It looks like even the Legislative Democrats have no trust or respect for the Hollywood Slicky. They are tied of Newsoms’ last minute deal that when implemented make them look bad—and harms California.
““Over time, at least since I’ve been here, legislators have become increasingly frustrated over these last-minute deals,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee, a progressive Democrat.
Many lawmakers are still feeling raw over how the administration handled Prop 36, with some arguing it ultimately left both the Legislature and the governor with egg on their faces.
“I do think that eroded trust for members,” said the Democratic legislator familiar with negotiations.”
The U.S. is going to go about six months without a President. California is going to go two years without a Gvoernor.
Assembly pushes back on Newsom
By LARA KORTE and DUSTIN GARDINER, Politico, 08/29/2024 https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2024/08/29/the-jam-stops-here-00176692
THE BUZZ: JAM SESH — After years of being asked to support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s last-minute legislative plays, Democrats in the Assembly are pushing back.
The Legislature could be headed for a special session next month to address energy issues after assembly members resisted the governor’s initial efforts to hurriedly pass a bill this week to give the state more authority over oil refiners’ supplies as a way to try to prevent gas price spikes.
Newsom’s plan got a cool reception from the Assembly Democrats when presented on Tuesday, in part because of concerns that it could raise gas prices, but also because it presses on a years-long sore spot between the two branches of government that are supposed to be equal — one where legislators feel like they are often being jammed on the governor’s eleventh-hour requests without much regard for their own concerns and vetting processes.
In response to the resistance, the governor leveraged the idea of a special session. Now, members say they’re prepared to take him up on the offer.
“I’m not here just to let somebody have a win on a press conference,” said one Democratic legislator familiar with negotiations, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss sensitive subjects.
“We want to dive in and actually solve this issue.”
The tension reflects lawmakers’ long-simmering frustrations with how Newsom approaches the Legislature.
In 2022, he pressured Democrats to pass a heap of oil industry-opposed climate bills, later taking credit for the package and lamenting that he had to “jam [his] own Democratic Legislature” to get it done. In 2023, lawmakers also passed a set of infrastructure bills that he floated at the very end of budget negotiations. And earlier this year, he was lobbying Democrats to back a scheme to negotiate the tough-on-crime Proposition 36 off the ballot with a counter proposal, only to pull that measure at the last minute.
“Over time, at least since I’ve been here, legislators have become increasingly frustrated over these last-minute deals,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee, a progressive Democrat.
Many lawmakers are still feeling raw over how the administration handled Prop 36, with some arguing it ultimately left both the Legislature and the governor with egg on their faces.
“I do think that eroded trust for members,” said the Democratic legislator familiar with negotiations.
In response to lawmakers’ complaints about feeling repeatedly rushed, the governor’s office said it has been working with them on the refinery policy for months, and that the first recommendations from the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight were shared with the Legislature at the start of the year.
Still, many Democrats in the Assembly feel they need more time to consider any unintended consequences. The final language of the proposal went into print just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, giving the Legislature about three days to pass it before the end-of-session deadline.
To be sure, many members say they’re aligned with the governor on the ultimate goal — to protect consumers — and say a special session would give them more time to get it right.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, chair of the Natural Resources Committee, said: “I think we’ve got to do all we can to respond to this crisis, and whether we complete that work by the end of the week, or we’ve got to come back and do a special session, I think we’re all committed to getting this done.”
The Senate, for its part, isn’t keen on sticking around Sacramento past Saturday, with multiple lawmakers telling POLITICO there’s no reason they can’t get it done by the end-of-month deadline.
Republicans, meanwhile, are glad to see their counterparts push back against the governor.
GOP Assemblymember Devon Mathis said he thinks Newsom should have better relationships within his own party at this point in his tenure.
“This throwing a temper tantrum, saying, ‘if you don’t give me what I want, I’m gonna force you into a special session’ …. I mean, I’m kind of glad my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are calling bullshit,” Mathis said.
