With four months left of his last term, state lawmakers handed Gov. Gavin Newsom a string of losses at the end of session, including the rejection of Newsom’s proposal to minimize utilities’ liability for the wildfires they cause, writes CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller.
The Assembly killed a contentious bill Tuesday that would have given wildfire victims fast access to payments for property losses and blocked private equity groups from investing in wildfire-related lawsuits. The bill’s final version was less ambitious than Newsom originally wanted when he began a push for a wildfire liability package.
But that wasn’t the only Newsom-backed proposal that failed to advance: Solano County supervisors effectively spiked for the year a plan to fast-track a new Bay Area shipyard for the real estate development group California Forever.
The governor also had to back away from his push to give an environmental carveout to an oceanfront project belonging to a Santa Monica developer and Newsom campaign donor.
Newsom’s unsuccessful, last-minute scrambles could be seen as evidence of his waning influence on the Legislature as a lame duck governor. But some lobbyists disagree with that take, arguing that his losses this session aren’t any more pronounced than other years.
Newsom himself said critics who suggest his sway is diminishing aren’t paying “any attention.”
- Newsom: “We landed 90 planes on some of the toughest issues as relates to chatbot bills and child safety. … I decided to take a last at-bat on the toughest issue (wildfire liability) that I could and the good news is we made progress.”
More on the failed wildfire proposal: In reaction to the high-profile campaigning, shares of California’s three major investor-owned utilities fell dramatically in the past few days. Utility CEOs have warned of possible declining investments that could affect the state’s economy. But one Assemblymember dismissed the stock drop, characterizing Wall Street’s reaction as “hysteria.” Read more from Levi Sumagaysay.
Join CalMatters on Sept. 15th in Sacramento for a conversation between author Gil Durán and political strategist Mike Madrid about Durán’s new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, which examines how the world’s richest men are building a new political order. A book signing and reception will follow. Register here.
Other Stories You Should Know
New defense boom in LA County
The business of war is thriving in Southern California.
In the last 10 years, the total value of defense contracts won by companies in Los Angeles County more than doubled, reports CalMatters’ Colin Lecher. In the same period, the defense budget rose by about 19%. Last year alone in the county, contracts totaled $15 billion.
The war in Iran is poised to drive demand even higher, and the Trump administration in its latest budget plan is proposing $1.5 trillion for the military — the largest request in history. The U.S. Defense Department also signed off on early contracts for a proposal to build a massive missile-defense system above the U.S., with most of the winners based in or having ties to the Southern California area.
Many of the congressional districts benefiting from these contracts are solidly blue. But while Democrats have largely been open to increased defense spending, especially if it brings money to their districts, some are pushing back.
- Lindsay Koshgarian, director of the National Priorities Project, which tracks defense spending: “That tension is definitely real, even in left districts. But I think we’re reaching a level of extremity now that that might be starting to flip.”
Wins and losses at lawmaking deadline
With lawmakers having made their final sprint this week, a look at two key measures heading to the governor and two that failed:
- Climate money: Democratic lawmakers and Newsom agreed to a deal that would divert $450 million for transit, clean air and drinking water projects from the state’s main climate fund. Read more from Yue Stella Yu.
- Scientific research: In reaction to research cuts by the Trump administration, lawmakers want to place a $7.5 billion bond measure on the March 2028 ballot. It would include $1 billion for California public universities to build more science facilities and create a system of review panels for research proposals. Read more from Mikhail Zinshteyn.
- School facilities: Lawmakers failed to hammer out a deal that would have given schools $200 million of unused money once earmarked for them to update their cooling and heating systems. Instead, the money will go back to utilities. Read more from Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.
- Condo ownership: A bill that proponents said had the potential to boost California’s condo industry died despite passing both houses of the Legislature. The measure was championed by pro-development advocates, but was initially opposed by homeowners associations. Read more from Ben Christopher.
And lastly: Cleaning the Tijuana River
San Diego County Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to divert water from the polluted Tijuana River and clean it before it enters communities with a new treatment plant. To fund the new facility, officials are proposing to use local tax revenue to back as much as $1 billion worth of bonds. Read more from CalMatters’ Deborah Brennan.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Sacramento City Unified’s budget crisis underscores how California school districts have become arenas for conflicts over ideology, pedagogical theory, power and money, rather than institutions that prepare children for adulthood.
Newsom’s troubling approach to land and water policies, which involve backroom deals and disingenuous community engagement, denies Californians of the transparency and due process they deserve, write Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla and Gary Mulcahy, the executive director of Restore the Delta and the government liaison with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, respectively.
Other things worth your time:
Under Trump, SFO is now a de facto immigration detention center // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
Citing CA as a problem state, Trump administration shuts down 110 trucking schools // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
The growing lawlessness in CA forests // The Atlantic (gift link)
Prime Valley land in crosshairs of Trump plan that may allow fracking in CA // The Fresno Bee (paywall)
Sam Altman called Newsom over kids’ chatbot safety bill // Politico (free)
CA Legislature passes bill to create newsroom tax credits to buoy local journalism // The Sacramento Bee (gift link)
Long talks but no deal to modify CA law combating antisemitism in schools // EdSource (free)
New evidence suggests Lurie’s office is concealing or destroying public records // The San Francisco Standard (paywall)
