on Newsom amid concerns he might veto legislation to tax sales of guns and ammunition.
More than 100 organizations from across the country — including gun violence prevention and progressive-leaning groups — signed a letter to Newsom imploring him to sign Assembly Bill 28. The measure, by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, would be the first statewide tax on firearms and ammunition in the nation. The proceeds would fund school safety and violence prevention programs.
The letter appeals to Newsom’s aspiration to be a national leader on gun-safety measures: “AB 28 is a transformative measure that will cement your administration’s legacy as a national champion on this issue.”
Gun violence activists and Democratic lawmakers have been dramatically increasing the pressure on Newsom to sign AB 28, including by holding a rally on the steps of the Capitol last week. It’s an unusual dynamic considering California is a deep-blue state where it’s typically a foregone conclusion that Newsom will sign progressive gun-safety measures.
In Monday’s letter, which Playbook obtained, the groups directly called out Newsom over concerns he might veto the bill because he has said he opposes new taxes. They wrote, “We understand and appreciate your resistance to unnecessary or wasteful taxes. We also know that you are a fierce champion when a tax is justified and the right thing to do.”
Newsom’s office has, so far, declined to comment on his plans.
SUFFOCATING — In California, an incurable lung disease known as silicosis has begun to debilitate young workers, largely Latino immigrants who cut and polish slabs of engineered stone, the Los Angeles Times’ Emily Alpert Reyes and Cindy Carcamo write. Their story follows Leobardo Segura Meza, a 27-year-old father who spent a decade inhaling the toxic dust on the job and is now working to warn others. (Los Angeles Times)
LONG DRAG — Newsom was out in front on California’s effort to legalize marijuana back in 2016, but seems to be slow-rolling support for another drug movement, opined the San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garofoli this weekend. Wiener’s bill to decriminalize magic mushrooms sits on the governor’s desk, but he seems lukewarm about backing it. “And the reasons may have less to do with policy than with the optics of blessing another drug during the nation’s continuing war against fentanyl,” Garofoli writes. (San Francisco Chronicle)
TRANSITIONS — Tom Pino, a veteran campaign consultant, will today announce the launch of Polaris, a television and digital paid media buying firm. He previously did work for presidential campaigns Hillary for America and Amy (Klobuchar) for America.
Adriana Rivera is now military legislative aide for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). She previously was legislative assistant for Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).
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