What to expect when you’re expecting a budget deal

Inside the Golden State political arena

Mar 21, 2024 View in browser   By Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner DRIVING THE DAY — Proposition 1 proponents are breathing a massive sigh of relief after the $6.4 billion mental health and housing bond officially passed last night after nearly 15 days of uncertainty. Read more about it from Rachel Bluth. California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Sacramento on Jan. 10, 2024. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP THE BUZZ: LOADING, PLEASE WAIT — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to move fast to close the budget deficit, but his colleagues in the Assembly aren’t feeling the same sense of haste. The governor and legislative leaders announced Wednesday they had come to an agreement to close the budget deficit by $12 billion to $18 billion — a declaration that was notably void of any details about how exactly they would do that. We already have a proposal from Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, which Newsom supports. But Speaker Robert Rivas indicated Wednesday that the Assembly — which has yet to release its own proposal, or endorse the Senate’s — is taking a more deliberative route when it comes to the budget. Rivas has vowed to build consensus whenever possible, and has opened the budget process up to more members — an approach that doesn’t exactly lend itself to speed. The agreement announced Wednesday was a deal in the loosest sense of the word, but it underscores the pressure on the governor and lawmakers to show that they’re tackling the problem — especially as the Legislature departs for spring recess today. February revenues came in higher than expected, according to the Department of Finance, but the yearly total is about $5.6 billion below Newsom’s January estimate. The governor clearly wants to get this done expeditiously — and before his May deadline to present a revised budget plan, which will include an updated deficit figure. He made rare public visits to the Legislature earlier this week, spending time in the offices of both Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire to go over budget details. Aside from approving an increase in the Managed Care Organization tax, which will need to be done before the end of the month, however, there’s no urgent policy reason to close the deficit months before the June budget deadline. Rivas said he hopes to hold a vote on a preliminary package after the Legislature returns on April 1. In a statement Wednesday, he stressed the importance of the legislative process, pointing to the number of budget hearings on the April calendar. “The Assembly’s budget work continues, including more than two dozen budget and oversight hearings scheduled next month,” he said. “There are tough choices on the horizon, which is why our process is so critical.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? In Los Angeles County touring a behavioral health treatment center this morning.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     STATE CAPITOL California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (center) talks with Assemblymembers Esmeralda Soria (left) and Blanca Pacheco (right) at the Capitol in Sacramento on Sept.12, 2023. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: UNPAID CAMPAIGNING — Rivas is pledging a halt to one of the Capitol’s least-loved traditions: “Voluntolding,” in which staff are encouraged to spend their off hours helping for free on targeted legislative races, multiple lawmakers confirmed. Defending and flipping battleground Assembly seats is a collective effort overseen by the speaker’s office. Safe members channel their unneeded funds to vulnerable candidates, and that money is supplemented by get-out-the-vote efforts. It’s not technically required, but staffers have generally perceived the uncompensated labor as a borderline-compulsory expectation if they want to have successful careers. Rivas wants to change that. According to a person familiar with his thinking, Rivas wants staffers to get paid by the party for time spent helping out on targeted campaigns — a significant shift in how leadership marshals its election-year troops. — Jeremy B. White FOR GOOD MEASURE FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: SIGNATURES INCOMING — Organizers are amassing support behind a ballot initiative that would effectively forbid AIDS Healthcare Foundation founder Michael Weinstein from using the organization’s coffers to advance his political agenda through the ballot. Nine patient groups are expected to unveil their support for the measure — named the Protect Patients Now Act — this morning, at the same time organizers announce they are submitting 900,000 signatures in an effort to qualify for the November ballot (they need a minimum of 565,415 valid signatures). The coalition of supporters includes the ALS Association, Defeating Epilepsy Foundation, AiArthritis, Support Fibromyalgia Network and Hep B Free San Francisco. They say they want to close a loophole in a decades-old federal drug discount program that allows nonprofit providers, namely Weinstein, to “misuse and waste hundreds of millions of dollars meant for patients” by pouring money into political campaigns. Weinstein’s foundation has assailed the group funding the ballot measure, the California Apartment Association, saying the organization wants to muzzle his rent-control advocacy.   In celebration of Earth Month, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, in collaboration with POLITICO, host “Climate Forward 2024: Climate at the Crossroads” on April 4, 2024 at USC. Top experts from politics, government, media, and academia will discuss climate change issues with a focus on finding practical policy and business solutions as well identifying ways to remove political obstacles to implementing those changes. Register to attend in person or virtually.     ON THE AGENDA ASSEMBLY & SENATE — Both chambers will hold 9 a.m. floor sessions. Lawmakers are expected to vote on a bill to increase the Managed Care Organization, or MCO, tax. They must vote today — before they adjourn for spring recess — in order to meet an end-of-March deadline. Lawmakers return from recess on April 1. ON THE HILL — Catch Orange County GOP Rep. Young Kim speak today at POLITICO’s panel on financial literacy.  Top Talkers — California leads the nation for having the most national parks. Now, it leads for having the most polluted ones, new reports show. (Los Angeles Times) — BART investigators derailed employee wage-theft schemes that claimed thousands of dollars in company wages. (San Francisco Chronicle) — SpaceX and Blue Origin are pulling young engineers out of NASA’s orbit with high wages, hiring booms and ambitious projects. (Orange County Register) — The FBI is probing some of Napa Valley’s fanciest wineries. (Los Angeles Times) — Skid Row could lose its cheap hotels after LA leaders say they want to replace the last-resort homeless housing. (Los Angeles Times) — with help from Ariel Gans PLAYBOOKERS MEDIA MOVES — Marina Temkin is now covering venture capital firms and startups for TechCrunch in San Francisco. She was formerly a reporter at PitchBook and the Venture Capital Journal. — Candy Duran will be news director for Telemundo Stations KCSO (Sacramento) and KNSO (Fresno) starting April 8. Duran will manage all news-gathering operations for the sister stations, per Cision Media Moves. BIRTHDAYS — Cole Zucker … Sophie Theis … (was Wednesday): state Sen. María Elena Durazo … Daniel M. Eckstein ... Matt Finkelstein SPOTTED: MARIA ELENA’S BASH — The senator celebrated her birthday Wednesday night at Brasserie Du Monde, the French-inspired cocktail bar and eatery on K Street. Durazo was toasted by a host of Capitol players and fellow lawmakers. 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 Dustin Gardiner @dustingardiner Lara Korte @lara_korte POLITICO California @politicoca   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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