Deals to watch as CA lawmakers make final sprint

State lawmakers are returning to Sacramento today for the final month of session, which ends on Aug. 31. In the next few weeks, Democratic legislative leaders will attempt to hammer out deals between themselves, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other stakeholders on bills related to climate policy, speeding up urban development, wildfires and more, write CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Maya C. Miller.

Major deals we’re keeping tabs on include:

• Climate funding: By the June state budget deadline, legislators and Newsom failed to agree on how to spend the state’s main climate fund. The parties last year reauthorized the state’s carbon market, which finances climate programs by charging companies that pollute. But that money, which was estimated to generate $4 billion a year, could shrink by half under new rules the Newsom administration adopted this year — putting money for various legislative priorities at risk.

• California Forever: The real estate development group, backed by tech billionaires, wants to turn large parts of Solano County farmland into a new Bay Area city. It is seeking a carveout on environmental rules to speed up this project, but no legislation materialized to help it do so. After a shipyard company chose Texas instead of California Forever’s site for its newest location, the group — which Newsom appears to support — is growing impatient with lawmakers.

• Utilities’ liability: Newsom’s latest proposal to address wildfire risks has consumer advocates, wildfire survivors and insurance companies accusing the governor of trying to reduce utilities’ liability for wildfires they cause. They all allege that the legislative proposal, which doesn’t have a lot of details because there is no bill language yet, would limit compensation for fire victims and eliminate insurers’ right to recover wildfire costs from utilities. Meanwhile, lawmakers have remained mum on the governor’s proposal.

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Proposition 38 on the November ballot would provide $8.4 billion for immunology research that could help find cures for heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s. But upon closer analysis, the measure appears to be written in a way that enables only one institute in California to receive half the money, reports CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn.

As written, the bond proposal would mete over $4 billion to select nonprofit and public university researchers who apply for competitive grants. But the other $4 billion would be allocated to one unnamed institute that must meet very specific criteria, including being founded before 2025, meeting a minimum square footage requirement and being affiliated with a University of California campus with a medical center that serves a minimum number of patients that currently only UCLA meets.

These criteria seem to leave only the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy eligible for the bond money. The nonprofit institute was co-founded by billionaire Gary Michelson, who has donated more than $100 million to the institute and is also one of the top wealthy backers of Prop. 38. Michelson and a nonprofit that he founded has donated at least $8.2 million to the Yes on Proposition 38 campaign, while Meyer Luskin, another institute co-founder, donated at least $5 million.

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Proponents of a bill that would limit California law enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers say the proposal would protect people’s privacy from police overreach. But police agencies and officers’ unions argue that the bill would impede their ability to fight crime, writes CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow.

Thousands of cameras from at least 230 police and sheriffs’ departments are posted along roadways or installed on patrol cars. The bill would cap the time agencies can keep license plate data to 30 days, with some exceptions, and also limit who can access the data. 

The bill would also prohibit law enforcement departments from entering into contracts with camera companies that give federal and out-of-state police default access to plate databases.

But in defense of the plate readers, police agencies say the technology has helped solve murders, recover stolen vehicles and investigate serious crimes including robberies, kidnappings, retail thefts and DUIs. 

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By some estimates California’s uninsured rate is expected to double in the next four years to 15% as a combination of federal and state healthcare cuts take hold. We’re launching a special project and documentary Tuesday to explore what that trend means both for people who will lose insurance and for Californians who may find less access to care even if they’re covered.