DRIVING THE DAY: The fight over LGBTQ+ issues in schools is coming to Sacramento. Conservative board members from districts in Temecula and Chino Valley are leading a rally at the Capitol today to oppose a bill by Assemblymember Corey Jackson that would require districts to accurately represent “culture and racial diversity” in instructional materials and raise the bar for banning books. The rally comes on the heels of another district, Murrieta Valley, adopting a policy requiring schools to out transgender students to their parents. More on that below. THE BUZZ — Put away your luggage and start stretching — the last weeks of session are sure to be a sprint. With summer recess over, Sacramento is once again swarming with lawmakers and Capitol staffers, eager to close out a year that brought big changes to the Legislature. But before they leave for good, legislators will have to tie up loose ends around labor fights, make tough choices on bonds and, of course, work to appease Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s a lot to jam into four weeks, but fret not, we’re here to help. Here’s what you should be watching in the final days of California's 2023 legislative session: NEWSOM’S BABIES — The biggest of Newsom’s priorities this fall and into next year is a sweeping overhaul of the state’s voter-approved mental health law along with putting before California voters bond money for housing and treatment. That plan in the Legislature is still a work in progress, and Newsom will have to help bring it home. There’s his newly renamed right to safety U.S. constitutional amendment that must be passed by both the state Senate and Assembly, and Newsom said he anticipates hitting the road to push the measure in other state capitals. Newsom is at the center of pitched negotiations over the slew of other bonds aiming for the November ballot, with the governor’s blessing on details and their dollar amounts a key threshold for lawmakers to clear before they can put the proposals before voters. And he’ll continue to lean into education issues, visiting campuses, touting his expansion of transitional kindergarten and pushing for a bill to rein in what Democrats view as wayward boards. Mixed among business in Sacramento will be his continued surrogacy for President Joe Biden, with the second Republican debate coming to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley later in September. Oh, and Newsom might even have his own debate with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis six weeks later. Maybe! LET’S GET LABORIOUS — What will California’s Hot Labor Summer of multi-industry strikes mean for Sacramento’s triple-digit finale? Striking workers could tap unemployment insurance via a newly gutted-and-amended California Labor Federation bill. That latecomer adds to a union wish list that includes cracking down on fast food chains as a yearslong organizing battle intensifies, securing a $25 minimum wage for healthcare workers, rewriting referendum rules and restricting driverless trucks after San Francisco greenlit robotaxis. Some fights could spill beyond this session to the 2024 ballot. FOLLOWING THE LEADER — Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins is heading to the finish line, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas is just getting started. This could very well be Atkins’ last end-of-session rodeo as head of the chamber. She’s terming out in 2024 — and although the timeline isn’t clear, talks of her successor have already begun percolating. Complicating matters is her future outside of the Capitol. Atkins is still weighing her options, but she’s been fundraising through a lieutenant governor account and is considered to be a potential candidate for other statewide offices in 2026, including LG or governor. She’ll want to soak up all the time (and money) she can as the top dog in the Senate before she’s forced to dip out of the public eye for a few years. Democrats are staying tight-lipped about her replacement. But one thing is certain: The Senate doesn’t want a repeat of what happened in the Assembly. And that brings us to Rivas, who this morning starts his 44th day in the Assembly’s top job. Some in Capitol circles were unimpressed with his handling of a recent human trafficking bill that put Democrats on the defensive and forced members to take tough votes. All eyes will be on him in the coming weeks to see if he can shepherd the caucus into the fall with minimal scarring. THE NAME’S BOND — Revenue is scarce in these deficit-stricken times, and a bond bonanza has people looking to maneuver billions of dollars in borrowing proposals past financing limits, wary voters and a gatekeeping governor. Priority goes to Newsom’s behavioral health bond — the governor wants it alone on the March ballot, which will require legislative approval by the end of session. Then, there are numerous proposals for school construction, climate projects, homes and more. How many bond measures go to voters — and how much they’ll be asked to approve — should be clearer by mid-September.
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