| | | | |  | | By Alexander Nieves | With help from Annie Bang HISTORY LESSON: Fall 2008 was a tumultuous time in the U.S. The stock market and economy were melting down at the start of what was to become the Great Recession. Barack Obama was elected to his first term. And California voters approved an amendment to the state constitution that banned same-sex marriage after one of the most divisive initiative campaigns in state history. Now, California might be getting a do-over. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which has over 70 co-authors, would place a measure on the November 2024 ballot asking voters to undo Prop 8 and remove language from the California Constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. In part, it’s an effort to correct language that would be unlikely to be adopted today in a state with a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. “It's important that we update and reflect California values now,” Assemblymember Evan Low, one of the co-authors, told reporters at the Capitol. There is also a more practical issue, as same-sex marriage once again appears to be on shaky ground in the U.S. Prop 8, which passed by nearly 600,000 votes back in 2008, was overtaken by legal challenges and ultimately rendered moot by the Supreme Court, which found that same-sex couples had a right to marry in a narrow June 2015 decision.
|  FILE - Protesters march in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, during the latest demonstrations held around the country since Californians adopted Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. California lawmakers are going to try to introduce legislation Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, to officially repeal a 15-year-old voter initiative meant to ban same-sex marriage in the state. (AP Photo/Robert Durell, File) | AP | Same-sex marriage is more widely accepted now, but the Supreme Court decision could be in jeopardy. Last year, in his concurring opinion to the ruling that overturned the right to abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas called on his colleagues to reconsider opinions that protected marriage equality and access to contraceptives. It’s not clear when — or whether — the conservative majority on the Supreme Court will act on what Thomas has urged. But lawmakers and advocates in California want to be ready. “The judiciary is being weaponized to tear down precedent, the rule of law, and to pursue an extreme political agenda that goes right at the heart of our democracy, which includes our fundamental rights,” said Carlos Marquez, executive director of ACLU California Action. “It’s time to go on offense.” HAPPY MONDAY 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 anieves@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 | | TENSION ON THE TARMAC: Another flight carrying migrants arrived in Sacramento this morning and, much like the one that arrived Friday, appears to have connections to the Florida state government. California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office confirmed that a flight carrying 20 migrants touched down just after 10 a.m. today. The contractor operating the flight appears to be the same contractor who transported the last group of 16 migrants last week, the CADOJ told us. As was the case with the first group, the migrants who arrived today "carried documents indicating that their transportation to California involved the state of Florida," the department said. Democratic officials are already jumping on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has stayed mum about the whole ordeal. Gov. Gavin Newsom called DeSantis a "small, pathetic man" in a tweet that insinuated DeSantis could be on the hook for "kidnapping charges." A spokesperson with the governor's office said that Newsom strongly supports the attorney general's investigation into the flights, but that specific charges and violations of the law "will ultimately be determined by the AG's office." — Lara Korte
| | On The Beats | | CURRICULUM CRUSADE: Newsom may have found his first in-state target in a crusade against conservative-led curriculum challenges: a school board in Temecula that rejected social studies textbooks, with two members citing supplementary materials that mention Harvey Milk. The former San Francisco supervisor, one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials, was assassinated at City Hall in 1978. Board President Joseph Komrosky and member Danny Gonzalez called Milk a "pedophile" without offering evidence of their claim. Neither member immediately responded to a request for comment. Newsom took notice after outlets including the Los Angeles Times and CBS Los Angeles ran stories. “In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn,” the governor tweeted Saturday. The Newsom administration last week warned school districts against banning books or restricting curriculum at the behest of conservative challengers. It also cautioned that schools shelving books should prepare for a review from the attorney general’s office. Neither official has said whether he’ll take action to rebuke the Southern California school board’s 3-2 decision. Bonta’s office didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry, and Newsom’s office directed POLITICO to the last line of the governor’s statement: “Stay tuned.” — Blake Jones RENT REPAIR: A coalition of housing and economic justice groups reached a settlement with the California Department of Housing & Community Development today after suing the department over a Covid-era rental assistance program that has denied 30 percent of applicants. As part of the agreement, HCD will be required to provide applicants detailed explanations about the denials — and an opportunity to appeal. Tenants who have been told they received the money in error and must return it to the state will have a chance to contest the decision. The settlement also requires California to give more funding to local organizations that help renters manage applications and appeals through the state’s Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
| | | | 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 | | — ‘He instigated a lot of hatred’: Dolores Huerta, San Diegans call to remove Pete Wilson statue downtown,” by The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Emily Alvarenga: Community advocates calling for the removal of a downtown San Diego statue of former mayor and Gov. Pete Wilson have garnered the support of labor leader Dolores Huerta. But the statue’s owners are insistent that it won’t budge. — “The new payday loans? California moves to regulate cash advance apps,” by CalMatters’ Grace Dedye: One difference is that California regulates payday loans, but app-based cash advances have been operating in a legal gray area. Consumer groups say these products are risky for workers because they can lead to a cycle of borrowing and they have confusing pricing models, which can make it difficult to understand how small fees add up. “Their business model was basically structured around trying to establish this legal fiction that they are not actually lenders under California law,” said Andrew Kushner, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. “And one of the things they did to try to maintain that fiction is they would say the product is completely free.”
| | MIXTAPE | | — “Twitter missed dozens of known images of child sexual abuse material, researchers say,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Alexa Corse. Twitter failed to prevent dozens of known images of child sexual abuse from being posted on its platform in recent months, according to Stanford University researchers who said the situation indicated a lapse in basic enforcement. —“Twitter’s U.S. ad sales plunge 59% as woes continue,” by The New York Times’ Ryan Mac and Tiffany Hsu: Twitter’s ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products, the people said. The company has forecast that its U.S. ad revenue this month will be down at least 56 percent each week compared with a year ago, according to one internal document. — “West Coast states rode the tech boom. Now they face higher unemployment, falling wages,” by The Wall Street Journal’s Gabriel T. Rubin and Christine Mai-Duc: The West Coast tech downturn is sending a chill through the region’s economies, hitting workers and businesses in a variety of other industries. | | | | 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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