The Legislature returns to Sacramento this week, opening the second half of a two-year session that will revive some ideas that stalled in 2019 and raise new proposals to drive the action in 2020.
Look for a focus on:
Homelessness:
Californians see homelessness increasing in their communities, polls show, and voters now say the issue is the state’s top concern. Lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed $1 billion to fight the problem in last year’s budget, with funding to house mentally ill homeless people and build more emergency shelters. This year, lawmakers may push to better track how cities are spending the money. Also possible: a renewed push to force the most troubled homeless mental patients into treatment, or a legal “right to shelter” that would compel cities to build enough shelters to accommodate anyone who wants a bed. Learn more about California homelessness and potential solutions in this terrific explainer by CalMatters’ Matt Levin and Jackie Botts.
Wildfires:
Fire ravaged the state while legislators were home this past autumn. Though fatalities were nowhere near the horrific death toll in the two prior years, millions of Californians experienced wildfire disruptions and economic hardships that are already motivating their elected representatives. Expect proposals to limit intentional power blackouts or compensate customers for the outages. Lawmakers may also look to spur the use of microgrids, which allow utilities to more precisely target blackouts, or make it harder for insurance companies to drop homeowners in fire-prone zones. And of course, jockeying will continue over control of PG&E as the utility works to reorganize through bankruptcy court by the end of June.
Gig economy:
The lawmaker behind California’s watershed worker-classification bill is expected to work on more carve-outs, even as various industries challenge the law in court. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, who has been hit with a barrage of social media complaints over how AB 5 impacts workers, has committed to working with the music industry and says she’s open to other clarifications. However, she and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon are clear that they are done negotiating with gig companies Uber and Lyft, which are funding a ballot measure to fight the new law. “I have no interest in getting involved in that,” Rendon told CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall. “I think we’ve been quite good to those people.”
