Goodbye, gas-powered cars
State Sen. Brian Dahle, a Bieber Republican running for governor who participated in both hearings, said during the one on greenhouse gas emissions cuts: “We are creating this crisis that we’re dealing with in the energy committee on the other floor, and I believe that this bill will do exactly the same thing. … We’ll have another crisis in a few years, because this is not going to work. … We haven’t achieved what we said we’re gonna achieve. That’s why we’re trying to keep Diablo open, because we don’t have the green renewable energy to support California right now.”
Quirk: “Neither one of us will be here next year. You can lobby any senator, any assemblymember you want. We’re not going to be here, somebody else is going to figure this out.”
Other Stories You Should Know
1
An avalanche of Capitol updates
As state lawmakers raced to act on hundreds of bills before next Wednesday’s deadline, legislative leaders announced their support for two competing housing bills after powerful labor groups were unable to resolve their differences on the proposals. Both bills would make it easier to build housing in now-empty stores across California — but contain different labor and affordability standards. The dual endorsement from the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate reflects their desire to speed up construction of much-needed housing in California, even if unions aren’t completely in agreement on how to do so, CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias reports in her comprehensive breakdown of the two bills . “Every single interest group has a different interest and bills get hacked to death sometimes in the Legislature by 1,000 cuts,” said Democratic state Sen. Anna Caballero of Salinas, author of one of the bills. “In the end, we decided to do two bills that do two different things that will create an opportunity for everybody to get something that they liked.” A controversial bill to create a state council to regulate wages and working conditions in the fast food industry received proposed amendments that make significant concessions to business groups, CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang reports. The proposed amendments would eliminate a first-in-the-nation provision to hold corporate franchisors such as McDonald’s or Domino’s accountable for wage and labor violations in their franchise locations — an extension of liability that California applies in many other industries. Other amendments would create a 2029 sunset date and reduce the council’s powers, blocking it from creating new paid sick leave or time off requirements and from issuing rules around more predictable worker scheduling. Any minimum wages issued by the council would be capped at $22 an hour in 2023, and the council would have jurisdiction over fewer fast food chains, from those with 30 locations nationally to those with at least 100. Although business groups are still opposed to the bill, labor advocates are optimistic the amendments will be enough to sway moderate Democrats and push the bill toward final passage. Attorney General Rob Bonta released California’s 2021 crime statistics more than a month later than usual due to law enforcement agencies working to comply with new federal reporting standards. Among the key takeaways: California reported 2,361 homicides in 2021 — a 7.2% uptick from 2020, which itself saw a 31% increase from the year before . A firearm was involved in a whopping 75% of homicides for which a weapon was identified. Among the counties with a population of at least 100,000 people, Kern , Merced and Tulare reported the highest homicide rates. California’s violent crime rate increased 6.7% and the property crime rate spiked 3%, while the total arrest rate fell 7.3% and the number of full-time criminal justice personnel declined 2.7%. California also reported 628 incidents that involved peace officer use of force resulting in serious bodily injury or death of a civilian or officer, or the discharge of a firearm.
2
Medi-Cal gets new insurers
The winners: Starting in 2024, Blue Cross of California, Molina Healthcare of California and Health Net Community Solutions will be responsible for overseeing the care of more than 3.4 million Californians, approximately 2.3 million of whom will need to switch health plans. ( Kaiser Permanente has a separate Medi-Cal contract .)The losers: Unsurprisingly, plans that weren’t offered a deal have already announced plans to appeal the decision. Notably, Health Net, which has historically been California’s largest Medi-Cal plan, was outbid by Molina in Los Angeles and Kern counties, which collectively represent more than 1 million enrollees. The decision raised some eyebrows, as the Department of Managed Health Care recently levied a $1 million fine against Molina for failing to pay hospitals and doctors on time. The goal of the new contracts: Medi-Cal insurers have historically failed to provide quality care, and the new contracts require plans to meet stricter standards on things such as appointment wait times, childhood immunizations and mental health follow-up. Plans that don’t meet the standards will be required to invest profits into community organizations.
3
State wants closer look at Govern For California
Miadich :“I’m troubled by the fact that this organization seems to be, I think, playing very close to the line. … It’s one thing to say you’re independent. It’s another to in fact be independent.” Nevertheless, David Crane, founder of Govern For California, declared vindication :“We are pleased that this baseless complaint was summarily rejected by the Fair Political Practices Commission, and that the legality of GFC’s organization, structure and operations have again been confirmed by the FPPC.”
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State mismanaging gambling fund, auditor finds
CalMatters Commentary
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