Newsom’s new plan for easing street suffering

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Friday Mar 04,2022 02:17 pm

Mar 04, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Chris Ramirez, Juhi Doshi and Graph Massara

Presented by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

THE BUZZ — HELPING HANDS: The balance between protecting freedom and relieving suffering is the fulcrum of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new homelessness initiative.

Few problems in California are as visible and intractable as the number of people with no homes with severe mental illnesses or substance use disorders. There are unmistakably many people who need help, but the solution is less clear. Those who believe California needs the means to compel people into treatment have collided with civil libertarians wary of incarcerating and medicating people against their will or of effectively criminalizing homelessness.

Those concerns have so far halted legislation to fortify existing tools. Five months ago, Newsom vetoed a pilot project bill to let people convicted of drug offenses choose between incarceration and treatment, warning that “coerced treatment for substance use disorder is not the answer” — a topic that, though distinct from the question of how best to help those in mental health crises, shares a similar weighing of choice and compulsion.

The political calculus for mental health reform may be shifting. Despite the billions of dollars California and its cities and counties have channeled toward homelessness services, the crisis has not abated — by many measures, it has worsened. That has led Newsom and other Democratic policymakers, from the state Capitol to city halls, to consider more stringent approaches for compelling people who have severe mental illness and are unhoused into treatment, including creating more legal avenues to treat or hold people. “What's happening in this state is unacceptable,” the governor said yesterday. “There's no compassion stepping over people sleeping on the streets and sidewalks.”

Now Newsom wants to create a new constellation of civil mental health courts that still carry the clout of obligation. Counties would be required to provide services via this new court arm. Judges could order people brought before a “Care Court” to either a) participate in treatment programs or b) go through the criminal process (if they’ve been charged with a crime) or face involuntary hospitalization or conservatorship. Newsom and allies said this is about avoiding the criminal justice system by giving people a route to treatment — with some consequences behind that choice. “This is not just cops going out there arresting folks and throwing away the key,” Newsom said.

One election cycle ago, Democratic former Assemblymember Mike Gatto pursued a ballot initiative to achieve essentially the same thing. It never qualified. Gatto faced backlash from liberals who accused him of seeking to penalize rather than aid the most vulnerable. “There were a lot of people in my own party who called me a whole bunch of names for even proposing it,” Gatto said. But he argued that the status quo had failed: “We were offering treatments purely voluntarily, and that does not work.”

Now that same idea has the governor’s imprimatur and is gaining traction, including with big-city mayors who have grappled with spiraling homelessness. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said that despite the amount of money thrown at the issue, “the public doesn’t see progress on these streets” as people shuffle “between jails and emergency rooms.” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said the response can’t be voluntary. “Care for our most vulnerable should not be optional,” she said. “It should be a legal mandate.”

BUENOS DÍAS, good Friday morning. California Democrats are gathering virtually for their pre-primary endorsing convention this weekend. They’ll hear from the full roster of statewide officials and from Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the party gears up for midterm elections.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit jwhite@politico.com or follow me on Twitter @jeremybwhite.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:“Let me just say this, I agree with what Sen. Lindsey Graham said: ‘Shut up.’ That’s what he said to them. I think they should just shut up.” Pelosi on State of the Union hecklers.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Assembly Speaker @Rendon63rd on the California Supreme Court declining to halt an order for UC Berkeley to slash enrollment: “I talked with @UCPrezDrake , and we will work together to help students. These students deserve college opportunity.”

BONUS TOTD: YIMBY Jordan Grimes @cafedujord on the same: “A Berkeley homeowner who spends half his time at his second home in New Zealand used a California environmental law passed by Ronald Reagan to cut enrollment at one of the best universities in the world. This sentence is unbelievable, yet somehow entirely factually accurate.”

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

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Top Talkers

LONG READ — “The man who paid for America’s fear,” by the SF Chronicle’s Jason Fagone: “Wrongfully convicted of terrorism in the fearful years after 9/11, Hamid Hayat lost everything.”

SUBPOENAED — “Kimberly Guilfoyle subpoenaed by House Jan. 6 committee,” by the AP’s Farnoush Amiri: “The committee has received a number of documents it had requested from Guilfoyle but is now looking to learn more about her meetings with the former president and members of his family in the Oval Office the morning of the attack.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

DEFYING THE ODDS — “Unseating an L.A. City Council incumbent is exceedingly rare. Will it happen in 2022?” by the LA Times’ Julia Wick: “The pandemic and protests around police reform also put klieg lights on city government, making it a focus of new attention for a broad swath of Angelenos.”

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY … “S.F. Assembly race: YIMBY-backed Bilal Mahmood endorses Matt Haney over David Campos in runoff,” by the SF Chronicle’s Mallory Moench: “SF YIMBY said its email list numbers around 10,000, support that could matter more in what is predicted to likely be a low-turnout election.”

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CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

BRACING — California bill would allow nurse practitioners to perform abortions, by POLITCO’s Victoria Colliver: Some states are poised to ban the procedure completely if the U.S. Supreme Court, in a highly anticipated ruling, allows them to do so. In response, California has been preparing to serve not only its population but a wave of residents from other states seeking care.

UNHAPPY MEDIUM — “George Gascón wouldn’t compromise, until he did. Now, no one is happy, ” by the LA Times’ James Queally: “Many of his own prosecutors have dismissed the policy changes as public relations spin that will have little practical impact. And it opened him up to new critiques from allies that he is playing politics with his principles.”

