THE BUZZ — HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS: The California Legislature wrapped up its 2023 session just before midnight as bleary-eyed, exhausted lawmakers finished their work on hundreds of bills. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Oct. 14 to sign or veto. POLITICO’s California team huddled to compile this list of winners and losers, which reflects the course of the session alone. The list is based upon how these players navigated and ultimately fared within the Legislature, not necessarily whether Newsom will ultimately sign their bills. WINNERS — Legislative leadership (Robert Rivas, Mike McGuire and Toni Atkins)
We can’t remember the last time the session ended with so little drama. Who can forget the infighting and — ultimately — leadership coup that loomed over the final few years of former Speaker Anthony Rendon’s tenure? Robert Rivas took the gavel less than three months ago. Still, he managed to foster a relative sense of calm, as several assemblymembers told our reporters. The next challenge for Rivas will be setting a clear policy agenda in 2024 — and communicating that vision to California’s 39 million residents. Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Mike McGuire caught nearly everyone by surprise when he clinched the votes to be the chamber’s next president. But the leadership transition was most remarkable for its smoothness. Within 24 hours, the Democratic caucus voted, and outgoing President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, who is termed out next year, warmly embraced McGuire at a news conference. Shannon Grove
No Republican legislator was more successful at putting Democrats in a bind this session. Sen. Shannon Grove went to the mat for her Senate Bill 14, which would expand the Three Strikes Law to include human trafficking of minors. Democrats on the Public Safety Committee initially killed the bill. But Grove lampooned the decision and sparked a social media firestorm. The outcry caught the attention of Newsom and Rivas, who sprang into PR-crisis mode. SB 14 passed the Assembly with nearly unanimous support, but only after Republicans gave the party in power a public scolding. Scott Wiener
Sen. Scott Wiener’s dreams of a 2024 congressional run were dashed when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi decided to seek reelection in San Francisco. But he didn’t waste time sulking. Wiener had a prolific legislative year in terms of the number and complexity of bills he carried over the finish line. Among his big swings: Psychedelics decriminalization, corporate emissions disclosure and two major bills to streamline construction of housing. SEIU California
The summer of strikes reverberated in Sacramento. Unions ran the board this session, sending a host of worker-friendly bills to Newsom. SEIU California stands out in particular for striking deals with industry to create a $25 minimum wage for health care workers and another to improve wages for fast food workers. Other labor-related wins backed by SEIU included measures to allow striking workers to receive unemployment benefits and another to let legislative staffers unionize. YIMBYS
The pro-housing YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) movement had perhaps its most successful session so far. Lawmakers approved Wiener’s Senate Bill 423, which would expand a state law to streamline housing construction in cities that haven’t met their state-assigned housing goals. Most notably, the YIMBY-backed bill would remove an exemption that has discouraged the construction of apartment and condo towers in urban coastal areas. Other wins for the movement included Assemblymember Phil Ting’s bills to make it easier to sell or rent backyard cottages and to limit the ability to challenge projects under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. LOSERS — Insurance industry (and Ricardo Lara)
Newsom and legislative leaders failed to reach a deal to shore up California’s home insurance market. Large insurers — State Farm, Allstate and Farmers — have been pulling back from the state amid rising climate disaster costs and high inflation. Newsom and Rivas, in particular, pushed for efforts to counter the industry moves. Those efforts fizzled as consumer advocates and insurers clashed. Now, the pressure will be extra focused on Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who has broad authority to pass new rules. California Business Roundtable
The success of many labor and progressive-backed policies this year came at the expense of business association lobbyists. One particularly notable snub was an effort targeting the California Business Roundtable over its ballot initiative that would make it tougher to pass tax hikes. Legislators responded with ACA-13, a November 2024 ballot measure that would hold that business measure to the same two-thirds requirement it seeks to impose. Despite warnings about the inviolable Prop. 13, the Business Roundtable and allies couldn’t stop it. A related measure, ACA1, would lower the voter threshold to approve local taxes. Climate activists
On the whole, it was a tough session for activists who want California to move faster to decrease planet-warming emissions and end fossil-fuel drilling. Arguably, the two biggest climate bills of the year were killed early on by Senate Appropriations Chair Anthony Portantino amid industry opposition. Senate Bill 12, by Henry Stern, would have accelerated the state’s target date to reduce emissions. And Senate Bill 556, by Lena Gonzalez, would have made energy companies liable if people get sick because they live near oil wells. The uphill slog for climate activists this year was a stark shift from last session, when Newsom pushed lawmakers to pass a grand package of climate bills. The one major exception: Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 253, Wiener’s measure to require large corporations to disclose their emissions — a significant win. Reggie Jones-Sawyer
It was a difficult year for criminal justice reform advocates, and, by extension Assembly Public Safety Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer. Democrats this session played defense on fentanyl — no surprise given their hesitancy about increasing criminal penalties. Jones-Sawyer became the punching bag for Republicans and some in his own party who criticized his reluctance to get behind some tougher fentanyl measures. Next session, Jones-Sawyer is on the list of committee chairs who could be vulnerable as Speaker Rivas looks to reshuffle. Anthony Rendon
Anthony Rendon is perhaps the least surprising figure on our list. We couldn’t exclude the former speaker after he was ousted from leadership following a bitter battle. Rivas was named speaker designate in late 2022, marking the beginning of the end of the longest speakership in the term limits era. Rendon infamously walked out of the Assembly chamber as Rivas was sworn in on June 30. It was the opposite of the smooth and graceful transition playing out under Atkins in the Senate.
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