It’s Xavier Becerra’s honeymoon period, and he’s pledging to treat Democratic leaders in the Capitol better than the last guy. We’ll see how the promise holds come budget season.
We have a new election result with Prop. 5 passing. That’s the Democratic-backed ballot measure that aims to shake up recall elections, presumably in a way that helps political insiders.
And you don’t want to skip our story on a lawsuit that alleges real estate agents working both sides of the deal are giving the short end of the stick to buyers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom at times ticked off even his Democratic allies in the state Legislature by jamming big policy proposals down their throats right before deadlines, using the time crunch to generate urgency and discourage opposition.
But it appears that Newsom’s successor doesn’t want to work that way. At least that’s what he’s saying now, a couple months before he has to send a budget proposal over to the Capitol.
Standing alongside Democratic legislative leaders at the state Capitol rotunda last week, Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra signaled that he is embracing a more collaborative relationship with lawmakers, write CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller and Jeanne Kuang.
Lawmakers, in turn, are looking forward to the change up.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas: “It’s going to be a different type of relationship than what this Legislature has experienced over the past eight years. I fully expect and trust the governor-elect when he says that he’s going to do his best to … not drop stuff on us unexpectedly.”
Becerra’s push for cooperation between the two branches of government could stem from his experience as a California assemblymember and member of Congress. Since advancing from the primary as the Democratic candidate for governor, Becerra has met individually with several legislators, as well as the Senate and Assembly Democratic caucuses.
But where Becerra stands on major policy issues still is unclear, and both he and the Legislature have plenty on their plate to tackle, including how the state will deal with federal cuts to Medi-Cal; resolving the debate over who pays for wildfire damage caused by utilities; reining in artificial intelligence; and lowering the cost of living.
Even when asked if he would commit to one policy — reversing Newsom’s rollback of healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants, which Becerra appeared to endorse in an interview with KQED earlier this month — Becerra lectured reporters for “playing politics.”
Becerra: “Guys, don’t play this game about asking me to commit, because I didn’t get elected doing that.”
Read more.