Is California Legislature representing its constituents?

How well are state legislators representing Californians? And how do you even measure whether a lawmaker is truly carrying out the desires of constituents?

As CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal explains in the first of a series of stories, the laws outlining the official duties of California legislators are scant. Other than defending the U.S. and state constitution; abstaining from joining an organization that wants to overthrow the government; and passing the budget by June, lawmakers only have some squishy standards to judge how well they’re performing at their job. But in a system where merit isn’t necessarily the end-all-be-all, what are some benchmarks we can use?

The answer depends mostly on what you view as the role of a legislator. Should their priority be to represent the voters who elected them in the first place, or the state as a whole? Or perhaps their stance on a specific issue or their loyalty to a political party is more of a priority.

And what happens when those standards conflict with one another? 

As a representative from Kern County, where the oil industry is a major employer, Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains voted against a bill in March to penalize oil companies for “windfall profits” and suspected price gouging. The move ran afoul with the Democratic Party, and then-Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon stripped Bains of a key committee assignment (which was later reinstated).

In a statement at the time, Bains said Kern County “does not have dozens of members in the Legislature to represent our interests,” unlike larger counties. “We need to make sure Kern is at the table to make our point of view heard.”

Republican legislators, meanwhile, have a party and constituents that align with one another, but not with the supermajority Democrats. Assemblymember Joe Patterson of Granite Bay told me back in May that this dynamic was “very frustrating.” 

• Patterson: “For me, not to be able to get that fair shot to make an argument on behalf of my constituents — and that decision is made by another person who represents the same number of constituents that I do — I don’t think that’s right.”

Outside of ideology, how “successful” a legislator is perceived to be can also depend on the number of the bills they pass (though that would put Republican lawmakers at a disadvantage); what leadership positions they hold on committees; or how many constituents they directly help with state departments issues or general bureaucratic red tape. 

But when it comes to representation as a whole, perhaps one key indicator is whether the Legislature reflects the diversity of the state. Though it hasn’t reached complete parity with its electorate, it is the most diverse it has ever been. Yet some have argued that more work still needs to be done, such as elevating officials from historically underrepresented communities to leadership positions.

• Jennifer Paluch, research associate with the Public Policy Institute of California, in a post: “Diversity matters at all levels of government…. to inspire future leaders and change-makers who see themselves in the faces of their representatives, so that diverse viewpoints and ideas continue to enrich public debate and produce better-informed policies.”

To learn more about representation in the Legislature, read Sameea’s story.

Speaking of representation, an influential labor group sought to make its imprint by announcing its 2024 election endorsements Tuesday.

This week, local unions and members of the California Labor Federation gathered in Oakland to decide on the organization’s March primary picks for state Assembly, state Senate and U.S. House. It didn’t, however, pick a favorite in the U.S. Senate race, instead issuing a “triple endorsement” for Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff. 

“With 3 pro-union candidates who have all shown they’ll stand shoulder to shoulder” with labor “in our biggest fights, workers can’t lose,” the federation said. If two of the three advance to November, it’s possible one will be chosen over the other. 

With 2.1 million members in 1,200 unions an endorsement by the powerful Labor Fed is highly sought after — on the campaign trail and during the legislative session, top Democrats often courted the labor vote by touting their support for wage hikes, expanding workers’ rights and the right to unionize.

To get the endorsement, candidates must get the support of at least two-thirds of local unions present and voting.

In a key pick, the federation gave its blessing to Rusty Hicks, the state Democratic Party chairperson and former L.A. labor leader, in Assembly District 2. New Assembly labor committee chairperson Liz Ortega also got the nod.

Nearly all the other endorsements also went to Democrats. Assemblymembers Phillip Chen of Brea, Heath Flora of Ripon and Tom Lackey of Palmdale were among the few Republicans to get support. 

A Labor Fed stamp-of-approval can be consequential in terms of the number of potential voters and the ability to mobilize members efficiently as campaign volunteers. There’s also the money, of course: CalMatters data reporter Jeremia Kimelman calculated that in 2021-22 alone, the organization spent nearly $2.7 million on campaigns and $877,000 on lobbying.

The Israel-Hamas war had a direct impact on California politics again Tuesday.  

Assembly Republicans announced that immediately after the Legislature reconvenes Jan. 3 they will file a resolution condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 assault on Israel that killed some 1,200.

• Assembly GOP Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City, in a statement: “There must be moral clarity on this issue. Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization that carried out the worst atrocity against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Its members raped, killed, and mutilated women and children in accordance with their stated intent to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. As leaders and as humans, we must speak out against such evil and unequivocally condemn Hamas and its barbaric ideology.” 

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed that Tuesday night’s planned public Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the state Capitol has been replaced by a pre-recorded virtual event that will be streamed on social media at 6 p.m. today. KCRA reported the decision was due to expected pro-Palestinian protests. 

• The governor’s office: “As we continue to see protests across the country impacting the safety of events of all scales — and for the safety and security of all participating members and guests including children and families — the ceremony this year will be virtual.”

It’s the third time in recent years the public tree lighting has been canceled — 2015 after the San Bernardino mass shooting, and 2020 during the COVID shutdown.

As CalMatters has reported, the debate over the war has divided college campuses and the calls for a ceasefire have put elected officials in a bind.  

The Republican caucus cites some campus protests, actions by local city councils and a demonstration that disrupted the state Democratic Party convention last month as evidence of what it calls a “disturbing trend of pro-Hamas rhetoric and unrest.”

The resolution is another way to try to keep the Israel-Hamas war front and center in California politics into 2024. After a seven-day truce (Nov. 24-Dec. 1) and the release of 105 hostages (in exchange for 240 Palestinians prisoners), Israel has renewed and expanded its military operations in Gaza, while the toll on Palestinian civilians rises.

The federal government is throwing a crucial lifeline to California’s high-speed rail project, which has been in the works for more than three decades and has a current funding gap of at least $100 billion.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that the ambitious transit endeavor, which is supposed to eventually connect San Francisco to the Los Angeles area, will receive $3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

• Pelosi, in a statement: “An electrified high-speed rail network will dramatically improve the quality of life in the Central Valley and up and down California. These bullet trains will make travel quicker and easier, bring housing closer, create new jobs and economic opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach, secure cleaner air for our children and help save our planet.”

The money will specifically go towards connecting three cities in Central Valley that will entail acquiring and testing electric trains, as well as constructing tracks and rail stations. In 2019, when he took office, Gov. Newsom scaled back the project to a 171-mile starter segment in the  Valley that would begin operating in 2030 and cost $22.8 billion. But that cost estimate had risen, exceeding secured funding by $10 billion.

Besides funding issues, construction has also been delayed because of problems relocating utilities, and a steep drop in public transportation ridership has cast doubts on the overall public benefits of the project. 

An additional $3 billion will be awarded to the Brightline West rail project, which aims to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas, reports The Washington Post.