McGuire likes what he sees in school budget deal

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

May 28, 2024 View in browser   By Blake Jones Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire calls the deal with teachers "a positive development." | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo SHOW MCGUIRE THE MONEY: Two giants in education budget negotiations — the California Teachers Association and Gov. Gavin Newsom — have brokered a deficit-year school funding deal. The agreement, which we first reported this morning, would grant schools an additional $5.5 billion in the future beyond what Newsom previously proposed. The outstanding question is whether legislative leaders, who weren’t at the table during negotiations, will bless a plan that would require a supermajority vote in each chamber. So far, Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire likes what he sees. “While we’re still evaluating the fine details of the proposal, we believe the overall structure of the deal is a positive development for the budget process, but most importantly, it’s positive for California kids,” McGuire said in a statement to POLITICO. “Public education is one of the best investments the Golden State can make, and the path forward that this agreement is built upon appears to be a firm foundation for the future.” The pressure is on for lawmakers to back the new education deal —and quickly. The CTA plans to continue running ads warning against budget cuts and pink slips while it lobbies legislators on the issue. Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and allies have not yet endorsed the deal. They’re still reviewing the agreement, which was first detailed to education groups Monday afternoon, said Rivas spokesperson Nick Miller. "The Speaker and Assembly budget chairs will be looking closely at the Governor's proposal, and will continue to fight to protect classroom spending,” Miller said in a statement. The initial reactions from both chambers are reminiscent of negotiations over an early action budget agreement in March and April. The Senate was quick to publicly align itself with many Newsom proposals, while the Assembly took longer to come out with a plan of its own. That contrast, assemblymembers said at the time, arose from a shift toward involving more rank-and-file caucus members in budget decision-making. Building consensus within the Democratic caucuses will be key, even in a state where both houses have a Democratic supermajority. A key component of the budget deal — a suspension of the Proposition 98 school funding baseline that would guarantee future funding increases to schools in lieu of a boost now — requires a two-thirds vote in the statehouse. Members outside leadership will get a chance to air any grievances with or praise of the deal Thursday, when both the Assembly budget panel and Senate education budget subcommittee have hearings scheduled. IT’S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to bjones@politico.com. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY Academic workers are striking over the UC system’s handling of protests. | Jae C. Hong/AP Photo CAMPUS CRACKDOWN BACKLASH — Academic workers at UCLA and UC Davis walked off the job today in protest of the 10-campus UC system’s handling of protests over the war in Gaza. The post-docs, teaching assistants, graders and other workers in United Auto Workers 4811 had already stopped work at UC Santa Cruz, attempting to disrupt campus operations during the final quarter of the academic year. They announced plans to spread their labor action just before the state labor board declined to block the walkouts in response to a request from the university. FOR GOOD MEASURE SCHOOL MEASURE DROPS OUT — An initiative that would limit schools’ recognition of transgender students announced that they would not meet their signature deadline today. In a statement, the group said they had fallen about 150,000 signatures short of the required total. Led by Jonathan Zachreson, a school board member in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, the initiative from the outset was unable to attract major donors and relied entirely on volunteer signature gathering. Zachreson said the effort was hamstrung after being saddled with what he described as an unfavorable title and summary, but vowed to pursue the measure in future cycles. — Will McCarthy ON THE BEATS SENTENCED, AGAIN — The man convicted of plotting to kidnap then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and bludgeoning her husband, Paul, in the head with a hammer at their San Francisco home has once again been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison over the 2022 attack. A judge’s error had thrown the federal case into disarray after defendant David DePape’s attorneys said the court violated his rights when he wasn’t given a chance to speak to the court at his May 17 sentencing. Today, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley offered DePape a do-over to speak to the court while she denied his attorneys’ requests to send the case to another judge. DePape spoke for about a minute. He apologized for harming Paul Pelosi and said he regretted not leaving the house after he broke in and realized Nancy Pelosi was out of town. “I should have left when Nancy wasn’t there,” DePape said as he broke into tears and one of his attorneys patted him on the back. “I feel horrible about hurting Paul Pelosi.” Read more here from our colleague Dustin Gardiner. AI ARTISTRY — Songs emulated without musicians’ consent. Actors losing out on entry-level gigs. Visual artists’ work fed into image-generating models. Representatives of California’s creative class warned lawmakers today about the many ways artificial intelligence threatens to deprive artists of work and income. The joint Assembly informational hearing unfolded as Sacramento advances bills to give artists and their living heirs more control over their digital likenesses — the kinds of issues that sustained protracted Hollywood strikes last year. Witnesses pointed to beneficial uses of AI like reviving the voices of country singer Randy Travis and actor Val Kilmer. But they warned about large AI models non-consensually using copyrighted content and original work to churn out imitative songs, images and other visual pieces. “These companies are openly robbing hardworking, taxpaying Californians of their livelihood and relabeling it as a poor excuse for innovation,” warned concept designer Drew Leung, who has worked on films like “Black Panther.” Actor Jason George said supportive roles like voiceover artists, stunt performers and background actors were most at risk of digital replacement, and he cautioned studios could use actors’ images to “insert us into scenes we would not have consented to” like sex scenes. Ideally, George said, artists would both control the use of their likenesses and be compensated when models use their work. Like multiple other speakers, he invoked Scarlett Johansson accusing OpenAI of stealing her voice (OpenAI has denied the claim). “If you said ‘give me a warm, Southern-sounding African-American gentleman,’ Morgan Freeman’s going to pop up every time,” and “you just need to pay Morgan Freeman,” George said. “If you put into the prompt, ‘Scarlett Johansson Lake Bell,’ then you have to pay Scarlett Johansson and Lake Bell.” — Jeremy B. White WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — California has seen an explosion in backyard cottages. Last year, one in every five new homes was an ADU — a doubling from three years ago. (East Bay Times) — Tesla avoided another California jury trial after it reached a settlement to resolve its second lawsuit in two months over a fatal crash. (Bloomberg) — OpenAI said it’s launching a safety and security committee to evaluate its products, with CEO Sam Altman as one of its members. The company also started training its newest AI model to fuel ChatGPT. (The Washington Post) AROUND THE STATE — The Supreme Court agreed to hear San Francisco’s appeal of a ruling over some of its offshore water standards. Arguments could begin as soon as October. (San Francisco Chronicle) — San Diego is ramping up its efforts to bury utility lines underground. City officials say they will start spending nearly $250 million per year on the operation. (San Diego Union-Tribune) — The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency won’t extend its housing vouchers past June 11 due to federal budget cuts, and it’s leaving nearly 200 locals high and dry. (Sacramento Bee) — Compiled by Ariel Gans   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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