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Presented by Solar Rights Alliance: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White , Lara Korte , Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | Presented by Solar Rights Alliance | THE BUZZ: The tobacco industry’s California clout appears to have reached its nadir. In a 2022 campaign coda, the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday rebuffed R.J. Reynolds and Altria’s last-ditch effort to block California’s ban on flavored tobacco. The tobacco giants were unable to stymie a 2019 law prohibiting menthols and sweet-tasting vapes, so they qualified Proposition 31. Voters rejected the referendum by 27 points, so the companies appealed to the high court. Now SCOTUS’s refusal has sealed off the industry’s last escape route. It's not an isolated loss. Cigarette and (more recently) vaping interests have failed to block a string of new taxes and regulations in California over the last several years despite pouring tens of millions of dollars into swaying state lawmakers and voters. That record represents a stark reversal for an industry whose deep pockets had long made it one of the more formidable forces in Sacramento. Public health advocates have the upper hand. A turning point arrived around 2016. In the years prior, tobacco companies had spent a combined $75 million to stub out a pair of ballot initiative tax proposals and extinguished a tax bill in 2014. In 2015, measures to restrict e-cigarettes and raise the tobacco-buying age perished , with a senator abandoning a vaping bill that had been hijacked with hostile amendments. Warnings that vaping was causing a spike in teen nicotine use were not translating into policy changes. | 
Packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco on May 17, 2018. | Jeff Chiu/AP Photo |
But the next year would be a watershed for anti-tobacco health care interests. Lawmakers used a special session to send Gov. Jerry Brown bills regulating vaping and raising the smoking age to 21, despite the industry’s scorched-earth vows of reprisal. Powerful interests like the California Medical Association rallied behind a tobacco tax initiative to boost Medi-Cal payments,and Prop 56 passed despite a $70 million industry counteroffensive. (The results are mixed despite significantly more tax revenue).
By 2019, advocates for banning flavored tobacco had gained the advantage. Cities around California had supplied momentum by banning the products. Altria and R.J. Reynolds couldn’t block a statewide prohibition bill from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk despite spending more than $10 million on lobbying that quarter. They barely tried to stymie a vaping tax the next year. After having the overwhelming financial advantage in previous campaigns, their Prop 31 referendum effort was outspent thanks in large part to Michael Bloomberg. Similarly, Prop 56 was buoyed by about $10 million from megadonor Tom Steyer. None of this is to say the industry has exited the political sphere. Reynolds and Altria still spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year lobbying the Legislature, spread campaign cash around legislative campaigns and political action committees and subsidize the California Republican Party (the California Democratic Party does not accept tobacco money – you may recall an uproar when vaping giant Juul sponsored a convention). But that money no longer buys the kind of success the companies once enjoyed. BUENOS DÍAS, good Tuesday morning. Proposition 22 is in appeals court today as a case challenging the gig-tech industry’s worker classification initiative — which a judge nullified last year — goes to oral argument. In other tech news, FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried was expected to testify before Rep. Maxine Waters’ House Financial Services Committee today, but his arrest last night may upend that plan. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “My critics' warped zealotry isn't a sign of a growing movement for racial justice. It's a glaring problem … This modern version of McCarthyism is a danger to democracy, not a defense. It’s ‘cancel culture’ at its worst, and this kid from Boyle Heights never resigned.” Now-former L.A. City Council member Gil Cedillo in a lengthy statement entitled “Why I Did Not Resign.” TWEET OF THE DAY
|  Today's Tweet of the Day. | Twitter |
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
| | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance: The California Public Utilities Commission is considering a proposal that would cut California’s most successful solar program by 75% overnight. It’s a bad idea that hurts consumers, green jobs, and California’s clean future. California needs a lot more rooftop solar, not less. Tell the CPUC to stop the attack on solar. Learn more and take action at savecaliforniasolar.org. | | |
|  | TOP TALKERS | | KDL CHAOS — Leaked tape turns LA City Council member into a fugitive in his hometown , by POLITICO’s Alexander Nieves and Jeremy B. White: De León stopped going to City Council meetings — though he made a brief attempt on Friday — to avoid the raucous demonstrations. He fled the bungalow he bought for nearly $1 million last year. A local women’s club hastily canceled a showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life” when protesters got word that de León would be there, apologizing in a handwritten note on the door … De León doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, no matter how hard others work to push him aside. HACKED UP — “ California Department of Finance hit with cybersecurity threat, investigation underway ,” by KCRA3’s Ashley Zavala: “The update comes after Russian-affiliated ransomware group LockBit reportedly claimed the California Department of Finance was one of its latest victims.” INTERNET BREACH — “ Former top Twitter official forced to leave home due to threats amid ‘Twitter Files’ release ,” by CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan: “Yoel Roth, who resigned from the social media company in November, has in recent weeks faced a storm of attacks and threats of violence following the release of the so-called ‘Twitter Files’ — internal Twitter communications that new owner Musk has released through journalists including Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss.” — “ Cause of death: Washington faltered as fentanyl gripped America ,” by the Washington Post’s Nick Miroff, Scott Higham, Steven Rich, Salwan Georges and Erin Patrick O’Connor: “San Diego is ground zero for fentanyl trafficking into the United States. More than half of all the fentanyl seized along the southern border is confiscated there, much of it produced in clandestine drug labs and pressed into tablets by cartel networks in northern Mexico.”
| | | | POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP . | | | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | — “ Column: If Democrats want support from California’s most Latino county, they’ll have to earn it ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jean Guerrero: “For Democrats who mistake demographics for destiny, Imperial County is a mystery. It’s California’s most heavily Latino county, and yet Republicans have been making gains here.” | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | REVISITING REFERENDA — “ Ballot blockade: California industries rely on referenda to stop laws ,” by CalMatters’ Ben Christopher and Jeanne Kuang: “The fast food and oil industries are only the latest to seek a referendum to stop, or at least delay, a law passed by the state Legislature. The return on investment can be huge — so much money that some are calling for changing the referendum rules in California.” GOING NUCLEAR — “ Major Fusion Energy Breakthrough to Be Announced by Scientists ,” by the New York Times’ Kenneth Chang: “Scientists at a federal nuclear weapons facility have made a potentially significant advance in fusion research that could lead to a source of bountiful energy in the future, according to a government official.” — “ Supervisors To Close Out Year by Scolding Twitter, Grilling Breed on Drug Crisis ,” by the San Francisco Standard’s Mike Ege: “This week’s kitchen sink session will have an appearance by Mayor London Breed, who will field pointed questions over drugs and homelessness.” CENTERING COMMUNITY — “ What’s More Important for This Town: A Library or a Police Station? ” by the New York Times’ Tim Arango: “The starkness of the choice facing McFarland — library or police station — reflects a growing debate in communities across the country over how much to spend on law enforcement in a post-George Floyd America, versus what to devote to other public needs, especially those serving disadvantaged groups.” — “ Karen Bass’ ability to curb Los Angeles homelessness will test California Democrats – and government itself ,” opines UCLA professor Jim Newton for CalMatters: “Los Angeles has been forced to reboot before, and this time the job falls to Karen Bass, the first woman elected as mayor of the nation’s second-largest city. She promised urgent action on homelessness at her swearing-in ceremony on Sunday.” POWER TO PREVENT — “ PG&E Needs to Find Billions of Dollars for Wildfire Prevention ,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Katherine Blunt: “The multibillion-dollar plan is key to substantially reducing the risk of PG&E’s power lines sparking wildfires.” — “ San Francisco cuts and runs in the Tenderloin — and on safe-injection sites ,” by Mission Local’s Joe Eskenazi: “The City Attorney’s office knows this, and no doubt lets its government clients know it too. But the law has forbidden safe consumption sites for quite some time — and San Francisco was planning to move forward anyway. Until, suddenly, it wasn’t.” DRIVING IT HOME — “ Can California’s electric-vehicle push overcome the red-state backlash? ” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Bierman: “The uneasy reception to EVs in Indiana — in a national climate that includes Republican lawsuits against California’s new emissions rules and televised warnings that they represent an attack on freedom — suggests that the country remains divided over embracing a technology that environmentalists say is essential to combating climate change.”
| | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance:   | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | GARCETTI’S GAMBLE: A Los Angeles Democratic club is urging California’s senators to block ex-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti from becoming ambassador to India, citing the sexual harassment allegations against Garcetti’s longstanding top aide that have stalled out his appointment. East Area Progressive Democrats wrote to Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Alex Padilla that “Garcetti’s claims of ignorance of gross misconduct of his closest aide strain credulity and common sense” (Garcetti has denied knowledge).
| | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | FEELING LUCKY? — “ The party animal and the island-hopping hermit ,” by Business Insider’s Hugh Langley and Rob Price: “ Two of the richest and most powerful men in the world were suddenly on their own, free of corporate oversight, shareholder demands — and, for the first time in years, each other.”
| | | | JOIN THURSDAY FOR A CONVERSATION ON FAMILY CARE IN AMERICA : Family caregivers are among our most overlooked and under-supported groups in the United States. The Biden Administration’s new national strategy for supporting family caregivers outlines nearly 350 actions the federal government is committed to taking. Who will deliver this strategy? How should different stakeholders divide the work? Join POLITICO on Dec. 15 to explore how federal action can improve the lives of those giving and receiving family care across America. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | MIXTAPE | | — “ Study: Paid family leave in California keeps women in jobs ,” by CalMatters’ Grace Gedye. — “ P-22, L.A.'s celebrity mountain lion, captured in the backyard of a Los Feliz home ,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Christian Martinez, Laura J. Nelson and Nathan Solis. A WET WINTER — “ Will California keep getting hit with storms throughout December? Here’s what to expect, ” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Gerry Díaz. — “ Will a legal saga over a $70 million Malibu mansion derail the star of ‘Buying Beverly Hills’? ” by the Los Angeles Times’ Laurence Darmiento. — FTX founder Bankman-Fried arrested in the Bahamas , by POLITICO’s Sam Sutton. OFFLINE TWITTER — “ Dave Chappelle brings out Twitter’s Elon Musk at Chase Center, chaos ensues ,” by SFGate’s Gabe Lehman. | | TRANSITIONS | | — Brandon Richards has joined Gov. Gavin Newsom’s team as deputy communications director, vacating his communications position with Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. — Catie Stewart is leaving her gig as Sen. Scott Wiener’s communications person. — Adrian Eng-Gastelum will direct media strategy for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, stepping up from his press secretary role. | | BIRTHDAYS | | Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) (8-0) … Google’s Riva Sciuto … Todd S. Purdum 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 -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 Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance: A very successful solar program called “net energy metering” keeps rooftop solar growing and affordable in California. Net energy metering compensates solar consumers for the excess energy they produce and share back to the grid. Because of net energy metering, solar is growing fastest among working and middle class consumers.
But, big utilities like PG&E hate losing profits when more people go solar. Utilities are pushing a plan at the California Public Utilities Commission that would slash the value of net energy metering by 75% overnight.
The extreme attack on solar makes solar unaffordable for working class Californians, schools and churches. It risks green jobs and small businesses. And it slows California’s progress to 100% clean energy.
California needs a lot more rooftop solar, not less. Tell the CPUC to stop the attack on solar. Learn more and take action at savecaliforniasolar.org. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
