| | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte, Matthew Brown and Ramon Castanos | Presented by Kaiser Permanente | THE BUZZ: How much do you pay for your apartment? California renters’ prospects have shifted dramatically in recent months. Eviction bans spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic have steadily fallen away, with Los Angeles County dropping its moratorium at the end of March. Rents had already soared in 2022 as galloping inflation allowed landlords to hike prices by 10 percent, or double the pre-inflation annual limit enshrined by a 2019 deal. After doling out billions of dollars in rental assistance in recent years, the state is confronting an enormous budget deficit. Legislation to ease the pressure has produced mixed outcomes this year. A bill capping security deposits at one month’s rent cleared the Assembly floor Monday, overcoming opposition from apartment owners to proceed to the Senate. But a major renters' bill has diminished substantially after facing similar opposition, losing provisions that would have limited rent increases and bolstered just-cause eviction safeguards. That doesn’t mean a major clash over rent increases won’t happen. It just may happen outside of the Legislature. Voters could be weighing in on rent control yet again in 2024. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has dropped nearly $8 million in the last few months on a ballot initiative to repeal a 1994 law that sharply curtailed local governments’ ability to enact rent control. Their committee has spent well over $2 million on petition-circulating so far. That means California voters could be asked to consider a statewide rent control expansion for the third time in four election cycles. The 2018 and 2020 versions failed by nearly identical margins of 19-plus points. Both set the sponsoring AIDS Healthcare Foundation against financially mighty apartment interests — a standoff that would almost certainly occur again in 2024. Housing costs continue to dominate California’s political agenda. Much of the focus in recent years has been on accelerating housing construction and compelling cities and counties to plan for more homes, reflecting the consensus that spiraling home prices and rents stem primarily from a severe housing shortfall. But renters’ advocates argue that planning and building more is not enough, and they’re continuing to press the case on multiple fronts. BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. Two dogs, a kangaroo, a sloth and an owl walk into a Sacramento office building. It’s not the setup for our new standup routine. The San Francisco SPCA and SeaWorld are diversifying the capital ecosystem today for their advocacy days, bringing some furry thrills to frazzled staffers and lawmakers alike. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.
| | | | A message from Kaiser Permanente: Some health care experiences can be fragmented and impersonal, with the responsibility on the patient to make it work. But at Kaiser Permanente, everything works together to provide care and coverage that support the unique needs of more than 12.6 million members. Our health plan, primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals, labs and pharmacies are connected to enable personalized care that delivers high-quality clinical outcomes. See all that health care can be at kp.org/allcarecanbe. | | | WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This approach will benefit the 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River Basin for agriculture, drinking water, and power and is a critical step to building a sustainable, resilient future for states, Tribes and communities throughout the West.” President Joe Biden on a major Colorado River deal. TWEET OF THE DAY:
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SenJohnLaird | WE’RE HIRING — POLITICO is embarking on an exciting expansion in the Golden State and looking for another journalist to join our growing team as a California Playbook author. More in the job description here.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | — California avoids painful cuts in Colorado River truce with Western states, by POLITICO’s Camille von Kaenel: Under the agreement announced Monday, the state where more people and farms depend on the depleted waterway than anywhere else would only make cutbacks to which it had already agreed — while still taking advantage of compensation from the federal government as outlined in the deal. — “Once-dead Tulare Lake swelling to nearly the size of Lake Tahoe,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander: “Tulare Lake was once a vast body of fresh water until it was sucked dry, mostly by agricultural interests, more than a century ago. But this March, like a handful of other extremely wet times in modern history, the dams and levees that normally contain the inflow to the lake were overwhelmed and river water from the Sierra poured into the basin, which today is mostly farmland.” — “Dodgers apologize, invite Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to Pride Night,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Steve Henson and Sonja Sharp: “The Los Angeles Sisters say they’ve accepted the apology from Dodgers leadership over the decision Wednesday to dump them from Pride Night under pressure from conservative Catholic groups. The Sisters said they will indeed be honored with the Community Hero Award they originally were to receive.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | WALKING FROM WILLIAMSON — Marianne Williamson loses top 2 campaign officials in a matter of days, by POLITICO’s Brittany Gibson: Jason Call, the campaign’s deputy manager, told POLITICO on Monday that he left Williamson’s team on Friday. That came after campaign manager Peter Daou announced last Saturday on Twitter that he was leaving the campaign “after much consideration,” about one month into the job. SCORE FOR SCOTT — “Oracle's Larry Ellison gears up to spend millions to back Tim Scott's 2024 run,” by CNBC’s Brian Schwartz: “The plans have been in motion since the 2022 midterms, when Ellison donated $30 million to a pro-Scott super PAC, Opportunity Matters Fund, according to people familiar with the Oracle executive chairman’s plans. People who declined to be named for this story did so in order to speak freely about private planning and deliberations.” — “Beverly Hills voters to decide the fate of ultra-luxury LVMH hotel project,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Julia Wick: Beverly Hills voters will decide Tuesday whether to rescind the City Council’s approval of a hotel project helmed by French multibillionaire Bernard Arnault and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, his luxury conglomerate. To some, the battle over the Beverly Hills Cheval Blanc hotel is a David and Goliath story, pitting a small group of residents concerned about overdevelopment and a union advocating for affordable housing against the world’s richest person.
