POLITICO California Playbook PM: A monumental request

Presented by The Nature Conservancy: Your afternoon must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State

Aug 16, 2023 View in browser   By Camille von Kaenel and Blake Jones Presented by PROTECTING MORE LAND: California already has more national parks than any other state and the second most national monuments. It could soon place even more land — perhaps nearly 1 million acres — out of the hands of extractive industries and developers. Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources secretary, said he sees a “once-in-a-decade” opportunity to protect original tribal homelands and biodiversity hotspots from mining, timber and other development. Along with tribal leaders and environmental groups, he is trying to persuade President Joe Biden to use his presidential powers under the Antiquities Act in California to designate new national monuments or expand existing ones. Just last week, the president designated a new national monument around the Grand Canyon. That brings the number of new national monuments he’s designated to five, none of them in California. As part of the campaign, state officials have weekly meetings with White House counterparts. Tribal leaders have also visited the nation’s capital in recent weeks. “We think California is really queued up,” Crowfoot said. The proposals he’s prioritized are: San Gabriel National Monument: Much of the mountain range above the San Fernando Valley has already been protected by President Barack Obama. Momentum is gathering behind a proposal to expand the monument by roughly 110,000 acres. Sen. Alex Padilla is making it a priority, and the proposal has buy-in from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Medicine Lake Highlands: East of Mount Shasta are  the original homelands of the Pit River Tribe, featuring  obsidian mountains and a clear crater lake. The tribe is pitching a 150,000-acre national monument to protect the region from proposed geothermal and commercial timber development. Molok Luyuk: The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is proposing to add 15,000 acres of the Molok Luyuk Ridge — also known as Walker Ridge — to the Berryessa Snow National Monument in Northern California’s coastal ranges. Chuckwalla National Monument: Environment and outdoor access groups are pushing to set aside 700,000 acres of desert ecosystem east of Palm Springs as a brand new national monument. The area is home to cultural sites, as well as species like bighorn sheep and the chuckwalla, a type of lizard. The groups are also pushing for a small expansion of Joshua Tree National Park. California needs federal help if it is to meet a target of conserving 30 percent of its land and 30 percent of its coastal waters by 2030. It’s now at roughly 24 percent and will have to up the pace to meet its goal by the target date. 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! A message from The Nature Conservancy: Pass a $15B Climate Bond for People and Nature From drought to megafires, climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of catastrophic events in California. While nature can achieve one-third of the greenhouse gas reductions needed to make our climate safer, nature-based solutions are significantly underfunded. But if we take steps now to ensure nature thrives, we can change our state’s trajectory. A well-funded $15 billion climate bond is California’s best path to resilience.   WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY DISBARMENT DRAMA: California bar officials will next week continue their effort to strip John Eastman of his license to practice law in the state — even after the architect of Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election was criminally charged in Georgia. The disbarment proceedings, continuing next week, are among the first to reckon with racketeering charges against Trump and 18 of his allies filed in Fulton County, Ga., POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney reports. They’re also an early indication of the tangle of criminal and civil proceedings that have ensnared Trump and those in his orbit, and will likely continue colliding as the calendar flips to 2024.   SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.     On The Beats HEALTHY DEBATE: Slowly but surely, people are getting on board with the mammoth mental health care changes Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed. While folks are still digesting the newest amendments to the over-200-page bill, they appear to quell some of the fears critics and allies have been bringing up for months. “We are still working through the amendments, but they do address many of the concerns we had,” said Toby Ewing, the executive director of the commission that oversees Mental Health Services Act funds. At an informational hearing in the state Senate, advocates for children, county interests and others in the mental health field expressed cautious optimism that the proposal is moving in the right direction. Look for another set of changes in the coming weeks. — Rachel Bluth AIRING A GRIEVANCE: Environmental groups are suing the agency that sets air quality rules for much of Southern California, arguing it’s ignoring a federal mandate to penalize major polluters that fail to reduce emissions. The lawsuit filed by Earthjustice, the Sierra Club and other groups contends that the South Coast Air Quality Management District has missed multiple deadlines to establish rules that require facilities like refineries and power plants to reduce emissions by 20 percent or pay an annual fee. SCAQMD oversees a region that’s home to 17 million people — spanning Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — and regularly ranks among the most polluted air districts in the country. The EPA created new standards for ozone emissions in 1997 and updated them in 2008, giving air districts that failed 10 years to adopt a fee program. The EPA formally declared SCAQMD out of compliance in 2012, which gave the air district until last year to develop a pollution fee rule. — Alexander Nieves   A message from The Nature Conservancy:   AROUND CALIFORNIA “Ex-Anaheim mayor to plead guilty to corruption charges tied to Angel Stadium sale,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Adam Elmahrek, Nathan Fenno, and Gabriel San Román: Former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with his push to sell Angel Stadium, including lying to FBI agents about not expecting to receive anything from the Angels when the transaction closed. “8 detained during California union protest over state worker contract standoff in Sacramento,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Maya Miller: At least eight people — including three prominent labor supporters — were detained Wednesday after members and supporters of one of California’s largest state workers’ union refused to leave the Capitol swing space, shutting down a prominent government office building in downtown Sacramento. “Pacific Crest Trail closes in far Northern California as fires rage,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Kate Galbraith and Gabe Castro-Root: Dozens of miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in far Northern California were closed on Wednesday as firefighters battled numerous lightning-sparked fires in Klamath National Forest.   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     MIXTAPE "The A’s don’t just want to leave Oakland. They want to leave moneyball behind, too." by The Wall Street Journal’s Lindsey Adler "The radical L.A. student newspaper that inspired a generation of activists," by the Los Angeles Times’ Doug Smith A message from The Nature Conservancy: Nature’s Future Is Our Future Without intervention, the cost of climate change to California is estimated to reach $113 billion annually by 2050 (CNRA’s Fourth Climate Assessment). By harnessing the climate change fighting power of nature, we can curb these costs. But in order for this to happen, we must invest in nature. With the reality of state budget cuts, California needs to lock down a stable, long-term source of funding for nature-based climate solutions to protect our planet before it’s too late. In order to make this happen, California needs a climate bond. If we fail to invest in nature, we will lose one of the most important allies in our battle with climate change. California Legislature: A $15 billion climate bond is essential to funding the nature-based solutions needed to protect our planet.     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

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