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Presented by Californians for Energy Independence: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White, Ramon Castanos and Matthew Brown | Presented by Californians for Energy Independence | BIG POLITICO NEWS: Our expansion in California this year is among the most exciting and ambitious journalistic ventures POLITICO has embarked on since we launched a European operation in Brussels. We have already begun building out our reporting and now it’s time to increase our ranks in the nation’s largest state — and in Sacramento in particular. We wanted California Playbook readers to be the first to hear about it. Chris Cadelago, a stellar member of our White House team, is returning to Sacramento to take on a major role as our California bureau chief. Chris will be our lead politics reporter and partner with California Editor Katy Murphy and our entire team to drive our California reporting and take our coverage to the next level, on everything from the Statehouse to ballot initiatives to water policy. This is a big move for POLITICO and for Chris but also a natural one. A San Francisco native and Berkeley graduate, Chris came to POLITICO’s Washington team in 2018 after distinguishing himself as the lead political writer for The Sacramento Bee. There, he chronicled Kamala Harris’ rise from California attorney general to the U.S. Senate, and then moved to Washington for POLITICO, where his coverage of Harris’ presidential campaign and selection as Joe Biden’s vice president was far and away the best in the country. Before the Bee, Chris covered politics in San Diego for the San Diego Union Tribune and became their state capital correspondent. Chris’ ties to Sacramento haven’t wavered during his time in Washington — he is well sourced across the state, from the governor’s mansion to the power brokers of Los Angeles. His passion for California is deep, and he’s brimming with ideas on how POLITICO can distinguish itself in an urgent and sophisticated way. Chris and his family will return to Sacramento early this summer as we grow our team, including the hiring of a new California expansion editor, to tell the stories that aren’t currently being told and to hold power here to account. We are approaching California’s capital with the same rigor we do Washington, but with its own unique flavor and approach. We want to cover California not from Washington or for Washington, but on its own terms. We’ve already increased our policy coverage with the introduction of California legislative analysis, and we’re mobilizing teams throughout the newsroom, from graphics to interactives to engagement, to support the expansion. Chris’ new role is an exciting next step for us.
| | | | A message from Californians for Energy Independence: California energy shutdowns have resulted in about a 25% decrease in local oil production in the last four years - but if California isn’t producing the energy we need locally, it has to come from somewhere else. California now imports 75% of the oil we use - mostly from foreign countries without our same environmental, labor, and human rights standards, resulting in an unstable energy supply, and higher gas prices for working families. Get The Facts | | | THE BUZZ: Gov. Gavin Newsom is quick to bash Big Oil in the headlines, but efforts to hit them in the pockets have yet to yield much progress. It’s been 124 days since Newsom stood outside the Natural Resources Building in downtown Sacramento and called for a special session of the Legislature to address high gas prices. At the time Californians were paying an average of $6.39 a gallon at the pump, and Democrats, a month away from elections, were feeling the pressure. “It’s time to get serious,” Newsom said in October. “I’m sick of this.” Much has changed since then. Gas prices have fallen to an average of $4.62, a new class of legislators have been installed, and the state is staring down a possible $22.5 billion budget deficit. The governor has continued to make accountability for oil companies a key talking point, but questions remain about when — and if — the Legislature will embrace his price-gouging penalty. Oil companies, unperturbed by the fierce rhetoric, have moved forward with undoing other climate legislation. An effort to overturn California’s new oil setbacks law qualified for the 2024 ballot last week, renewing fervor among Democrats, environmental advocates and the governor himself. In a similar vein, Newsom on Monday called for the feds to step in and investigate a spike in the price of natural gas, which is expected to show up in Californians’ utility bills in the coming months. The bill enacting a penalty for price gouging, which is being carried by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), still wants for specifics, like how exactly the state would define excess profits and what kinds of penalties would be levied if oil companies exceeded them. Daniel Villaseñor, deputy press secretary for the governor, said Newsom is still hammering out specifics with legislators and the administration has been having weekly meetings with a Senate working group on that front. But the dynamics of the Legislature — and the weight of what Newsom is asking — cannot be ignored. Even with a Democratic supermajority, there will be lawmakers who aren’t keen on such a penalty. It’s not a death sentence for this type of legislation. Newsom, after all, was able to pass a sweeping climate change package last year despite the industry spending $34 million lobbying in the capitol. The price-gouging penalty has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. It's in the Senate Rules Committee, chaired by President Pro Tem Toni Aktins (D-San Diego). Villaseñor, in the governor’s office, said they expect things to pick up in March. BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. Three former Twitter employees are set to appear in Washington before the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability this morning for a hearing on the tech giant’s role “in suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.” Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “He saved lives. It’s time we do the same. Ban assault weapons, now.” President Joe Biden, in his State of the Union Address to Congress, praising Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old who stopped the Monterey Park shooter. TWEET OF THE DAY:
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Twitter | WHERE’S GAVIN? In Washington to attend the National Governors Association conference and meet with White House officials.
