California Legislature kills bills, lots of bills

With 830 bills in the dreaded Senate and Assembly suspense files, legislators were busy Thursday killing about a third of them, write CalMatters Capitol reporters Sameea Kamal and Jeanne Kuang.

Bills that got the ax included a handful of high-profile crime measures:

• Sexual violence: A bill by Senate GOP leader Brian Jones of San Diego would have ensured that public safety is a priority for the State Department of State Hospitals when considering the conditional release of sexually violent predators. After it was nixed, Jones said that Assembly Democratic leaders are “now complicit in helping the Newsom Administration protect these predators over families.” 

• Fentanyl and threats: Two bills by former-Democratic-now-Republican Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Modesto would have classified two crimes as felonies: Carrying a loaded firearm while in possession of fentanyl and making general threats against a school or a place of worship.

After the appropriations committees finished, more than 500 bills are still alive. But these measures still must get final legislative approval by Aug. 31 to head to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. Among the proposals that did survive:

• Reparations: Three bills, including Senate Bill 1403 to create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency, which would supervise state reparations programs.

• Octopus farming: Bans commercial octopus farming and the sale of the farmed creature. Animal rights activists say the practice is inhumane, even though it hasn’t started yet in California, reports CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson. Read more about the bill in Jenna’s story.

• Youth treatment: Expands reporting requirements for state-run facilities that treat young adults over the use of restraints and “seclusion rooms.” In response to its passage out of the appropriations committee, media personality Paris Hilton, a proponent of the bill, says it is critical “to hold these facilities accountable and increase transparency.”

Learn more about the suspense file hearings in Sameea and Jeanne’s story.

A couple of bills were also pulled by legislators before the hearings even began:

• Ethnic studies: A bill to expand disclosure requirements for school districts when implementing ethnic studies courses was held by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus and the Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California. The organizations said the bill was narrowed so much that it couldn’t ensure antisemitic and anti-Israel content would not appear in ethnic studies curricula. The groups plan on introducing “something stronger next year.”

• Metal shredding: Establishes more streamlined regulations by the Department of Toxic Substances Control for metal shredding facilities, which are critical for recycling the material. Democratic Sen. Ben Allen of El Segundo shelved his bill because it “would benefit from more time to hear more from all interested parties.”

CalMatters covers the Capitol: We have guides and stories to keep track of bills and your lawmakers; find out how well legislators are representing you; explore the Legislature’s record diversity; and to make your voice heard.

With gas prices in some parts of California reaching $5.94 per gallon as of Thursday — $2.50 more than the national average — Gov. Newsom is targeting Big Oil again in a new proposal that companies are calling a “political attack on consumers and our industry.”

Newsom is directing the California Energy Commission to require companies to keep a minimum stock of fuel inventory after a watchdog division found that as supplies drop when refineries shut down for maintenance, prices and company profits increase.

• Newsom, in a statement: “Price spikes at the pump are profit spikes for Big Oil. Refiners should be required to plan ahead … instead of playing games to earn even more profits.”

The commission could impose fines for companies that do not draft resupply plans or maintain enough fuel inventory. The governor estimates that if this rule had been in place last year, Californians would have saved at least $650 million at the pump.

But Catherine Reheis-Boyd, the president and chief executive officers of the Western States Petroleum Association, says Newsom’s plan shows “an utter lack of understanding about our industry” and that to impose new operational rules based on “such falsehoods is regulatory malpractice.”

The proposal also won’t make pump prices go down any time soon, since it will need to be negotiated with the Legislature first. The energy commission will then embark on a formal rulemaking process involving public feedback to iron out the details. This can take several months, though a commission spokesperson said it is “committed to working as quickly as possible to put the rules in place to help protect consumers from price spikes.”

Speaking of oil companies: A 2022 law on where oil and gas wells can go has not been implemented yet. And it may be delayed as long as four more years due to a last-minute bill, writes CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart.

The law bans new oil drilling within 3,200 feet of residential areas, and requires safety measures at existing wells, including leak detection. After it passed, oil companies poured millions into a ballot measure to overturn it, essentially blocking the law during that period. The industry withdrew the measure in June, but due to cost, the trailer bill could still delay oil industry deadlines to comply with some regulations for 12 to 54 months.

Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach Democrat and author of the original law, said the new proposal was very frustrating: “There has been so much work put into this. We owe it to these communities to stick to our word.”

Learn more about this issue in Julie’s story.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff’s support has solidified over Republican Steve Garvey in California’s U.S. Senate race as the Democratic majority takes hold.

That’s according to a new poll out Thursday from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times. Schiff leads 53% to 33% among likely voters, compared to 53% to 38% before the March primary, which also included two other high-profile Democrats.

There’s a deep partisan divide: Schiff leads 84% to 5% among Democrats, while Garvey leads 88% to 3% among the fewer number of Republicans. Reminder: Of the 22.1 million registered voters, 46% are Democrats, 25% are Republicans and 22% are listed as “no party preference.”

Looking back to 2020: California wasn’t immune from election denial. But on Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the November 2020 results and seeking to declare the state’s vote-by-mail system to be unconstitutional. The Election Integrity Project unsuccessfully claimed that some voters were harmed because some invalid mail ballots were counted. 

• The ruling: “A vote dilution claim requires a showing of disproportionate voting power for some voters over others, and plaintiffs have not made — and could not make—that showing based on the facts alleged.” 

Looking ahead to November: Keep up with CalMatters coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out our Voter Guide, including updates and videos on the 10 propositions and a FAQ on how to vote. And read up on the history of ballot measures in California.

Who’s to blame for wildfires in California? CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart and producer Robert Meeks have a video segment on Julie’s story on how human negligence contributes to these disasters as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

And check out our coverage on medical “ghost networks” by CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow. These outdated lists of health providers pose a significant challenge for mental health patients. Watch the video here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.