CA rent control battle goes to the ballot

From CalMatters politics intern Jenna Peterson:

Amid a Southern California heat wave, about 300 advocates for rent control — with two 10-foot “greedy landlord” puppets — rallied Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, chanting: “The rent is too damn high!”

Many advocates, including representatives from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and UNITE HERE Local 11, held signs in support of Proposition 33 and against Prop. 34, which will both be decided by California voters in November. Voters shot down similar rent control propositions in 2018 and 2020, but advocates are hoping this year will be different. 

Prop. 33 would allow cities to expand rent control, which is currently not allowed for single-family homes or apartments built after 1995. As a result, renters such as Nallely Gomez, an organizer with UNITE HERE Local 11, say they see their rents increase every year.

Gomez: “My rent literally went up $149 yesterday. Everyone who works here should be able to live here.” 

On the surface, Prop. 34 doesn’t have much to do with rent control, requiring some California health care providers to spend 98% of their revenue from a federal discount prescription program on direct patient care. But the measure, supported by the California Apartment Association, appears to target the AIDS Healthcare Foundation — which spends some of that money on rent control and other political advocacy. 

“Prop. 33 and Prop. 34 are intrinsically linked,” said Susie Shannon, campaign manager for Yes on 33. 

In other election news:

Health tax measure: Other than Gov. Gavin Newsom raising concerns about taking away budget flexibility, there hadn’t been real opposition to Prop. 35, which would require the state to spend money from a tax on health plans on Medi-Cal and is backed by California’s health care industry. That changed Thursday with the launch of a coalition that includes advocacy groups for children, seniors, good government and health care access. They say that the measure would roll back investments in community behavioral health, Alzheimer’s services and other programs. “Prop. 35 throws away the hard work communities have done to make health care more equitable,” Kiran Savage-Sangwan, executive director of California Pan Ethnic Health Network, said in a statement. 

Asian American voters: A new study being released today by several advocacy groups says that three-quarters of California’s Asian American voters are absolutely certain they will vote in November, but 46% of those surveyed have not been contacted by either major political party. The report suggests that Democrats may have the best chance: 43% identify with the party, compared to 19% Republican. And there are quite a few potential Asian American voters in California: 4.5 million — nearly a third of all eligible Asian voters in the U.S. The report also says that the top policy priorities are the economy, health care and inflation.

Voter education: CalMatters is hosting a series of public events to inform and engage voters. The first one is next Thursday in Eureka, co-hosted by Lost Coast Outpost. There’s more information here.

Our Voter Guide features what you need to know and videos on all 10 propositions. And keep up with CalMatters election coverage by signing up for 2024 election emails. Check out the rest of our Voter Guide, including a FAQ on how to vote.

Senate leader Mike McGuire apparently has backed down from blocking the special session on gas prices called by Gov. Newsom. He tells Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton that he’ll convene his chamber — but only after the Assembly approves legislation and sends it over.

Tuesday, Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas jointly unveiled legislation on oil refineries that is very similar to the Senate bill McGuire said his chamber was ready to approve before lawmakers adjourned their regular season Saturday night. Also Tuesday, McGuire and Newsom met.

Wednesday, Rivas named the 19-member Assembly committee that will hear the bill. It will be led by Cottie Petrie-Norris, an Irvine Democrat, and Jim Patterson, a Fresno Republican.

Assembly Republicans have already called the special session a sham and a stunt, but introduced their own bill anyway. Authored by Tom Lackey of Palmdale, it’s an old favorite that has gone nowhere, to suspend the state gas tax (which increased to 59.6 cents per gallon on July 1). Newsom’s office quickly claimed that the bill would cost jobs and cut road money, which Lackey also quickly disputed.

It’s still unconfirmed when hearings on the bills will happen. A reminder: Only bills tied to the subject of the special session can be debated. 

In other Capitol news: 

Prison abuse: The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the state’s corrections department and whether it failed to protect prisoners inside two women’s prisons “from sexual abuse by correctional staff.” At the California Institution for Women in Chino, a lawsuit filed on behalf of 21 women accuses a former officer of abuse and rape beginning in 2014. And in the last two years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed from prisoners at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla alleging officers of abuse over the last decade. There’s also an internal investigation following an Aug. 2 incident at the Chowchilla facility in which officers locked more than 100 women in a prison cafeteria for several hours, reports The Appeal. The California Legislative Women’s Caucus says it welcomes the federal investigation, and hopes it will help end the abuse.

Political ad: A bill on Newsom’s desk would let casino-owning tribes sue their competitors, private card rooms. If passed, local governments could lose tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues, including in the district represented by Assemblymember and congressional hopeful, Evan Low, writes CalMatters Digital Democracy reporter Ryan Sabalow. Surprisingly, the Cupertino Democrat backed the measure. And now the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians — one of the bill’s biggest supporters — has bought radio ads supporting Low’s campaign. Both the tribe and Low’s campaign insist there is no connection. But good governance advocates argue the move is an example of political quid pro quo. Learn more about the ads in Ryan’s story.

AI legislation: The Legislature sent more than a dozen bills to the governor that seek to regulate artificial intelligence. CalMatters tech reporter Khari Johnson looks into a handful of them, including a controversial measure to require AI models to be tested for catastrophic harm. Various critics of the bills say the proposals either do not go far enough to curb the most harmful aspects of AI, such as its potential to discriminate, or that the bills are so broad that they could stifle competition. Read more about the AI bills in Khari’s story.

Two bills before Gov. Newsom seek to address California’s purported nursing shortage — but how much difference they would make is up for debate, writes CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn.

Both Assembly Bill 2104 and Senate Bill 895 would allow 10 community college districts (out of the state’s 73) to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing. While that wouldn’t directly solve a statewide nursing shortage, hospitals increasingly prefer to hire nurses with college degrees. 

California State University opposes both measures, out of concerns that community colleges — with their lower tuition and costs — will siphon away prospective students. Cal State’s director of health care workforce development told CalMatters that the system’s online programs and bachelor’s degree programs in partnership with other community colleges can meet the bills’ goals.

There’s also some doubt whether the bills are necessary. Due to an increase in nursing program enrollment, the state may have all the nurses it needs by 2027, according to a 2023 UC San Francisco report. Nursing shortages in certain regions, such as the Central Valley and the Central Coast, may persist however.

Learn more about the nursing bills in Mikhail’s story.

Speaking of jobs: Since the passage of the federal $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in 2021, California has received more than $42 billion. But who gets to contract with state agencies to build these projects could reduce the state’s wealth inequities, reports CalMatters freelance writer Alisha Green. She profiles an organization that aims to boost opportunities for historically underutilized businesses, including minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses.

San Diego officials recently cleared a migrant camp, leaving asylum seekers without a place to stay. CalMatters’ Wendy Fry and producer Robert Meeks have a video segment on Wendy’s story on this issue as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.