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, presented by Cisco, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | — “California hasn't seen a catastrophic earthquake recently. But 'quiet' period won't last,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Rong-Gong Lin II: “But structural engineers have said that a big quake in California would also be devastating, if not on the same scale. They have long warned about the risk of brittle, concrete buildings collapsing, as occurred during the 1971 Sylmar and 1994 Northridge quakes.” — “Fossil fuel industry spent $34M lobbying Sacramento last year while reaping record profits,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Ari Plachta: “Western States Petroleum Association, a leading fossil fuel industry group, invested $11.7 million on lobbying last year, according to numbers posted on the California Secretary of State’s website. Chevron Corporation alone spent $8.6 million.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | ATKINS ENDORSES PORTANTINO — The Senate President Pro Tem threw her support behind fellow senator Anthony Portantino in the race for Rep. Adam Schiff’s spot in CA-30. With a slate of other Democrats vying for the seat (including Assemblymember Laura Friedman), we’re sure to be in for a lively primary. STATE OF THE TEA LEAVES — Rep. Katie Porter’s State of the Union guest last night got some attention: the Orange County Democrat brought California Labor Federation chief Lorena Gonzalez. Union support could be critical in California’s Senate race given organized labor’s campaign clout. We also note that Gonzalez in 2020 backed Sen. Elizabeth Warren for president; Warren is Porter’s highest-profile endorser.
| | | | A message from Californians for Energy Independence:   | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — “Brandon Tsay disarmed a massive killer. Where does he go from here?,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Goldberg: “It has been a lot to take in for a young man who prefers playing “League of Legends” with friends and building personal computers to public speaking — someone his family said always placed them ahead of himself, was devoted to his mother through the cancer that eventually killed her and worked nights at the family dance hall to keep it going.” — “Why California is so far apart from other states in Colorado River water cuts plan,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Ian James and Sean Greene: “But what’s clear in California’s proposal is that it calls for the other states, particularly Arizona, to give up more water. California’s recommendations suggest that Arizona could face some of the largest reductions at critically low reservoir levels, a major blow for a state that gets more than a third of its water from the Colorado.” — Headline “YIMBYS are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area. Here’s why,” opines Emily Hoeven for the San Francisco Chronicle: “The three groups are suing Belvedere, Burlingame, Cupertino, Daly City, Fairfax, Martinez, Novato, Palo Alto, Pinole, Pleasant Hill, Richmond and Santa Clara County for failing to follow state law, which required them to adopt by Jan. 31 a blueprint — called a housing element — outlining how they plan to accommodate their share of the 2.5 million homes California is asking cities to prepare for by 2030.” — “Helping homeowners: California expands mortgage relief,” by CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo: “The expansion comes as state officials say the pandemic era housing market — characterized by an uncertain economy, high home prices and now higher mortgage interest rates — could still imperil homeownership in the Golden State, particularly for lower-and-middle-income families.” — “Californians in prison for felonies could vote under proposed constitutional amendment,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Stephen Hobbs: “The measure requires two-thirds support from both the state Assembly and Senate. It would then need to be approved through a statewide ballot measure.”
— “Steph Curry's California NIMBY housing 'scandal' is complicated,” opines Ned Resnikoff for MSNBC: “But Steph Curry’s fame means he faces more attempts to invade his privacy — and his family’s privacy — than the rest of us.”
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | — Federal judge says constitutional right to abortion may still exist, despite Dobbs, by POLITICO’S Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein: Kollar-Kotelly noted that there is some legal scholarship suggesting that the 13th Amendment — which was ratified at the end of the Civil War and sought to ban slavery and “involuntary servitude” — provides just such a right. She is asking the parties in the criminal case, which involves charges of blocking access to abortion clinics, to present arguments by mid-March. —Marty Walsh to depart from Biden Cabinet for job atop hockey players’ union, by POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky, Eleanor Mueller and Nick Niedzwiadek: A former union official who previously headed up the Building and Construction Trades Council in Boston, Walsh is set to return to his roots in organized labor after giving some consideration to making another run at elected office in his home state of Massachusetts.
| | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | — “Less parking, more housing? San Jose tech rollout tests appetite for parking contraction,” by The Mercury News’ Eliyahu Kamisher: “At the heart of the tech rollout is a push to decrease parking in San Jose — a city that is one of the most “overparked” municipalities in the state, according to transportation advocates — and pave the way for more homes, retail and restaurant spaces.” — “For better and for worse, Elon Musk is his own spokesman,” by The New York Times’ Jacob Bernstein: “For journalists, the situation at Twitter may be a case of be careful what you wish for.”
| | | | A message from Californians for Energy Independence: California energy shutdowns have resulted in about a 25% decrease in local oil production in the last four years - but if California isn’t producing the energy we need locally, it has to come from somewhere else. California now imports 75% of the oil we use - mostly from foreign countries without our same environmental, labor, and human rights standards, resulting in an unstable energy supply, and higher gas prices for working families.
As we transition to a cleaner energy economy, we can continue to produce the oil and gas Californians need locally, where production is the most regulated, and meets the highest environmental standards in the world - rather than increase our reliance on more costly foreign oil and the volatile countries that produce it.
Get The Facts on Energy Independence | | | | | MIXTAPE | | — “Only one Bay Area fault is capable of producing a 7.8 earthquake — here's why,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Tara Duggan. — “End to pandemic assistance leaves Bay Area food banks on edge,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mario Cortez. — “Why helping whales to flourish can help fight climate change,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Corinne Purtill. — “Over 40 and female: Former San Diego TV anchor says she had to go,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Teri Figueroa.
| | BIRTHDAYS | | Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … Anduril Industries’ Matthew Haskins … American Economic Liberties Project’s Matt Stoller 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. | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
