A clash of values in California

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

Jan 11, 2024 View in browser   By Rachel Bluth BEVERLY HILLS COP-OUT: There would seem to be no place friendlier to abortion rights than Beverly Hills, where the City Council voted unanimously on a resolution supporting access to the procedure after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Which is why billboards going up today in the famously wealthy city are such a surprise. “Los Angeles should be safe for abortion seekers,” the brightly colored signs read. “Fight back against attempts to shut down DuPont Clinic.” What’s going on? The message, paid for by the LA Abortion Support Collective and the National Institute for Reproductive Health, comes in response to the council’s August decision to reject a proposal for a clinic that would offer abortions beyond 24 weeks. That would inevitably draw protesters — and too much controversy for the affluent enclave. It may seem unexpected in California — a state where people are so overwhelmingly in favor of abortion rights that voters enshrined access into the state constitution in 2022, also in response to the Supreme Court. But maybe it’s fitting in a place where NIMBYism has long clashed with lofty impulses, especially when it comes to building more affordable housing. Beverly Hills is not alone in its ambivalence. In the Inland Empire city of Fontana, the construction of a new Planned Parenthood clinic has been held up in endless permitting disputes with the city after it instituted a moratorium on construction. Planned clinics in Visalia and El Centro have either been heavily delayed by red tape or abandoned altogether. “Let Los Angeles serve as a cautionary tale: In a city and state with legal protections for abortion care, providers still cannot open the desperately needed clinics to provide the necessary abortion care later in pregnancy,” said Jess Fuselier, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Abortion Support Collective. All this in a state whose governor has been a champion of abortion rights, even weighing in today on the decision by an Ohio grand jury not to prosecute a woman for her handling of a miscarriage at home. “The fact that she was dragged through this is appalling,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X. “It's striking because here we are in bright blue California, and I think the perception from other parts of the country is that we're wildly supported here,” said Jon Dunn, the head of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, who has been trying to open up the new Fontana location. “The governor has been a champion for us, as has our legislature, but municipality by municipality, it can be very different.” National Institute for Reproductive Health IT’S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is 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 sgtaylor@politico.com or send a shout on X. DMs are open. WE WANT YOUR HELP — POLITICO is co-hosting the first debate for California's Senate race on Monday, Jan. 22. All four major candidates have accepted our invite to appear onstage: Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee and Republican and former Dodgers player Steve Garvey. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY OFF THE BLOCK: Education leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief Wednesday after Newsom released a budget plan that would insulate K-12 schools and community colleges from drastic cuts despite a $38 billion state budget deficit. Under the Newsom proposal, per-student spending will decline by just $8 if the state spends billions in reserves dedicated to education and performs some accounting maneuvers. Reaction from the education lobby was overwhelmingly positive. California School Boards Association President Albert Gonzalez called it a “commitment to public education … even during times of budgetary stress.” California Teachers Association President David Goldberg said the proposal would allow schools to “build on the recent investments” made by the state, and thanked the governor for preserving spending on the community schools model — a labor priority. The outline did propose cutting some school facility funds and delaying other spending. Newsom also for the first time came out in support of placing a school construction bond on the November 2024 ballot. If that were to pass, it would eventually blunt the impact of some of the cuts. — Blake Jones California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses his proposed state budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, during a news conference in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) | AP ON THE BEATS NEXT STOP, L.A.? Waymo robotaxis could be rolling into Los Angeles in the not-too-distant future after the California Department of Motor Vehicles cleared the autonomous vehicle company to offer paid rides in L.A. It’s not a done deal. Waymo would still need to get a green light from the California Public Utilities Commission, which overrode local officials in signing off last summer on Waymo’s bid to offer paid rides to San Francisco customers. An expansion into car-centric L.A. would mark a major milestone — and it could fuel more tension between state regulators and wary cities. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged the CPUC in November not to rush into expansion. Similar public safety warnings from S.F. officials weren’t enough to sway the state last summer. But new labor-backed state legislation could rebalance the equation by letting cities and counties set the terms for AVs. Waymo said in a statement that it would work with local officials to “bring our fully autonomous technology to more people in LA.” — Jeremy B. White NO FORCED OUTINGS: Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a pointed alert to California schools today, in an apparent slight to Chino Valley Unified Schools. Last year, Bonta sued the Southern California school district over a 2023 policy that would allow faculty to notify parents if their children are transgender or gender-nonconforming. Bonta sent an advisory to all schools in the state warning them that such policies violate students’ rights. “In sum, by singling out transgender and gender nonconforming students for different, adverse treatment that puts them at risk of harm, forced disclosure policies violate their constitutional right to equal protection and privacy, as well as their statutory protection from discrimination under California law,” the memo from Bonta reads. A temporary injunction from October prohibits Chino Unified from following through on its notification policy, at least until the matter is resolved in court. — Sarah Grace Taylor WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY AN AVALANCHE OF QUESTIONS: Forecasters warned of a “considerable” risk of avalanche in the Sierra hours before the avalanche at Palisades Tahoe that killed a 66-year-old skier and injured another. (Los Angeles Times) SILICON VALLEY LAYOFFS: Google fired hundreds of workers today at several of its Bay Area locations amid a shift in company focus to AI. (San Francisco Chronicle) DAY IN COURT: Malibu resident Hunter Biden was back in Los Angeles, where he pleaded not guilty to tax charges, one of two criminal cases filed after the collapse of a plea deal. (Los Angeles Times)   Follow us on Twitter 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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