| | | | A message from Kaiser Permanente:   | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — “California fire season predicted to be shorter and less intense,” by Courthouse News Service’s Natalie Hanson: “According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the state has only just begun to see a historic snowpack melt into streams and rivers, and the flows could be high for many weeks. The agency's Southern California coordination center reported in a briefing Monday that most of California has seen below normal temperatures since Oct. 1. These conditions have helped about 68 percent of the state exit drought conditions within three months — a feat that would have required two or three wet years otherwise.” — “How California public transit is pleading for state aid,” by CalMatters’ Sameea Kamal: “Transit agencies are seeking $5.15 billion in operating funds over the next five years — warning that without substantial cash, they’ll fall deep into a financial pit caused by a continued decline in ridership since the pandemic and the drying up of federal funds. Without some kind of financial infusion, Muni — San Francisco’s bus system — may have to start cutting bus lines this summer.” — “See how the Colorado River water gets used up,” by The New York Times’ Elena Shao: “The majority of the water in the Colorado River basin — more than one trillion gallons — is used to grow feed for livestock, connecting the region’s water crisis to how much dairy and meat we eat. The crops grown for humans to eat directly, like vegetables, use up less than a quarter of the amount of water that livestock feed does, according to estimates from a 2020 study published in Nature Sustainability.” — “Room rate was $249, but didn't mention $90 in fees. California bill aims to stop that,” by the East Bay Times’ John Woolfolk: “SB 478 by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would add to the state’s laws against deceptive and dishonest advertising by prohibiting sellers from luring consumers with a low headline price before revealing additional charges and fees in smaller print, or after the buyer has already begun the purchase process.”
| | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | — Biden-McCarthy meeting ends on 'better' tone — but with no deal, by POLITICO’s Sarah Ferris and Adam Cancryn: In their first meeting in six days, McCarthy and Biden spoke for more than an hour about remaining sticking points, including looming spending cuts. Now, McCarthy said both he and Biden directed their negotiators — who already met for several hours earlier Monday — to “work through the night” as they race toward a deal before U.S. borrowing power runs out in as soon as 10 days.
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — Meta just got hit with a record-setting tech penalty. Now it’s Biden’s move, by POLITICO’s Alfred Ng: The Irish Data Protection Commission found that Meta violated European data privacy regulations by transferring EU users’ data to the U.S. without a proper framework in place to protect EU citizens from American government surveillance. The agency fined Meta $1.3 billion — a record under Europe’s data privacy regulations — and ordered the company to stop transferring its data to U.S. servers. — “Silicon Valley company plans to build $4-billion computer chip research center,” by Bloomberg's Ian King via the Los Angeles Times: “The EPIC Center, on Applied Materials’ campus in Santa Clara, will be the biggest R&D facility in the semiconductor industry, the company said Monday. Applied Materials is the largest maker of chip manufacturing equipment, and the project will help the company and its customers rapidly develop new production techniques.”
| | MIXTAPE | | — “Indigenous tribes warned of a buried kingdom in Owens Valley. Now, Caltrans crews are unearthing bones,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Louis Sahagún. — “A’s announcer Glen Kuiper let go by network after racial epithet,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara. — “California wildflower scientist searches for rare species after wet winter,” by The New York Times’ Jill Cowan. — “UC Law S.F. students say complaints of racism and discrimination on campus were dismissed,” by KQED’s Sydney Johnson.
| | BIRTHDAYS | | Jeff Kujan
| | | | A message from Kaiser Permanente: Kaiser Permanente is a value-based, integrated health care system that delivers equitable, high-quality, affordable care and coverage. Our highly sought-after physicians are solely focused on our members and are empowered to provide innovative, evidence-based care that helps keep people healthy and solves some of the most difficult challenges in medicine.
The result is exceptional value for our members, patients and communities. That’s why Kaiser Permanente is annually recognized among the top hospitals, medical groups and health plans in the nation. See all that health care can be at kp.org/allcarecanbe. | | | CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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