THE BUZZ: PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT — If you’re the leader of the California Senate, please avert your eyes. Playbook was chatting with state Sen. Tom Umberg about the Legislature’s new bill limit, and he had some thoughts, but he really, really didn’t want Mike McGuire to read them. Because, after McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas in December capped legislators at 35 bills a piece over the two-year session, Umberg has already introduced 33 — and it’s only week 12 of year one. That gives Umberg the ignominious — or, for fans of the Santa Ana Democrat — glorious distinction of carrying the most bills of any legislator after last week’s introduction deadline. How productive is Umberg, really? For starters, he’s been so busy introducing new bills that he only recently became aware of his vaunted status. “My staff does a good job of reminding me that we can't do all things at all times, notwithstanding that I can't say no to stuff,” said Umberg, who did manage to sneak away for a few minutes of chit-chat. Even then, he was clearly in on the joke. Umberg pleaded with your Playbook author to “talk fast” because he “knew the subject” of this edition. Umberg’s patient staffer who joined us on the line didn’t seem as amused, though we’re confident her boss will be so pleased with how he’s portrayed here that he’ll give her a big raise. But it wasn’t all in jest. After all, the man means business. The Judiciary Committee chair said the complex challenges of implementing tough-on-crime Proposition 36, the CARE Court program and other judicial issues have led him to a “vigorous” streak of legislating during his final session in office. “I think the combination of all those things” got him to the high-water mark, Umberg said, before returning to his usual candid self, “and then, attention-deficit disorder.” Umberg isn’t the only one bumping up against the lower cap in year one of the two-year session. Already, 16 other senators and 22 assemblymembers have burned through 20 or more bills of their reduced allowance, by the count of veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli. The overall flow of legislation hasn’t gotten much lighter since the Assembly and Senate dropped their ceilings from 50 and 40 bills, respectively. The 2,350 introduced this year is up more than 250 from last year, according to Micheli, a noted fan of the limits. However, members typically introduce more proposals in the first year of the session — mostly to avoid drawing out controversial debates in election years in which there is a shorter calendar and higher electoral stakes. This year’s bill load is the smallest in year one of a session since 2015, when the Assembly’s bill limit was 30. The real effect of the new restrictions will be seen and felt next year. “While we didn’t see it really impact the 2025 introductions because they were about the same as previously, we will see the impact in the second year of the two-year session,” Micheli said, adding the new limits will dictate that around 500 fewer bills will emerge next year. That’s assuming rules committees don’t waive the limit for anyone, though Micheli predicted leadership will be reluctant to give people a pass after they touted the reductions at the beginning of the legislative year. Rivas’ stated aim was to draw more focus to affordability issues after an election in which Democrats suffered setbacks on the heels of a rough inflationary stretch. He and McGuire are still piecing together their policy agendas on that issue, and time will tell how much they’re able to accomplish in reining in the state’s stubbornly high cost of living. OK, Honorable Senate President Pro Tempore, you can start reading again! GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. 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 dgardiner@politico.com and bjones@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @jonesblakej. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
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