| | | | |  | | By Rachel Bluth | Presented by U.S. Bank | Thanks for reading California Playbook PM. We are taking a break for the summer recess but will be back in your inboxes soon. Our morning Playbook will continue to publish next week. You can sign up for it here. CUE THE OUTRAGE: Republicans scored a rare victory today, deploying a blend of tough-on-crime rhetoric and social media outrage to shame Democrats into bringing a human trafficking bill back to legislative life. When a policy committee rejected a bill Tuesday that would have brought trafficking a minor under the state’s three strikes law, Twitter exploded with accusations that elected officials were aiding pedophilia and choosing politics over children. Assembly members even took the unusual move of apologizing on Twitter for their votes and disavowing the votes of their colleagues. If it’s any indication of how much interest the controversy garnered, the Assembly chamber was at pre-pandemic levels of attendance this morning, with staffers and onlookers crowded around the edges of the floor to watch the drama. The bill went back to the Assembly Public Safety Committee after a tense and confusing vote in the Assembly, where nearly half of the elected officials were on their feet to watch the procedural skirmish between Majority Leader Isaac Bryan and Republican Heath Flora. At one point, Bryan admonished Flora for insinuating that other lawmakers were pro-human trafficking. The bill, from Republican Sen. Shannon Grove, passed the Senate with an unusual unanimous vote after stalling briefly in the Assembly committee. Criminal justice advocates have opposed the bill, arguing that human trafficking is already punishable by life in prison and that the proposal would only serve to further the problem of mass incarceration. There was little fanfare once the committee actually reconvened. No testimony, no debate and no presentation, just a straight yes-or-no vote. The hearing was over in less than two minutes. Rivas lieutenants Mia Bonta and Bryan abstained from voting, while the rest of the committee approved it — to thunderous applause from the Assembly Republican caucus, which came to watch.
|  Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove, center, speaks to reporters in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, July 13, 2023. A bill Grove authored to increase penalties on child traffickers passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee on Thursday. The bill had previously failed to advance through the committee. (AP Photo/Adam Beam) | AP | HAPPY THURSDAY 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 U.S. Bank: At U.S. Bank, we believe young people deserve access to financial education. That’s why we’ve partnered with Junior Achievement of Northern California to teach young people the skills they need to take charge of their economic and academic success. By supporting the next generation, we are investing in communities across California not just today, but for decades to come. Because U.S. Bank is small enough to care, and big enough to make a difference. Learn more. | | | |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | | HOLLYWOOD ON HOLD: It’s strike two for showbiz, as SAG-AFTRA’s national board voted unanimously today for a work stoppage effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday. With movie and television actors now joining writers on the picket lines, Hollywood will be effectively shut down. Union President Fran Drescher (yes, from “The Nanny”) tore into the studio chiefs at an afternoon press conference, accusing them of claiming financial hardship while pulling down eye-popping pay. “It is disgusting,” she said. “Shame on them!” This is the first time in 63 years the entertainment industry is facing two simultaneous strikes, and the economic ripple effects could be far-reaching. The studios’ trade group, the AMPTP, said that by authorizing the strike, the actors have “regrettably chosen a path that will lead to financial hardship for countless thousands of people who depend on the industry.” — Melanie Mason
|  SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, left, and SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland speak during a press conference announcing a strike by The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Thursday, July, 13, 2023, in Los Angeles. This marks the first time since 1960 that actors and writers will picket film and television productions at the same time. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) | AP | | | | ON THE BEATS | | | PLEADING FOR TIME: Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price made his first court appearance on public corruption charges filed in June. Price didn’t enter a plea or speak to reporters, though he has denied wrongdoing. The judge granted the council member’s request to postpone arraignment until Aug. 28. Price will remain free without bond, but he will have to be booked by police before returning to court, under a condition requested by prosecutors. Price has been charged with violating conflict-of-interest laws after casting several votes in favor of low-income development projects managed by companies with ties to his wife, Del Richardson Price, and with perjury for failing to disclose his wife’s financial interests on required forms. Prosecutors also accused him of embezzlement after receiving city medical benefits for Richardson Price from 2013 to 2017, while he was still legally married to another woman. The council member maintains that he believed he was legally married to Richardson Price at the time, and court records show he filed for divorce from his first wife in 2011. Fellow City Council members have expressed doubts about the strength of the case against Price, postponing a committee hearing on a suspension motion until late August. — Alexander Nieves CURRICULUM CHARGE: Democrats made their next move in a protracted feud with newly seated Southern California school board members this afternoon. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the state will purchase social studies textbooks for the Temecula board after it rejected the same curriculum over its mention of gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The announcement comes as the administration and state Superintendent Tony Thurmond work to pass legislation that would fine districts for failing to provide textbooks to students in line with state rules. That bill’s prospects got a boost today as Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas added their support. But the state School Boards Association has several issues with the bill, as do conservative parent groups. Read our report here. — Blake Jones SUSPICIOUS TIMING — The Legislative Black Caucus called attention to the high-profile departures of several Black female media executives today at a Capitol news conference, including Warner Bros. Senior V.P. of North America Diversity Equity and Inclusion Karen Horne and Netflix’s first head of inclusion strategy, Vernā Myers. They noted that the extension of the state’s $330 million annual Film and TV Tax Credit Program — Program 4.0 — requires participating projects to put forth a good-faith effort to hire a workforce that is “broadly reflective” of California’s population. Newsom signed the extension earlier in the week. “Look, I don't want to accuse anybody of anything,” State Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) said. “But it certainly looks suspicious when in a short time frame after the $1.6 billion tax credit was signed into law that we see a number of leading African American female Hollywood executives being let go.” State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) added that even those who appeared to leave on their own accord might have been “driven out” by a hostile work environment. Lawmakers said they want to meet with media executives during the summer legislative recess to discuss why the departures occurred, and they urged the governor to weigh in. They plan to introduce a legislative amendment to the film tax credit next year that would track whether these projects have made a good-faith commitment to diversity. State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) said in an interview that certified payroll tracking could be an important tool for increasing diversity. — Sejal Govindarao
| | | | A message from U.S. Bank:   | | | | | AROUND CALIFORNIA | | “Hateful’ flag proposals fail to fly in Carlsbad,” by The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Phil Diehl. The council voted 3-2 last month to fly the Pride flag at City Hall during June in recognition of Pride month, with Blackburn and Councilmember Melanie Burkholder opposed. On Tuesday, Burkholder submitted a list of 15 flags that she said constituents have asked to display on city property since the Pride decision. “Tourism from one country still hasn’t rebounded. It’s costing S.F. billions,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Danielle Echevarria. This year, visitors from China are expected to number only one-fifth of their 2019 total, and expected to spend just under $450 million. That brings the city’s total international visitor spending down from 2019’s $7.7 billion to an expected $5.9 billion in 2023. "Hollywood actors’ union SAG-AFTRA votes to strike. ‘We are the victims here.’" by the Los Angeles Times’ Anousha Sakoui: SAG-AFTRA’s national board of directors on Thursday voted unanimously to approve a strike action by tens of thousands of Hollywood actors, widening the scope of labor unrest in an entertainment industry that is already facing numerous headwinds.
| | | MIXTAPE | | | “S.F.’s Anchor Brewing survived quakes, fires and Prohibition. Now it could close for good,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Goldberg and Camryn Brewer “Homeless World Cup makes US debut in California and scores victories beyond the field for players,” by The Associated Press’ Sophie Austin
| | A message from U.S. Bank: At U.S. Bank, community is everything.
That’s why we’re investing in communities across California by partnering with organizations like Junior Achievement.
Together, we are teaching young people the skills they need to take charge of their economic and academic success. Students in these programs learn valuable financial education lessons, build professional skills and plan for the future.
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