Watch out Prop 36

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Aug 08, 2024 View in browser   By Lindsey Holden Presented by Google California Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D) | AP/Rich Pedroncelli RING IT UP: Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire celebrated as the Assembly and Senate advanced a slate of retail-theft proposals that have dogged leaders throughout the summer. “These bills that were passed today, full stop, will do more to blunt retail theft than anything else,” McGuire said to reporters in the Capitol after the Senate vote. McGuire may have been speaking to the press, but his real audience was the group of big box retailers that bankrolled a tough-on-crime ballot initiative that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats failed to negotiate away last month. Walmart, Target, Home Depot and others spent millions to get the initiative backed by state prosecutors on the November ballot. Their financial support for Proposition 36 could make or break the campaign. McGuire and other Democratic leaders who’ve pushed the legislative package have argued the ballot measure is too punitive. They insist their bills are better for Californians than the initiative and the changes it would make to Proposition 47, which reduced sentences for some non-violent felony crimes. Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who chaired the Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft, said the bills will “give voters an understanding that we have already acted in a responsible way in the Legislature.” The California Retailers Association is still officially supporting Prop 36 and won’t re-evaluate its position until Newsom signs the bills, Rachel Michelin, the group’s president, told Playbook. But she said members are “thrilled,” especially about elements of the package that aren’t included in Prop 36, such as making permanent a regional property crimes task force and a statute on organized retail theft. It’s possible, she said, that the legislation will sway some of the group’s bigger members to yank funding. “We'll see what happens from an individual perspective,” she said. “But I think that you might see some of them not necessarily supporting financially.” The bills passed easily, though some progressive lawmakers and members of the Legislative Black Caucus registered their unease with them. They said the legislation, which is expected to receive final approval on Monday, drags California back to a time of punitive sentencing laws that hurt communities of color. “These measures deepen mass incarceration, and deepening mass incarceration is going in reverse of where Californians wanted us to go,” said state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas during floor debate. Los Angeles-area Assemblymember Tina McKinnor said in a pointed X post after the vote that she views approving the package as undoing lawmakers’ racial justice efforts after the police murder of George Floyd that set off a summer of protests in 2020. “What will we do when the chants to roll back immigration laws or LGBTQ rights reach us?” she wrote. “Remember: first they come for us, then they come for you. We must be better than this.” McKinnor told Playbook she thinks there are already laws to address the issues the bills are meant to tackle, specifically referring to the six-month jail sentence those convicted of shoplifting could currently receive. “I hate to see us go from that type of punishment to one to three years for someone stealing something,” McKinnor said. SCOOP — DEM DEFECTION: State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a Republican, according to two people with direct knowledge of the decision, our Jeremy B. White was first to report. Alvarado-Gil's press representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The defection is not likely to have a huge effect on Democrats' ability to pass legislation given that they will still have a greater than two-thirds majority in the upper chamber, currently holding 32 out of 40 seats. But it is a rare departure from Democratic dominance. Politico Pro subscribers can read more here. IT’S THURSDAY 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 lholden@politico.com.   A message from Google: A proposed law in California could limit your access to reliable information online. As written, the CJPA could make it harder for you to find news on Google Search. The bill is making its way through the legislature, but there is still time to voice your opinion. Californians deserve access to safe and reliable news from local publishers. Urge your lawmakers to find a better solution by visiting goo.gle/cjpa.   WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Aug. 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. | Alex Brandon/AP CLAWS OUT: California has been a favorite target of former President Donald Trump’s campaign, as we noted this week — a theme that continued today during the former president’s news conference at Mar-a-Lago, his first since Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. Trump in his rambling and at times abrasive remarks accused Harris of being “weak on crime,” specifically citing her support for cash bail reform and her prosecutorial record in California. "She destroyed San Francisco. She destroyed California as the AG,” he said. (Harris supported cash bail reform during her 2020 presidential campaign for president but defended the cash bail system in two federal court cases as attorney general.) The former president also claimed, without sharing additional details, that former California Assembly speaker and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown once told him "terrible things" about Harris. Trump also claimed he once