| | | | |  | | By Dustin Gardiner and Lara Korte | | Presented by |  | | | |  Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire has bucked Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying he won't convene senators in a special session to discuss gas prices. | Rich Pedroncelli for POLITICO | THE BUZZ: FAULT LINES — The three men in charge of running California’s government aren’t getting along — and they have a chaotic, tense and messy end-of-session episode to show for it. State lawmakers adjourned early Sunday morning, wrapping a session overshadowed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s unsuccessful last-minute push for a bill to combat gas price spikes. Hours before their midnight deadline to pass bills, Newsom made good on his threat to call a special session if lawmakers didn’t take up the issue. He proclaimed that the session would begin immediately. Chaos ensued after Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire bucked the governor, saying he wouldn’t convene senators because there had been ample time to act on the bill. The move has set up an intraparty standoff in the capital city. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas immediately convened a special session for his house, and it looks like the Assembly could still work with Newsom on gas price legislation. None of that will matter, however, if the Senate isn’t around to do its part. McGuire said senators won't be back on the floor until Dec. 2, when a new Legislature is seated after the November election. Newsom’s office suggested McGuire doesn’t have the authority to resist the governor’s proclamation. “The special session has already begun,” Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement late Saturday. The Senate isn’t budging , despite the governor’s assertions. McGuire told reporters early Sunday morning that the Senate has no legal obligation to convene. “That's hogwash,” he said in response to the governor’s insistence. The spat illustrates how Newsom’s political prowess in Sacramento could erode as he nears the final two years of his term. The tension doesn’t stop there. Inter-house relations are also spiraling. McGuire’s resistance to a special session escalated tensions with the Assembly, which triggered apparent delays and gamesmanship over the exchange of bills hours before Saturday’s midnight deadline. Several measures died in the Assembly because lawmakers ran out of time to vote. Senators said they were frustrated that Assembly Democrats had earlier rejected Newsom’s push to pass a package of energy-related bills during their regular session. Rivas said the Assembly didn’t want to have to rush bills that hadn’t been “sufficiently vetted.” He welcomed the idea of a special session, saying it should be taken seriously: “I believe when the governor issues a proclamation, it's our constitutional obligation to get that work done.” McGuire responded that his chamber had been ready to get the job done. “I know how to whip votes, and we had the votes,” he told reporters. Now, the waiting game begins. If the Assembly does return to meet in special session, that could amplify the pressure on McGuire. If both chambers remain out, Newsom would look shaky. We’ll be watching Rivas closely this week to see whether the speaker is seriously thinking about calling his members back — some from the campaign trail — to take up gas prices this fall. And it’s unclear if the governor could pursue legal action to force the Senate to participate. | | | | A message from Uber: What Happens When You Need Help During an Uber Ride?
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GOOD MORNING. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook.
You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. KILL BILL CONTEST: WINNER ALERT — We won’t hold you in suspense any longer: the winner of our bi-annual Appropriations Committee guessing game is none other than Emily Zhou, a legislative aide in state Sen. Steve Padilla’s office, who correctly predicted 32 bills that were held on the suspense file at last month’s marathon hearing — maintaining their status as the reigning champ. Zhou also won our contest during the May appropriations hearing. Of the 10 bills on our list, only one, Jasmeet Bain’s Assembly Bill 3029 on xylazine, was held on suspense (sorry, assemblymember!). Less than one-third of participants guessed that one correctly. In fact, that bill received the fewest votes out of the 10. Most people (about 60 percent) placed their bets on the failure of state Sen. Caroline Menjivar’s bill providing free condoms in schools, and we don’t blame them: a nearly identical bill was vetoed by Newsom last year for lack of funding. Keen observers might’ve noticed, however, that this year’s budget act already included $5 million for such supplies. After passing out of the Senate last week, the proposal now heads to Newsom’s desk yet again. Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal’s bill on fining social media companies for causing harm to children was the second-most likely to die in Approps, according to Playbookers, with 54 percent guessing that it would be held on suspense. Lowenthal’s bill made it out, but not without taking some major amendments. Those changes from the Senate Appropriations committee would prove fatal for the bill, which Lowenthal ended up pulling from consideration on Friday, arguing they watered down the effort in a victory for Silicon Valley opponents. Thanks to all who played! Let’s do it again in May. In the meantime, try to get in good with state Sen. Padilla’s office — they seem to know some things.
