California has a massive real deficit. We still owe the Feds $20 billion for money given us to keep unemployment checks going out. We can not find how $24 billion was spent on the homeless. Then, the first thing the new legislature does in the face of failed education, crumbling infrastructure, then pass a bill giving $25 million to protect illegal aliens.
“I wanted to preview upcoming state legislation for this week’s newsletter. But a look at our local delegation’s offerings shows slim pickings, other than bills we’ve covered earlier this month. The rollout of new legislation is slower this year than last. And many of the first batch of bills are essentially placeholders, signaling the lawmakers’ intent to address topics such as housing or homelessness, without providing details.
There are a few reasons for that. It should surprise no one that the chaotic first weeks of the second Trump administration has taken up much of the real estate on news pages. It’s also monopolizing the time and energy of California politicians.”
Trump needs to put strong conditions on any money he gives to help California recover from the failures of the Newsom/Democrat policies that caused the devastating fires.
Sacramento Report: War with Trump Overshadows California Legislature
Lawmakers don’t seem focused on bills amid their battle with the White House.
by Deborah Sullivan Brennan, Voice of San Diego, 2/7/25 https://voiceofsandiego.org/2025/02/07/sacramento-report-war-with-trump-overshadows-california-legislature/
I wanted to preview upcoming state legislation for this week’s newsletter. But a look at our local delegation’s offerings shows slim pickings, other than bills we’ve covered earlier this month. The rollout of new legislation is slower this year than last. And many of the first batch of bills are essentially placeholders, signaling the lawmakers’ intent to address topics such as housing or homelessness, without providing details.
There are a few reasons for that. It should surprise no one that the chaotic first weeks of the second Trump administration has taken up much of the real estate on news pages. It’s also monopolizing the time and energy of California politicians.
Gov. Gavin Newsom convened a special session on “Trump-proofing” the state but then softened his tone after the Los Angeles fire forced him to negotiate for disaster aid. Nonetheless, the legislature passed a $50 million bill package Monday, including $25 million to fight President Donald Trump’s policies in court and another $25 million to assist immigrants facing deportation.
“Californians are being threatened by an out-of-control administration that doesn’t care about the Constitution and thinks there are no limits to its power,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a statement, saying that the legislature is focused on cost of living and housing.
Republicans balked at the legislation, saying it distracts from those bread-and-butter priorities and is also really bad timing.
California Senate Republicans protested that it was foolish to spend “$25 million waging legal warfare against the newly elected president, while we simultaneously beg for his assistance with wildfire recovery.”
Meanwhile, State Attorney General Rob Bonta teamed up with other state attorneys general to block Trump’s attempted federal spending freeze, demand answers about FBI director nominee Kash Patel’s plans to purge the FBI and protest Elon Musk’s access to sensitive financial information of millions of Americans.
There are also procedural changes slowing down the pace of legislation. The state Senate and Assembly reduced their own limits for the number of bills each lawmaker could introduce during each two-year session, to allow more time to carefully consider each proposal.
The Assembly dropped its limit from 50 to 35 while the Senate cut its maximum from 40 to 35. That means lawmakers have to pick and choose which legislation is most important, or team up on similar topics rather than introducing multiple, redundant bills.
Lawmakers must submit their bills by the deadline of Feb. 21, so we’ll probably see a last-minute rush of legislation over the next two weeks.
In the meantime, here are a few worth watching: State Sen. Steve Padilla introduced a bill to protect children from chatbots. Lots of research has shown that excessive internet use can harm teens’ mental health by exposing them to cyberbullying, reducing face to face time with friends and setting unrealistic standards for body images. Padilla’s bill would regulate chatbots, those pesky AI characters that interact with human users. It would require chatbot operators to record and report users’ suicide ideas, attempts and deaths to the State Department of Health Care Services.
Assemblymember Tasha Boerner proposed a bill encouraging development of “blue carbon,” the coastal plants, seagrasses and wetlands that capture and store carbon from the atmosphere. Her bill would authorize the California Coastal Commission to OK blue carbon demonstration projects to determine how much carbon those environments can sequester. And it would allow the commission to require land use applicants with projects that impact coastal or marine habitats to build or contribute to a blue carbon project.
Assemblymember Laurie Davies introduced legislation that would allow a victim of sexual assault to ask a court to test a defendant for various sexually-transmitted diseases. “Sexual Assault is one of the most heinous crimes that can be done to a person,” she said, adding that besides emotional and physical trauma sexual assault can expose victims to healthcare risks from infectious diseases. Current law allows victims to ask courts to require HIV testing for defendants. Davies’ bill would expand that to include testing for diseases such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis, herpes or syphilis.
More on Wildfires
Following a relatively cordial meeting in California earlier this month, Newsom met with Trump and congressional leaders from both parties in Washington D.C. Thursday to ask for unconditional aid for Los Angeles fire recovery. “Supporting Americans in their time of need is what this country has always done, and in California’s time of need we are seeking the same support and commitment we have provided others,” Newsom said in a statement. Keep in mind that Newsom is simultaneously fighting Trump policies that conflict with California laws, as discussed above. Despite what Newsom described as a “lengthy and very productive meeting with President Donald Trump,” there was no news on disaster aid as of today.
State Farm General is asking state officials to approve a 22 percent emergency rate hike, saying staggering wildfire losses in Pacific Palisades and Altadena have depleted its ability to cover claims. The company said it has already paid out $1 billion to fire victims and expects to pay far more. The California Department of Insurance has the authority to approve or deny rate increases. The group Consumer Watchdog denounced State Farm’s demand as a “$740 million bailout,” saying the company has refused to open its books to show that it needs to hike rates, and that its parent company has a $130 billion surplus.
Lithium Mining Off to Shaky Start Near Salton Sea
I recently reported for CalMatters that a lithium mining company, Controlled Thermal Resources, received a greenlight to begin its Hell’s Kitchen lithium extraction project near the Salton Sea. Lithium is a mineral used in electric car batteries, cellphones, laptops and other electronics and is considered critical to the transition away from fossil fuels.
Meanwhile another lithium operation is on hold, inewssource reported. Last month the Department of Energy under former President Joe Biden announced a $1.36 billion loan to EnergySource Minerals for its project to extract lithium from brine at the Salton Sea. The loan went into limbo after President Trump attempted to halt most federal assistance and grants, including many renewable energy projects.
We need to Democrat proof our state the day we vote for midterms.