made an emergency helicopter landing with Brown — which, Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle, never happened. “You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump,” Brown was quoted as saying. “I’ve never been on a helicopter with Trump.” Brown, a Democrat and long-time Harris ally, did not immediately return a request for comment on Trump’s remarks. In a conversation with POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin last month, he worried about Harris’ favorability but praised her without being prompted and recalled her personal kindness to people who just suffered a loss or were in a time of need. It looks like Harris will have a chance to answer Trump’s takedowns face-to-face: Today, he re-committed to debating her on ABC on Sept. 10. — Tyler Katzenberger, Katy Murphy   During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more.     IN OTHER NEWS San Francisco Mayor London Breed | Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP BREED’S LEAD: San Francisco Mayor London Breed surged ahead in new polling with 28 percent of voters saying they would rank her in first place in November’s ranked-choice mayoral election, up from 18 percent six months ago — and more than any of her challengers, according to a poll commissioned by the San Francisco Chronicle. Breed’s disapproval rating is still at 59 percent, but that’s a big improvement from the February survey, which showed 71 percent of voters disapproved of her performance. With less than 90 days to go in her tough reelection bid against challengers Mark Farrell, Daniel Lurie, Aaron Peskin and Ahsha Safaí, Breed’s fate appears to be turning around. More than half of respondents in the poll, conducted from July 31 through Aug. 5, reported a “good” or “excellent” quality of life — up from 39 percent who did so in February. Breed’s campaign spokesperson Joe Arellano credited the poll results to Breed's policies to help the city bounce back from the pandemic, reduce crime and address homelessness — particularly with Breed recently embracing the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling, which eased restrictions on cities’ enforcement of camping bans. Arellano also nodded to a set of local ballot measures voters passed in March that address policing, drug screening and downtown development — an example of how Breed’s work since the pandemic has “come to fruition and is being viewed and felt by the voters.” Arellano said the biggest challenge for Breed’s campaign is the crowded ballot: With 10 state propositions and a presidential election, getting her message through to voters is particularly important. The city uses ranked-choice voting, which means candidates with the most first-place votes could still lose. Lurie, a longtime nonprofit executive and an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, was the most common second-choice pick in the poll. — Catherine Allen FELINE FRENZY: Senators eagerly laid claim to the “cat lady” moniker on Thursday, after state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh presented a resolution to recognize Aug. 8 as California Community Cats Day. Ochoa Bogh’s floor remarks were quite earnest, drawing attention to the need to spay and neuter stray cats. She even teared up talking about her family’s own cats, which she said had passed away. Some Democratic senators endorsed Ochoa Bogh’s measure while seemingly referencing comments from Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who previously referred to Democrats as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.” “I’m glad to know that my colleague from Yucaipa is also a cat lady,” said state Sen. Susan Eggman. “So on behalf of all cat ladies, I ask for your ‘aye’ vote.” “I’m an older man with no children and a cat,” said state Sen. John Laird. “I strongly support this resolution.”   A message from Google:   WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — Nancy Pelosi on the art of power and her role in the effort to push Biden out of the 2024 race (The New Yorker) — July was California’s hottest month ever. (Los Angeles Times) — The Harris campaign tweaked running mate Tim Walz’s online biography amid scrutiny of the Minnesota governor’s military credentials. (POLITICO)   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     AROUND THE STATE — Some residents in Los Angeles’ Encino neighborhood are considering buying a gun or hiring security as break-ins rise. (Los Angeles Times) — Two nonprofit groups are suing Community Health System in Fresno for alleged misuse of Medi-Cal funds. (Fresno Bee) — Oakland and Berkeley will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections this November. (San Francisco Chronicle) — San Francisco police spent nearly $250,000 in overtime during a failed attempt at cracking down on a skateboarding event. (KQED) — compiled by Tyler Katzenberger   A message from Google: The bad news: California lawmakers are considering a bill that could reduce your access to trusted, reliable information online. The CJPA would break the principles of the open internet by forcing platforms to pay for connecting Californians to news or simply stop linking to news stories. There are better ways for Government, news organizations and technology companies to support small, local publishers, not giant media companies backed by hedge funds. The good news is that there is still time to voice your opinion while the bill makes its way through the legislature. Send a message to your legislators telling them to find a better way. Californians deserve access to safe and reliable news from local publishers. Take action by visiting goo.gle/cjpa.     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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