VP Harris takes center stage, Trump picks Vance

If President Joe Biden does somehow drop out of the race, Vice President Kamala Harris is very likely next in line. So after three-and-a-half years of relative obscurity and thankless tasks, the former U.S. senator and California attorney general finds herself center stage during one of the most defining elections in America’s history. 

But many voters, especially those outside California, still don’t know her that well.

As CalMatters’ Ben Christopher reports, Harris has deep roots in California. The East Bay native served as San Francisco district attorney and later became state attorney general in 2010.

During her six-year tenure as attorney general, Harris remained mum on a handful of controversial criminal justice policies — a silence that drew criticism during her bid for U.S. Senate in 2016. For instance, she did not take a formal position on a bill to require the Department of Justice to investigate police shootings, or on a bill requiring police departments to collect racial data on traffic stops. 

She did, however, take a tough stance against sex traffickers and domestic and child abusers, earning her rebuke from civil libertarians and sex worker advocates.

One of her biggest accomplishments as attorney general was helping to secure a $20.2 billion settlement for California from the country’s largest banks accused of illegally foreclosing on homes. She did so by pulling out of negotiations in 2011, after an initial $2 billion to $4 billion offer, which she considered “crumbs on the table.” 

For more on Harris’ track record in California, read Ben’s story.

On Monday, former President Donald Trump — officially nominated at the Republican National Convention two days after surviving an assassination attempt — revealed who would be the next vice president if he wins in November: It’s U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who immediately blamed the Biden campaign for instigating the shooting but who also was once a “Never Trumper.”

Some California convention delegates applauded the pick, noting the 39-year-old Vance’s relative youth.

• Amanda Morales, 23, executive director of the San Bernardino GOP, to KQED: “He’s a fighter and I think that’s what the American people need. It’s nice to get younger people getting involved in politics, and I’m super excited.”

Vance also has some California history. As the San Francisco Chronicle details, he was a Silicon Valley investor still living in San Francisco when he wrote “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling memoir about growing up poor in Appalachia. 

November election: It’s not too early to get informed. Read up on California’s 10 ballot measures and the history of propositions. Check out our Voter Guide, including the FAQ on how to vote. And keep up with CalMatters coverage.

To persuade more Californians to buy zero-emission cars, the state needs a robust network of public chargers for juicing up their batteries. But CalMatters climate reporter Alejandro Lazo reports that California needs new charging stations at what experts call an “unrealistic” pace to support the 7 million electric cars expected on its roads by 2030. 

A million public chargers are needed in less than seven years — almost ten times the current number available to drivers. This means constructing 129,000 new chargers a year, an unprecedented pace. After that, the state’s target is even more ambitious — a total of 2.1 million charging stations. Electric vehicles are critical to California’s ambitious goals to slash emissions and reduce the threat of climate change.

• Stanford professor Bruce Cain, who co-authored a policy briefing detailing California’s electric vehicle charging problems: “It is very unlikely that we will hit our goals, and to be completely frank, the EV goals are a noble aspiration, but unrealistic. … This is a wakeup call that we address potential institutional and policy obstacles more seriously before we commit blindly.”

• State Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan remains optimistic: “California has a history of defying the odds. We have a history of advancing clean cars, clean energy, writ-large. We have naysayers left and right saying you can’t do it, and then we do it.”

Significant challenges include securing billions of dollars in investments, streamlining local permitting, upgrading the power grid and ensuring statewide charger availability. Public confidence in reliable and functioning chargers is also crucial. 

California’s commitment to funding remains solid, though public investments alone won’t suffice. Regulatory challenges and local permit delays exacerbate the situation, with average permitting times and construction costs significantly higher than the national average. Improving charger reliability and customer service is also essential for encouraging electric car adoption. 

Learn more about EV chargers in Alejandro’s story. And read the rest of our series on California’s transition to electric vehicles.

On the last day to make his decision, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill prohibiting school districts from enacting policies requiring faculty to disclose to parents if their child identifies as LGBTQ or non-binary.

• Brandon Richards, Newsom spokesperson: “This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents. It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”

The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and Equality California thanked Newsom. But the California Family Council, which opposed the measure, said it “undermines parental rights.”

Today, Elon Musk called the law the “final straw” and said he will move the headquarters of X and Space X from California to Texas.

The legislation originated after several school boards imposed parental notification (or forced outing) policies last year, despite pushback from state officials. In response to the bill’s passage, Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat and author of the bill, urged parents to “talk to their children, listen to them, and love them unconditionally for who they are.” 

Newsom also signed into law Monday a measure that would exempt from state taxes payments received from the California Victim Compensation Board. The legislation, which goes into effect immediately, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong, a Monterey Park Democrat, after the 2023 mass shooting in that city left 11 dead.

But the governor vetoed a bill to require annual reviews of state money sent to cities and counties for homelessness programs, saying it was redundant and wouldn’t provide “additional accountability or transparency to taxpayers.” 

In other news around the state Capitol:

Retail theft: At the request of more than 60 Democratic and Republican legislators to study the issue, the Little Hoover Commission released its report last week on shoplifting and organized retail theft in California. The independent oversight agency found that retail theft has “ticked up since 2019, but remains at roughly the same level it was during the 2010s” — a pattern that mirrors all other 49 states. But commercial burglary, which is a felony, has primarily “increased in counties containing large urban areas.” 

Retail theft has been at the center of a raucous debate at the Legislature. Republicans, law enforcement groups and district attorneys are backing Proposition 36 on the November ballot, which would increase penalties for retail theft and fentanyl dealing by rolling back parts of 2014’s Prop. 47. Democrats proposed their own competing anti-crime measure, but days before the deadline to get it approved for the ballot, Gov. Newsom withdrew it from consideration, citing time restrictions.

Card rooms: A bill to allow California tribes that run major casinos to sue private card clubs for violating the tribes’ exclusive rights to Las Vegas-style gambling passed a key hurdle earlier this month in a big-money fight over the future of gambling in California.

As CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow and data reporter Jeremia Kimelman explain, in the weeks leading up to the vote, tribal casinos gave $92,500 in campaign donations to key members of the committee. Card clubs, meanwhile, gave nearly $393,000 in campaign donations over the past year and a half. Members of the committee told CalMatters that the money didn’t influence their decisions, but the vote is the latest example of why the committee is known as a “juice committee.” Find out what that means in Ryan and Jeremia’s story.

The Legislative Black Caucus is touring the state to promote its reparations bill package. CalMatters’ Wendy Fry and producer Robert Meeks have a video version of our story. Watch it here.

It’s part of SoCalMatters, which airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal and is available on YouTube.