|  | STATE CAPITOL | | | 
The state Capitol is shown in Sacramento. | Terry Chea/AP | Other highlights from the final sprint of the session: DRUG PRICES — One of the year’s most hotly-contested bills was a wonky package from Wiener to rein in the practices of pharmacy benefit managers, the intermediaries that negotiate deals between drugmakers, health plans and employers. Wiener’s SB 966 made it to Newsom’s desk against PBM and insurance company wishes. The bill would, among other things, prohibit PBMs from steering patients to PBM-owned pharmacies. — Rachel Bluth FIRST AND LAST — Assembly Bill 2467 from Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Assembly Bill 796 from Akilah Weber were both sent to Newsom’s desk. According to Bauer-Kahan, AB 2467 would make California the first state in the country to require insurance coverage for menopause symptoms. AB 796 would make California the last the state in the country to regulate athletic trainers. — Rachel Bluth Read more on how health care legislation fared in POLITICO Pro. AI BIAS FAIL — A bill to outlaw algorithms that have the potential to make biased hiring choices failed in the final minutes of the session. Bauer-Kahan pulled her measure, AB2930, before a final vote. The eleventh-hour collapse was a blow to lawmakers efforts’ to prevent AI tools that even inadvertently make discriminatory recommendations in areas like housing, health care and employment. — Jeremy B. White TELEPHONE LINES — It was a banner year for broadband industry groups, but less so for digital equity advocates, who saw their bid to hold broadband companies liable for providing lower-quality service to minority groups collapse under industry opposition. Another effort to expand internet bill discounts for low-income customers died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Industry players could notch another win this month if Newsom signs a bill to loosen restrictions on internet service grants for public housing developers. — Tyler Katzenberger | | | | A message from Uber:   | | | |  Activists march in support of Prop 33, which would allow local governments to impose rent control restrictions. | AP | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: PROP 33 ON THE AIRWAVES — The ad battle over rent control is kicking into high gear. The Yes on 33 campaign is going up on televisions across the state starting today, campaign officials told Playbook, part of a $5 million ad buy over the next three weeks. The ad for Prop 33, which would allow local governments to impose rent control restrictions, features images of palm tree-lined streets and families packing up their things to a song modeled on the The Mamas & The Papas’ “California Dreamin’”: “All the homes are gone / And the rent’s too high / I work too damn hard / Can’t afford to stay,” it says. “California’s Leavin’ / The dream’s drifting away.” After many of the ballot measure campaigns have had a relatively quiet summer, the post-Labor Day ad blitz is kicking off — with plenty more to come on rent control and other campaigns in the near future. — Emily Schultheis ANOTHER SCOOP: RENT CONTROL CAVALRY — Speaking of the measure on rent control, Our Revolution is launching a massive get-out-the-vote campaign in support of Prop. 33. The group, one of the largest progressive organizations in the country and an offshoot of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, said it plans to contact nearly 2 million voters across the state through text messages and phone calls.
| | | CAMPAIGN YEAR | | | 
Rep. John Duarte. | House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee/YouTube | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: DUARTE HIT — Democrats’ House Majority PAC will today debut two ads targeting Republican Rep. John Duarte, who faces a tough race against Democrat Adam Gray, for opposing national abortion rights. The ads, which the group exclusively shared with Playbook, hit Duarte for his vote to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone. “He said he would protect us and then he voted to severely restrict a woman’s right to choose, even in California,” a female voter, identified as a registered Republican, states in the ad. The segment will air in English and Spanish. | | | | A message from Uber: Is Uber's New Tech the Future of Transportation Safety?
