Newsom gets a special session win

Sep 26, 2024

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Pumpjacks extract oil in the Inglewood Oil Field in Los Angeles.

The Assembly’s special-session committee on oil and gas approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s oil refiner proposal, setting it up for a floor vote next week. | Eric Thayer/AP

VERY SLICK: The Assembly’s special-session committee on oil and gas approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s oil refiner proposal this afternoon, setting it up for a floor vote next week.

The Petroleum and Gasoline Supply Committee approved an amended version of the proposal, ABX2-1 from Assemblymember Gregg Hart, on a 13-2 vote with three Democrats abstaining and one Republican absent. Newsom called the special session primarily to pass Hart’s proposal, an effort to guard against gas price spikes by giving the state the authority to require oil refiners to store more gas.

But it wasn’t immediately clear what, exactly, the panel voted on today. The amendments were summarized in a committee analysis published Wednesday, and committee members viewed and discussed actual language for those amendments before casting their votes — but Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas’ office declined to make the amendments themselves public.

Administration officials framed the complex bill as a simple matter of supply and demand: Prices soar every year as Californians consume more gas, fuel inventories dip, and refinery maintenance reduces production. The industry is happy to pocket the proceeds and Californians absorb the cost.

“We’ve now seen price spikes in the late summer each of the last three years,” said Tai Milder, the governor’s gas price watchdog. “Price spikes are profit spikes.”

Here’s what we know:

— The amendments to Hart’s bill, as described in the analysis, specify that gas would be stored in existing tanks rather than new ones; emphasize that the Energy Commission should prioritize worker safety in its regulations; and make a spot for organized labor on a committee that would help hash out new rules.

The analysis also suggests insisting on rules for how the storage capacity would be used and allowing for exemptions for refineries that can’t make it work. The amended version of the bill is expected to be in print tomorrow. It’s scheduled for a Tuesday floor vote.

— Some labor groups remain strongly opposed to Hart’s proposal. The State Building and Construction Trades Council of California brought in dozens of workers in yellow vests and union T-shirts to testify in opposition to the bill. They are worried the new rules could compromise worker safety by giving state agencies authority to delay needed emergency repairs.

“Allowing politicians or a panel of academics to make decisions about how and when turnarounds can happen is a safety risk and will put workers and their communities at risk,” Jeremy Smith, the organization’s chief of staff, told the committee.

— The committee approved a second proposal, and rejected a third. The committee pushed through chair Cottie Petrie-Norris’ bill to accelerate the state’s review of a higher-ethanol gas blend that could quickly add 5 to 10 percent to gas supplies. But it rejected a proposal from Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher that would have given the California Air Resources Board the authority to let refiners switch from California’s cleaner-burning, more-expensive summer fuel blend to its winter blend earlier than usual if prices are high.

That’s an action Newsom has taken the last two years to reduce September price spikes. But Gallagher’s bill also included more sweeping changes to the state's carbon programs that the committee tried to remove before voting the bill down.

— The Senate is, in fact, coming back for the special session. Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire — who famously resisted the governor’s calls for a special session — has said the Senate will convene Oct. 11 to consider the proposal.

— with help from Jeremy B. White

IT’S THURSDAY 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 lholden@politico.com.

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Over half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to middlemen, like PBMs and insurers, along with others. They control what medicines you can get and what you pay at the pharmacy. Middlemen are driving medicine costs in California, and you don’t know the half of it.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove talks with reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill from state Sen. Shannon Grove increasing penalties for those convicted of soliciting a minor aged 15 and under for sex. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP

NO SOLICITATION: People who solicit minors for sex in California can now be charged with a felony after Newsom signed a bill today increasing penalties for sex trafficking.

SB 1414 by Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove authorizes felony punishment for those convicted of soliciting a minor aged 15 and under — a crime that is currently treated as a misdemeanor. With Newsom’s signature, prosecutors now have the discretion to charge the defendant with a misdemeanor or a felony on their first offense. Subsequent offenses will be directly punished as felonies.

“We're excited, and we're moving forward,” Grove said. “We're never going to stop fighting for California's children. And this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

The initial version of the bill would have applied to all minors under 18, but was amended in the Assembly so that the increased punishments only apply to the solicitation of 16- and 17-year-olds if they are victims of human trafficking.

