POLITICO California Playbook PM: Newsom opens a new chapter in culture wars

Your afternoon must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

May 31, 2023 View in browser   By Blake Jones and Jeremy B. White BOOK CLUB: Until recently, California Democrats had been sitting out the culture wars raging in Florida and elsewhere over what kids learn in school. Now, worried that red-state content restrictions could filter into the state’s curriculum, they’re jumping in. Gov. Gavin Newsom made the first move earlier this month. He directed staff to seek records from Florida officials — pressing for details on their successful campaign to have social studies textbook publishers change “objectionable” content. Then state Superintendent Tony Thurmond’s Education Department this week used its bully pulpit to warn California school districts that they may risk constitutional challenges should they remove instructional materials for political reasons. “All across the nation, we're seeing a trend to ban books that depict the representation of students who identify as LGBTQ+, or talk about race,” Thurmond said at a press conference this morning announcing the new memo on curriculum restrictions. In California, “we’re heading in a very different direction.” The Newsom administration made that direction clear when it went on the offensive against its political rivals two weeks ago. It sent public records requests to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education in search of communications with textbook publishers, and it wrote letters to dozens of publishers demanding more information on what revisions they had made to their texts. The move was, explicitly, an attempt to determine whether K-12 social studies textbooks being considered for use in California had been edited under pressure from Florida officials. But it was also a signal to publishers that they’ll be boxed out of California’s massive curriculum market if they make changes that “whitewash history.” “Textbook companies are trying to make a buck — looking to publish anything they can sell in all 50 states,” Ben Chida, chief deputy cabinet secretary and Newsom’s top education adviser, told POLITICO in a statement. “Unless we take a stand, the history rewritten in Florida could be the history sold and taught in California.” But California Democrats have been reluctant to take as heavy a hand on book bans as some of their national counterparts — like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who wants his state to be the first to punish schools and other public institutions that remove books from their shelves. The most sweeping bill California was considering on the subject would have required school districts to get state approval before removing books, but that requirement was amended out. The bill would now only require the California Department of Education to offer guidance to schools on removing curriculum, which it did without a legal mandate on Tuesday. And the state has limited power to force the hands of school boards in California's numerous conservative enclaves, absent new legislation. California law leaves high school curriculum approval up to local officials. And while the State Board of Education does approve materials for grades K-8, schools can use “off-list” textbooks as long as they go through a local review process and follow state content standards. 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 bjones@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!   PLAYBOOK TRIVIA NIGHT! Think you know a lot about politics? PROVE IT! Compete in California Playbook’s inaugural Trivia Night. Grab a drink, kick back, and put your knowledge on display! Join top political power players on Wednesday, June 21st at Fox & Goose Public House for a night of fun and competition that you won’t want to miss. REGISTER HERE.     WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY PULL PARTY: Meta is threatening to erase articles from Facebook and Instagram if California approves a bill requiring those companies to pay fees to news outlets. The ultimatum comes at a decisive moment for Assemblymember Buffy Wicks’ AB 886, which must clear the Assembly floor by Friday to have a shot at becoming law this year. Tech companies are rallying against the measure. Meta’s warning is not a new tactic. The company’s statement today echoed its broadside last year about a similar bill in Congress, but with even stronger language: While Meta told Congress it would be “forced to consider removing news” if federal legislation passed, it said that “we will be forced to remove news” if California enacts AB 886. On The Beats VEHICLE-TO-GRID: California is desperate for more battery storage to keep power flowing through the grid when demand is highest. A legislative proposal turns for help to some of the most common batteries around: those found in electric vehicles. State Sen. Nancy Skinner’s SB 233 would require new electric vehicles starting in model year 2030 to come with the ability to feed power into homes, buildings or the electric grid. The bill was voted out of the Senate and over to the Assembly late Tuesday. It’s a growing resource: There are 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road in California today, and another 6 million expected by 2030. If all those EV batteries were equipped with bidirectional charging capability, the sum of their stored energy would exceed the state’s daily energy demands today, according to an analysis by the Climate Center. — Wes Venteicher DESUSTENANCE: DeSantis will be back in California next month, this time in the backyard of his Golden State counterpart and nemesis. A presidential fundraising swing is scheduled to bring the Republican governor to Sacramento on June 19. DeSantis came to California in March to trumpet his record and raise money for the Republican Party of Orange County. Since then, he’s officially declared his candidacy — and seen his California numbers slide behind those of former President Donald Trump. BLAME GAME: Some in the insurance industry and their advocates argue that it’s not climate change but unfriendly state regulations that prompted State Farm to stop offering new property insurance policies in California. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara would beg to differ. In a lengthy statement, Lara’s agency blames fires driven by climate change, a tough reinsurance market and global inflation that has caused construction costs to spike — some of the same reasons mentioned by State Farm. “The factors driving State Farm’s decision are beyond our control,” the agency said in the statement. On the bright side, the agency notes, there are still 115 companies issuing policies in the state. There’s also the increasingly burdened FAIR Plan, though it generally costs more and provides less coverage. Let’s hope for a quiet fire season.   DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW.     AROUND CALIFORNIA — “Largest-ever San Jose safe RV parking site could come to Berryessa neighborhood,” by The Mercury News’ Gabriel Greschler: The San Jose City Council is expected to vote in early June on whether to lease the 6.3-acre parcel of land at 1300 Berryessa Road from Terreno Realty, which bought it for $23 million in 2021. If approved, the city would pay the real estate group $18.9 million for a 10-year lease. — “Thousands of local hotel workers on verge of striking: 'Living in L.A. is no longer an option,'” by the Los Angeles Times’ Suhauna Hussain: Unite Here Local 11 said contracts are expiring June 30 at 62 Southern California hotels, including luxury stays such as the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles, the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica and the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills. Union officials say they are asking for the strike authorization vote on June 8 to jump-start sluggish negotiations and convince hotel operators to seriously consider pay increases for their workers. MIXTAPE — “The Oakland A’s plan to relocate to Las Vegas is taking shape,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsey Adler.  — “Delta’s carbon-neutral pledge is ‘greenwashing,’ California lawsuit says,” by The Washington Post’s Andrew Jeong.  — “How a convicted murderer's bid for freedom sparked a fight between L.A. County judges,” by the Los Angeles Times’ James Queally.   Follow us on Twitter Katy Murphy @katymurphy POLITICO California @politicoca   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

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.