EMPTY PROMISES? — “ Newsom’s Big Promises on Drug Prices Are Slow to Materialize,” by California Healthline’s Angela Hart, Rachel Bluth and Samantha Young: “Drug spending by public and private health insurers grew 5% in California during Newsom’s first year in office, according to the most recent state data available — and costs are expected to continue rising in California and across the country because of increases in both pharmaceutical prices and prescription drug use.”

CAUGHT ON TAPE — “California Highway Patrol lags local police, other states in officer body cams,” by CalMatters’ Byrhonda Lyons: “The CHP, one of the state’s largest police forces with a $2.8 billion budget, only has body cameras for 3% of its budgeted 7,600 uniformed officers.”

CLOCK IS TICKING — “How long are Californians waiting for rent relief?” by CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias: “Of the 180,000 households whose applications were approved, just more than 75,000 households were paid. And they still need more help: 90% of those households have reapplied for more money.”

HELD UP — “California prison officials delayed investigating complaints about staff, new report says,” by the Sac Bee’s Andrew Sheeler: “The report also pointed out that investigators on several occasions compromised the confidentiality of several of the inquiry cases, such as by conducting interviews in non-confidential locations or revealing confidential information to witnesses or subjects of the cases.”

HOLE IN THE WALL — “Trump’s border wall has been breached more than 3,000 times by smugglers, CBP records show, ” by the WaPo’s Nick Miroff: “The Border Patrol’s El Centro sector has recorded the largest number of breaches, with 1,867, followed by the San Diego sector, with 866.”

— “Should California’s undocumented workers get unemployment benefits? New bill says ‘yes,’ ” by the Sac Bee’s Nadia Lopez: “California would become the third state, following Colorado and New York, to implement a program that provides temporary wage replacement to undocumented workers who were affected by the pandemic.”

SLOW AND STEADY — “ Bay Area cities want to use cameras to enforce excessive speeding. A new bill would allow it,” by the SF Chronicle’s Ricardo Cano: “Caro Jauregui, executive director of the California Walks advocacy group, told lawmakers last year that the legislation could end up harming low-income communities of color overrepresented in cities’ high-injury networks.”

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BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

NOT SO FAST — “Virginia Supreme Court denies Devin Nunes’ appeal, says he can’t sue Republican strategist,” by the Fresno Bee’s Gillian Frassil: “Nunes, who previously represented the area surrounding Tulare for about two decades, was suing the strategist, Liz Mair, alongside McClatchy, the parent company of The Bee, over a news story published in 2018.”

— “Dems push DOJ to look at Trump after Jan. 6 panel’s blockbuster, ” by POLITICO’s Nicholas Wu and Kyle Cheney: “Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), a member of the select panel, said he’s concerned that DOJ has not yet taken potential crimes by Trump and his network seriously enough.”

SILICON VALLEYLAND

SO, ABOUT THAT … “How an American gig work platform was accused of working for Russia,” by CNBC’s Louise Matsakis: “Experts say that the confusion over Premise in Ukraine highlights the risks that come with relying on gig work platforms to collect sensitive information, especially in situations like a war.”

COME AND GET IT — “Elon Musk invites a union vote at Tesla, following a contentious history with organized labor, ” by the WaPo’s Faiz Siddiqui: “Musk invited the vote in a tweet thread, as he and Tesla fans fumed over President Biden’s snub of the electric vehicle maker in his State of the Union address. The president had highlighted other automakers’ electrification efforts. Many have speculated the Biden administration’s coolness to Tesla stems from its lack of unionization compared to auto industry peers.”

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CANNABIS COUNTRY

— “The US cannabis industry now supports 428,059 jobs,” by Leafly’s Bruce Barcott and Beau Whitney: “California remains the nation’s leading cannabis employer, with $5.1 billion in 2021 sales supporting 83,607 jobs. After a 64% growth spurt in 2020, the state’s cannabis market eased into a more moderate 15% revenue gain in 2021.”

MIXTAPE

— “Man pleads guilty to murder in death of Jacqueline Avant,” by the LA Times’ James Queally, Richard Winton and Matthew Ormseth.

— “California, other states reach $6B settlement with Sacklers, Purdue over opioid epidemic,” by the Sac Bee’s Cathie Anderson.

— “ Deputies fatally shoot man who attacked another with garden claw in Bellflower,” by the LA Times’ Lila Seidman.

— “State worker first to be sentenced in massive California Office of AIDS fraud scheme, ” by the Sac Bee’s Sam Stanton.

— “T-Mobile Data Breach Could Affect 6 Million Californians,” by the LAist’s Camila Thur de Koos.

— “She’s 81 and still playing soccer. Is this S.F. pickup game the fountain of youth?” by the SF Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub.

— “ What will it take for S.F. public schools to drop the mask mandate? Officials won’t say,” by the SF Chronicle’s Jill Tucker and Annie Vainshtein.

Transitions

— Jack Pickett started this week as press secretary in Rep. Michelle Steel’s (R-Calif.) office. He was previously in Rep. Dan Newhouse’s (R-Wash.) office.

— Justin Hyer is joining Shipt to oversee state and local government affairs for the Western region. He previously served as senior vice president of government relations for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

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