| | | | |  | | By Rachel Bluth and Jeremy B. White | Presented by Heat Pump Nation | LEGISLATORS ON DRUGS: Fentanyl is tearing through California and the nation — killing people, increasing homelessness and despair, while turning parts of some cities into hellscapes of disaster. There’s not much dispute about the existence of the problem, which just seems to get worse and worse. What to do about it is dividing legislators, as was made clear in today’s joint session on the crisis. Few lawmakers, it seems, want Drug War 2.0 — but even some Democrats are now conceding that looking the other way isn’t working, either. While much of the hearing focused on the need for more public education, overdose prevention measures and treatment, there’s clearly an appetite for some kind of increased law enforcement efforts. “I’m a Democrat, I’m all for investing in communities and drug treatment,” Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi said. “But we need to have some balance.” He seemed to be echoing San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who drew praise from moderate allies on the Board of Supervisors this week as she called for a more forceful response to a crisis that has fueled a dystopian downward spiral in the Tenderloin. “Compassion is killing people,” Breed said. While proud of the city’s treatment and prevention programs, she decried a lack of “accountability” and said a stronger approach is needed. “Force is going to have to be a part of it, whether people like it or not,” she said. “We’re going to have to do more.” At the hearing, some argued that the force — whatever it ultimately turns out to be — should not be targeted at low-level users and dealers, replicating the sad, sorry history of the drug war. Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, urged lawmakers to ensure that people can access the overdose medication naloxone as easily as they can a fire extinguisher — and that arrests need to focus on major players. "I strongly want to emphasize that the fentanyl crisis can’t be solved solely by prosecution tools,” Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said. “I certainly want to emphasize that our crisis can’t be solved by the failed war-on-drug policies of the past.”
|  The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public Health Management Corporation, Dec. 4, 2018, in Philadelphia. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo | HAPPY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to rbluth@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation: California lawmakers must protect low-income and working-class communities that are severely impacted by extreme heat and high energy bills. The Equitable Building Decarbonization and Community Resilience Centers programs can lower energy bills, cut pollution, improve public health, and bring clean cooling to those who need it most. Restore the $1 billion in funding for these important programs in the state budget. Learn more. | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON: The risk of blackouts on California’s hottest summer days will be smaller this year than last year, thanks to more hydropower and battery storage, according to a recent state Energy Commission report. That could mean energy regulators won’t have to send another emergency text like last year’s Sept. 6 request to reduce electricity use or face outages. “This year we predict no shortfalls under average conditions,” Siva Gunda, the commission’s vice chair, told reporters this afternoon. Nonetheless, he added, “the extremes of climate change remain a wild card.” The biggest risk to reliability is wildfires, which could cut off crucial transmission sources, as when a fire in Oregon robbed California of needed megawatts in 2021. State regulators said they have ordered utilities to add lots more battery storage in the years to come, which will further help boost reliability. — Wes Venteicher
| | ON THE BEATS | | WAGE GAP: A bill to boost the minimum wage for California health care workers to $25 per hour next year is being amended to slow down the proposed bump, according to SEIU-UHW, the union behind the bill. The latest version of the bill would push the minimum wage to $21 per hour, starting in June of next year, and to $25 by June 2025. That will save some money for facilities, which opponents said would be on the hook for $8 billion per year under the old proposal. The change probably won’t be enough to get hospitals and clinics on board, but it could help the bill’s author, Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) get the 21 votes she needs to pass the Senate ahead of next week’s deadline. BALANCING ACT: Assembly Democrats made known their top funding priorities — transit and child care — in a budget plan they released this afternoon. Chamber leaders want to restore $1.2 billion in transit funding that Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting to balance the state’s budget, and more than triple Newsom’s planned cost-of-living adjustment for child care providers. But in a multibillion-dollar deficit year, that added spending would come at a cost. The Assembly isn’t relying on new taxes to close the gap, after Newsom rejected a Senate plan to hike rates on corporations. It instead wants to cut hundreds of millions in spending on energy grid support, along with millions more in broadband funding that it hopes federal cash will backfill. Those sticking points could become pivotal in budget negotiations between legislative leaders and the governor’s office as they try to reach a compromise next month — and balance the state’s checkbook under the weight of a $31.5 billion deficit. — Blake Jones
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation:   | | | | | AROUND CALIFORNIA | | “The luxury shopping oasis emerging in San Francisco’s struggling downtown,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Jim Carlton and Suzanne Kapner: Concerns over crime and homelessness have kept many Bay Area residents from shopping in downtown San Francisco, while a slow return to offices in the technology sector means workers aren’t around to buy products on their lunch breaks or in the evening. “San Francisco Mayor implores business leaders for support amid grim poll numbers,” by The San Francisco Standard’s Kevin Truong: It’s clear, at least according to the results of a CityBeat Poll sponsored by the chamber, where residents see the arrow pointing. The survey found 76% of San Francisco voters say that the city is heading on the wrong track and 73% said the quality of life has gotten worse over the past few years.
| | MIXTAPE | | “Elon Musk is dying to be funny. These eight comedians have some notes,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Brian Contreras. “'Our trains need to be safe.' Woman's attack on L.A. Metro line sparks calls for action,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Grace Toohey. “As water levels drop, the risk of arsenic rises,” by California Healthline’s Melissa Bailey.
| | | | A message from Heat Pump Nation: California lawmakers must protect low-income and working-class communities that are severely impacted by extreme heat and high energy bills. The Equitable Building Decarbonization program expands access to electric heat pumps, weatherization, and other essential home upgrades for low-income households. The Community Resilience Centers program upgrades community centers, schools, libraries, and other public facilities to provide life-saving cooling, backup power, and access to critical resources for working-class communities of color. These important programs lower energy bills, cut pollution, improve public health, and bring clean cooling to those who need it most. Now is not the time to cut or delay funding for programs that serve our most vulnerable communities. To achieve our climate goals and an all-electric future, we need to ensure that all Californians can access clean energy. We must restore the $1 billion in funding for Equitable Building Decarbonization and Community Resilience Centers in the state budget. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
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