CA is pushing happiness, but people are worried

I’m back from holiday and am remaining decidedly happy to fight off any post-vacation blues.

But most Californians, apparently, aren’t feeling too happy — a stark reality that the Legislature just tried to dig into.

In the latest survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, most California adults (55%) said that the state is headed in the wrong direction and that they can trust the state government to do the right thing “only some of the time.” A solid majority also expect “bad financial times” for the country within the next year.

These worries aren’t going unnoticed by the Legislature, in particular former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood. His pet project leading a select committee on happiness recently issued its final report. 

Rendon, in the report: “In our 175-year history as a state, the California State Assembly has not considered how California can improve the happiness of its people. Happiness is seen as a byproduct of the work we do to build housing, improve education, and boost wages, among other things. … But is that all that leads to happiness?”

The committee, which met three times since March, concluded that unhappiness is growing across the state.

Other key findings:

Seven of the top 10 happiest counties are on the coast, and have higher-than-average median income levels. Meanwhile, 9 of the 10 unhappiest counties are inland; 

People living in poverty are three times more likely to experience anxiety or depression than wealthier people;

Strong social connections with family, friends and community are vital to overall happiness.

The committee also had some suggestions for legislators:

They should consider happiness when developing policies, and should “openly discuss and question a bill’s potential” on happiness;

They should think creatively when developing happiness-related policies and collaborate across different agencies;

They should prioritize efforts to boost trust between the public and the state government.

One measure that was brought up during the committee’s hearings would require school districts to develop more intentional homework policies that considered students’ mental and physical well being. The bill, by Democratic Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo of Santa Clarita Valley, awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision.

How could the Legislature and governor make me happy? For starters, no sessions that drag into the evening, and no bill actions at night or the weekend. But one can only dream.

Even after acting on more than 200 bills on Sunday, Gov. Newsom started the week with nearly 600 still to go before his Sept. 30 deadline. 

Which again begs some questions: Why so many bills? And do we truly need them all?

Chris Micheli, longtime Capitol observer and lobbyist, is again floating the idea of cutting how many bills each legislator can introduce. Currently, the limits for a two-year session are 50 for Assemblymembers and 40 for state senators. Micheli points out that a cap of 30 bills per legislator would still add up to 1,800 bills a year. By comparison, a handful of states including Colorado and Louisiana cap legislators to five bills per session.

Bill signings: Newsom announced Monday he had signed four bills to increase penalties and strengthen law enforcement’s ability to combat sideshows and street takeovers — and the list didn’t drop until 6 p.m. (see above).

Earlier, he also highlighted another bill, on an issue he seems to really care about — taking phones away from students in class. Last month, he urged school districts to restrict student phone use during school hours. Monday, he signed Assembly Bill 3216 to require every school district, charter school and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026. A few schools already have smartphone bans, and offer some lessons. 

Newsom, in a statement: “This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school.”

Let’s highlight some environmental news:

California sues Exxon: Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Sunday that the state is suing ExxonMobil, but not over oil or gas. Rather, the lawsuit accuses the company of misleading the public about recycling plastic (ExxonMobil is the world’s largest producer of polymers, a key component of single-use plastic) as an effective solution for pollution and waste, “when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible,” said Bonta. ExxonMobil’s decades-long recycling campaign has potentially violated a number of state laws, including natural resources, false advertising and unfair competition.

Newsom urges ‘climate action’: As part of Climate Week NYC, the governor announced Monday the launch of a new state campaign to enlist 1 million Californians in daily action to combat climate change. The project urges people to compost food, plant native plants and shop at local farmers’ markets, among other things.

Historic habitat restoration: State officials last week celebrated the completion of the largest tidal habitat restoration project in California history. About 3,400 acres of wetlands has been restored at Lookout Slough in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The project will protect communities near the Yolo Bypass from flooding, and create more habitat for native fish and wildlife, including the endangered Delta smelt. The restoration took six years and cost $130 million, according to The Sacramento Bee.

CalMatters has been writing about ways to improve California’s economic mobility in the What’s Working series. The latest: Fiona Kelliher reports on nonprofits trying to help more women work in construction trades.