Your afternoon must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State
| | | | |  | | By Sarah Grace Taylor | FEAR FACTOR: Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo thinks there’s a way to crack down on retail theft without increasing penalties — making it easier for police to arrest suspected thieves. “Right now, there's no fear, right? It's like we can steal, we can commit these petty misdemeanor crimes, but it’s cite and release and there's no record,” Carrillo told Playbook. The Los Angeles County Democrat is carrying AB 1990, which would allow for police to make misdemeanor shoplifting arrests without a warrant or being present during the theft, if they have probable cause. Carrillo believes the Secured Transactions and Organized Theft Prevention — or “STOP” Act — would deter prolific shoplifters by increasing the likelihood of a low-level arrest. “This is just going back to traditionally what we used to have, which was book-and-arrest, so you'll have a record,” Carrillo said. | 
Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo | José Luis Villegas/AP Photo | Carrillo’s bill doesn’t aggregate misdemeanors into felony charges, lower the $950 felony theft threshold or make any number of penalty-increasing ideas floating around the legislature this year. But it has garnered bipartisan support from two Democratic co-sponsors Assemblymember Mike Gipson, Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua and Republican Assemblymember Juan Alanis. Carrillo’s bill has drawn criticism from people concerned with inequities in law enforcement even without increased penalties. Assemblymember Tina McKinnor has been rallying against the bill, saying on X that the bill is “bad for black and brown folks.” McKinnor said AB 1990 would only increase mass incarceration. “The laws on the books are effective if our law enforcement partners would enforce them,” she said. Carrillo insisted at a recent news conference that her goal was not to jail more people, but to leverage the looming threat of arrest to prevent theft. The bill has been referred to the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee and is awaiting its next hearing. IT’S MONDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to sgtaylor@politico.com or send a shout on X. DMs are open. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | THE KIDS ARE ALL LEFT: Young voters are shifting to the left, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The views of voters 18-34 lean to the left of older voters, with little sign of changing with age, according to a study of California voters across 20 years of PPIC research. Support for left-leaning ideas is consistent across different policy areas for the youngest voting block, too, with the group more likely to support everything from stricter gun laws to government intervention in the economy. The shift to the left even affects young Republicans who are less conservative than the older members of their party, creating an overall less polarized generation of voters, according to PPIC.
| | | ON THE BEATS | | | 
A dozen legislative proposals are aimed at preventing sex discrimination on college campuses. | Gregory Bull/AP Photo | TAILORING TITLE IX: Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Mike Fong today endorsed a dozen proposals aimed at preventing sex discrimination on college campuses as California State University reels from reports that it mishandled harassment allegations. The legislative package would create new civil rights offices at public universities, require increased reporting of Title IX compliance efforts and impose measures meant to prevent employees facing substantiated sexual harassment accusations from working elsewhere. Several other Assembly Democrats and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis argued for the measures at a press conference today. But Fong’s backing in particular is a boost for the bills, several of which sit in his committee but haven’t yet received votes. The proposals mirror recommendations made in a Higher Education Committee report on Title IX compliance at the CSU, University of California and California Community Colleges, and after investigations by the California state auditor, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and a third-party report showed a pattern of Title IX cases being mishandled at the 23-campus CSU. Cal State is in the process of adopting policy changes recommended in the third-party report. — Blake Jones END OF THE LINE: California could become home to the nation’s most sweeping assisted dying policies with a new bill that would allow dementia patients and out-of-state residents to end their lives here. A new bill would allow people without a specific terminal prognosis to request life-ending drugs, putting the state’s threshold below the other 10 states that currently allow some form of aid-in-dying. California has allowed some version of aid-in-dying since 2016, and loosened some restrictions in 2021. Last year, disability rights advocates sued the state, saying the updates remove important safeguards. Read more from health care reporter Rachel Bluth. | | | | In celebration of Earth Month, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, in collaboration with POLITICO, host “Climate Forward 2024: Climate at the Crossroads” on April 4, 2024 at USC. Top experts from politics, government, media, and academia will discuss climate change issues with a focus on finding practical policy and business solutions as well identifying ways to remove political obstacles to implementing those changes. Register to attend in person or virtually. | | | | | | | WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY | | FAST LANE: Efforts to deploy driverless big rigs are barreling ahead in Texas, which, unlike California, doesn’t prohibit large autonomous vehicles. (The Washington Post) CUP RUNNETH OVER: The Sierra Nevada snowpack is at 105 percent of average and the major reservoirs are at 116 percent after the latest round of storms. (Los Angeles Times) | | | SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY: Video from the Jan. 6 insurrection suggests Denise Aguilar, an anti-vaccine activist running as a Republican for Assembly in San Joaquin County, entered the Capitol during the riot despite her asserting otherwise. (USA Today) OAKLAND: San Francisco International Airport says it’s “deeply concerned” about a proposal to rename the Oakland airport to include a reference to the San Francisco Bay. (The Mercury News) | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