The law also requires anyone with a prior conviction for soliciting, who is again convicted of soliciting a minor who is more than 10 years younger than them, to register as a sex offender for a minimum of 10 years. — Lara Korte

A message from PhRMA:

CAMPAIGN TRAIL

San Diego, Calif. Mayor Todd Gloria raises his hand as he speaks behind a microphone during a press conference.

A business organization is gearing up to support a little-known challenger vying to oust San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

UPSET WATCH?: A business organization that’s often aligned with center-right candidates and causes is gearing up to spend big bucks supporting a little-known challenger vying to oust San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria this fall.

Victor Lopez, executive director of the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, told Playbook today the business-friendly group is organizing an independent expenditure committee backing independent mayoral candidate Larry Turner. The club has already received a $1 million check from attorney Steven Richter to boost Turner in the race, the Voice of San Diego reports.

The Lincoln Club’s investment is the latest sign that Gloria’s path to reelection may be tougher than it first appeared. He swept away his competition in March, earning about half the primary vote against a fractured field that saw no other candidate break 25 percent. But an automated poll conducted for local TV station 10News and the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this month found Turner creeping closer to Gloria, setting off alarm bells among San Diego politicos.

The influx of cash is another sign Turner’s underdog campaign has legs, though the police officer and former Marine — who’s never held public office — says his focus is on voter engagement, not big checks.

“I’m happy to hear rumors of big donations from those who can do that, but I’d like them to be reminded — don’t expect anything in return,” Turner told Playbook.

Gloria campaign manager Jen Tierney said the donation, if confirmed, is a sign “the far-right is coming for Mayor Gloria.” And she wrote off chatter from the recent poll, noting that a similar 2020 survey was more than a dozen percentage points off the final margin.

“I have a lot more faith in our own polling, which shows the mayor with a comfortable lead,” Tierney said. — Tyler Katzenberger, Christopher Cadelago

PROP 36 SPLIT: As our own Emily Schultheis reported today, the coalition that put Proposition 36 on California’s November ballot is fraying just as the campaign is heading into its final month.

The California District Attorneys Association is at odds with some of the retailers that helped bankroll the tough-on-crime initiative’s signature-gathering campaign. This follows a legislative effort to address retailers’ crime concerns with a bill package increasing penalties on some theft offenses.

Newsom and legislative leaders tried to use that package — and, at one point, a competing ballot measure — to negotiate Prop 36 off the November ballot. The retailers, who got much of what they were seeking from the bills, were more amenable to this idea than the DAs, who have been fighting to change Proposition 47 since voters approved it in 2014.

It remains to be seen whether the splintering of the original coalition will hurt Prop 36’s chances in November. The initiative is polling strongly, and it still has plenty of support from local officials and business groups.

A message from PhRMA:

There’s a long line of middlemen profiting when you get your medicines, and they are often part of the same company.

Over half of every dollar spent on medicines goes to middlemen like PBMs, insurers, and others. They control what medicines you can get and what you pay at the pharmacy.

Middlemen are driving medicine costs in California, and you don’t know the half of it. Get the whole story.

WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY

— He wanted to hold on to his $40-an-hour private security guard gig. Then he shot a shoplifter stealing candy at a Walgreens near San Francisco’s Union Square. Who’s to blame? (The Wall Street Journal)

— California state lawmakers used non-disclosure agreements to keep under wraps most information about the planning and construction of the $1.2 billion Capitol Annex Project. (KCRA)

— How Kamala Harris led a revolutionary push to treat child sex workers as victims, not criminals. (Los Angeles Times)

AROUND THE STATE

— The former chair of California’s Reparations Task Force wants to revive a federal court system used briefly after the Civil War to hear cases of formerly enslaved people, citing a death row inmate’s controversial execution in Missouri as evidence the nation’s current system is biased against Black defendants. (San Francisco Chronicle)

— Los Angeles County alleges hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for its fire department through the NBC docuseries “LA Fire & Rescue” went to a personal slush fund instead of first responders. (Los Angeles Times)

— A looming change to CalPERS’ PPO health insurance plans has some workers worried. (Sacramento Bee)

— San Diego has an illegal street racing problem. Police say social media is making it worse. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

— compiled by Tyler Katzenberger

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