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ANOTHER SCOOP: API INFLUENCE — Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is emphasizing his support among Asian American leaders as he runs for an open House seat in Silicon Valley. Today, Liccardo is expected to unveil endorsements from several prominent AAPI supporters, including San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, former Assemblymember Kansen Chu and San Jose Councilmembers Bien Doan and Arjun Batra.
Liccardo is trying to prevent opponent Evan Low, an assemblymember and prominent Chinese-American leader, from consolidating support in the community. The two Democrats are competing for retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo’s seat in one of the most heavily Asian-American districts in the country.
| | | TOP TALKERS | | | 
Gov. Gavin Newsom removes debris at a Berkeley encampment in 2021. | Pool photo by John G. Mabanglo | SERIOUS THIS TIME — Newsom is pushing hard for cities and counties to do more to get homeless people off the street. It isn’t the first time that the governor has threatened to withhold state funds if local governments don’t act. But as our Jeremy B. White reports, Newsom says he means it this time. The governor’s repeated threats are part of a yearslong effort to raise the political costs for mayors and county supervisors who refuse to clear encampments or get people housed. Read the full piece. SF SHOOTING — San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest in the city’s iconic Union Square over the weekend. The horrific incident quickly rippled into the heated race for mayor. Mark Farrell, a former interim mayor and city supervisor, used the incident to criticize Mayor London Breed. He framed the tragedy as another example of Breed’s failures on crime, a central issue in the race. But Breed’s campaign called Farrell’s comments “gross” and opportunistic. (San Francisco Chronicle) FEEL THE EARTH MOVE — Hundreds of homes in Rancho Palos Verdes, a Los Angeles suburb, are without power due to shifting ground. The city has long had issues with moving soil, but the shifting has rapidly accelerated over the last year, moving up to 10 inches per week in some areas. (CNN)
| | | AROUND THE STATE | | | — Hersh Goldberg-Polinne, one of the six hostages that Israel announced were killed by Hamas, was a 23-year-old Californian. His killing has sparked vigils and tributes across the state. (Los Angeles Times) — Columnist Tom Philp says the chaotic and unproductive end to the legislative session “may be a small taste of what is to come” as Newsom, McGuire and Rivas struggle to work together. (The Sacramento Bee) — Birth centers are closing across California, which operators say is due to a complicated maze of state regulations. The centers allow women to deliver outside of the hospital. (CalMatters) — Did a Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode from decades ago accurately predict the deep challenges with homelessness that the City by the Bay faces today? (San Francisco Chronicle)
| | | PLAYBOOKERS | | SPOTTED: DEMUREST — If we had a nickel for every lawmaker who got on the “very demure, very mindful” train this session, we’d be rich. But one lawmaker did it better than the rest. Don’t miss Sen. Caroline Menjivar’s hilarious take on what it means to be a responsible and, well, demure lawmaker. SPOTTED: SWING SPACE SOCIAL — Many a lawmaker and staffer indulges in an end-of-session libation. That includes Sen. Bill Dodd’s office, where staff kept things light with club tunes, La Croix and Napa Valley wine while waiting for lawmakers to cast final votes Saturday evening. The celebration included choreography lessons to Chappell Roan’s smash hit “HOT TO GO!” for staff willing to be fun and try. PEOPLE MOVES — Mackenzie Smith has been promoted to vice president of marketing, communication and outreach at Calbright College, an online community college. Mackenzie previously served as its director of communications. — Justin Solar is now a VP for entertainment at 42West. He most recently was a VP at Rogers & Cowan PMK. WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO’s California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form. MEA CULPA — Friday’s issue incorrectly stated former Speaker Fabian Núñez’s position in his firm. He is the co-founder of Actum along with Kirill Goncharenko. CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this subscriber-only service offers, click here. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Rebecca Haase to find out how: rhaase@politico.com. | | | | 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 | | | | |
