Prop 47 talks collapse

Presented by Californians for Energy Independence: Inside the Golden State political arena

Jun 25, 2024 View in browser   By Dustin Gardiner, Emily Schultheis and Lara Korte Presented by Californians for Energy Independence California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas speaks at a press conference on a legislative package to crack down on retail theft on Monday, June 10, 2024 | AP THE BUZZ: NO DEAL AFTER ALL — A months-long Democratic push to remove a tough-on-crime measure from the November ballot appears to be dead in the water. Negotiations between Gov. Gavin Newsom, legislative leaders and proponents effectively broke down last week, around the time that the governor’s chief of staff, Dana Williamson, clashed with the proponents in a leaked email chain. Now, just before Thursday’s deadline to pull initiatives from the November ballot and with no compromise legislation in print, both sides are instead preparing for a bruising fight — with Newsom and Democratic leaders considering whether to float a competing measure. “It’s the 11th hour, we’ve seen nothing in writing from leadership or the administration, and we’ve got a qualified ballot measure with over 900,000 signatures,” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig, one of the proponents of the ballot measure, told Playbook. “We’re moving forward.” The DA-backed ballot measure would impose harsher punishments on repeat criminal offenders and increase penalties for fentanyl trafficking. Democrats, meanwhile, have spent the spring working on a package of retail theft and public safety bills they argue addresses the issue more comprehensively — and more recently have considered going to the ballot as well. Proponents of the original crime measure say the competing ballot initiative under discussion would be pure political gamesmanship designed to confuse voters. “They've been trying to kill this thing from day one,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told Playbook. “For the governor and Democrats, they’re really scared about how this is going to play out in November.” But Democrats at the Capitol — including staffers and lawmakers who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations — said the Newsom-led ballot measure would likely be focused on retail theft and, unlike the anti-Prop 47 initiative backed by district attorneys and retailers, would not increase jail or prison time for drug possession. Natasha Minsker, a policy adviser for Smart Justice California, a progressive group, hasn’t seen details of the new measure. She said, however, that the type of proposal Democrats are considering is more in line with the electorate in deep-blue California. “People are completely missing that the DA ballot initiative is much more about drugs than it is about theft,” Minsker said. “The (district attorneys) are out of touch with the average Californian.” Newsom's office has declined to discuss the status of the new proposal. That leaves organizations that supported the original ballot measure but were open to a deal in wait-and-see mode — frustrated that the negotiations stalled in the first place. “There are certain actors in this whole game that just want to put their feet down and draw a line in the sand and weren’t willing to come to the table,” said Rachel Michelin, head of the California Retailers Association. “I think it’s unfortunate, because I think we could have worked collaboratively and gotten some really good policies into place.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at ‪916-562-0685‬‪ — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Giving his State of the State address virtually at 10 a.m. Catch it on his social media channels. A message from Californians for Energy Independence: As California transitions to a lower carbon energy economy, we should continue to produce the oil and gas we still need in-state, where it meets world-class environmental standards and our communities can benefit from the revenues. But instead, California energy policies are shutting down in-state oil production faster than we can build adequate replacement energy - increasing our dependence on more costly imported oil. Get the facts on California energy policies   STATE CAPITOL Certified registered nurse anesthetist Lisa Taft enters a room at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California | Mario Tama/Getty Images ACRIMONY OVER ANESTHESIA — A long-simmering battle in a small sector of the health care industry is bubbling up again. This time, in the Central Valley. Republican Central Valley Assemblymembers Heath Flora and Juan Alanis, along with Democratic state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly last week, alleging that a California Department of Public Health survey team — led by a Loomis-based anesthesiologist — has been targeting nurse anesthetists in Stanislaus County for the last six months, insisting they can’t administer anesthesia without physician supervision. According to lawmakers, nearly 1,000 procedures have been canceled, delayed or relocated to other facilities as a result of a CDPH inspector that claimed the nurse anesthetists were acting outside of their authority. In a rural area like Stanislaus County, they say, that’s caused major disruptions to health care. Details of the inspections in question weren’t available on the CDPH’s enforcement page. A spokesperson for the California Health and Human Services Agency said it is reviewing the information relayed in the letter and takes the claims “very seriously.” The incident has enlivened a years-old feud. Under California law, nurse anesthetists are able to perform some of the same services as anesthesiologists without physician supervision, but the two groups have long butted heads about where and how they can provide pain and anesthesia care to patients. The California Association of Nurse Anesthesiology blasted the CDPH investigations for “spreading misinformation to discredit” nurse anesthetists. The California Society of Anesthesiologists, on the other hand, is using the incident to further their political cause — saying CDPH’s findings bolster their argument that nurse anesthetists need physician supervision. Last week, the anesthesiologist group sent out a “patient safety alert” to the Capitol community, saying the enforcement actions from the state provided a “clear warning sign” against using nurses to provide anesthesia as California struggles to fill a shortage of doctors. “Compromising patient safety is not acceptable,” the alert said. Alison MacLeod, a spokesperson for the anesthesiologist group, told Playbook they don’t know the specifics of the investigations and had nothing to do with triggering them — but that they do raise concerns about the level of safety in nurse-led anesthesia care.   Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more.     ON THE AGENDA STATE OF THE STATE — Newsom will deliver his long, long-awaited State of the State speech today. Rather than visit the Capitol in person, the governor will transmit his speech in writing and deliver pre-recorded remarks for California residents. The governor, who’s famously not a fan of teleprompter speeches, is unlikely to make any major policy announcements. He’s expected to address the state’s efforts around homelessness, crime and mental-health reform. In lieu of the State of the State pageantry, Newsom held a private reception for lawmakers at the governor’s mansion on H Street last night (the official residence, where Newsom doesn’t actually live; more on that below). IN THE SENATE — The Natural Resources Committee will take up David Alvarez’s bill that would make it easier for developers to build density-bonus projects in the Coastal Zone. The powerful Coastal Commission opposes the bill, and housing advocates worry it could get nixed today. The Judiciary Committee is voting on a number of high-profile AI bills this morning, including Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s bill on training artificial intelligence models and Josh Lowenthal’s bill that would hold social media companies liable for damage to minors. In the afternoon, Senate Judiciary will also hear Buffy Wicks’ newly-revived bill requiring internet giants like Google to bolster California newsrooms if they want to use their content. IN THE ASSEMBLY — The Health Committee will take up Josh Becker and Brian Jones’ bill that would allow first responders and veterans to use therapeutic magic mushrooms in a few counties.   A message from Californians for Energy Independence:   CLIMATE AND ENERGY DIRECT AIR CAPTURE DREAMS — Former President Donald Trump may want to overturn President Joe Biden’s signature climate laws, but one climate technology has the potential to throw up a roadblock. Read more about Republicans' deepening love affair with DAC in last night's California Climate. Top Talkers — Gov. Newsom and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom are moving their family back to Marin County and enrolling their children in schools there. As our colleague Christopher Cadelago scooped, the family will stay with relatives in Marin and hold onto their mansion in the eastern Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks, where the couple will spend some nights. (POLITICO) — Attorney Tony Brass decided he would no longer represent Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao after a defiant news conference Thao held Monday about the FBI raid of her home last week. "When I heard the content of the press conference," he said, "it became clear to me that the mayor and I had very different approaches or different philosophies about how to proceed, which is fine. She is the client." (KPIX) — A powerful San Francisco political group told its supporters Monday to back Mark Farrell or Daniel Lurie for mayor over incumbent London Breed. (San Francisco Standard) AROUND THE STATE — With housing costs soaring and career prospects sinking, some film and TV workers are fleeing Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times) — A California CVS denied a patient her prescribed abortion pill. She’s fighting back. (CalMatters) — Doctors at UCSF are split on how to handle the war in Gaza as medical professionals. (The New York Times) A message from Californians for Energy Independence: California faces growing inflation, a rising cost of living, and has some of the highest gas prices in the country. Now, California energy policies could make matters worse. That’s because California is shutting down in-state oil and gas production before we have adequate replacement energy. That forces our state to spend $25 billion a year importing more costly oil to meet our needs - sending billions that could be supporting California’s economy out of state instead. These energy policies threaten California’s access to reliable energy, while increasing our gas prices. As California transitions to a lower carbon energy economy, we should continue to produce the oil and gas we still need in-state, where it meets world-class environmental standards and our communities can benefit from the revenues - rather than increase our dependence on more costly imported oil. Get the facts on California energy policies   PLAYBOOKERS BIRTHDAYS — Laurent Crenshaw … POLITICO’s Emma Anderson … BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Monday): Sam S. Gill … SPOTTED last night at the farewell party for Health Access' Anthony Wright at the Kimpton-Sawyer in downtown Sacramento — Assemblymember Jim Wood... Director of the Department of Healthcare Access and Information Elizabeth Landsberg... Executive Director of SEIU California Tia Orr... Mike Roth of Pascal Roth Public Affairs... Executive Director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association Michelle Doty Cabrera... Executive Director of Covered California Jessica Altman... Executive Director of the Budget and Policy Center Chris Hoene... Monika Lee, chief of staff for Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes... Mary Watanabe, director of the California Department of Managed Health Care.   WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form. Disclaimer: All information will be verified. 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 Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com.   Follow us on Twitter Dustin Gardiner @dustingardiner Lara Korte @lara_korte   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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