Tag Archives: Newsom

CEQA, deregulated housing bills, Housing, Planning, Politics

Sausage Making turns to Extortion over the Weekend, brought to you by the Wiener Newsom machine.

Breaking news!

Wiener’s plan to fold his bills into the budget was refused by the state parliamentarian. So… They went with option B.

Wiener pulled his bills  and is pushing them onto the state legislature while Newsom takes the strange position of threatening to withhold his signature from his own budget, if the Wiener anti-CEQA bills don’t pass if we believe the latest news.

 

 

CEQA, deregulated housing bills, Housing, Politics

Democracy Falls Apart When No One is Looking

First you have the sausage making in the backroom. The word is out that multiple bills to kill California Environmental Quality Act (CEPQ) are being withdrawn from floor votes and sent to the sausage factory in Sacramento. So far we hear rumors that some of the bills in question include components of: SB 306, 607, 609, and possibly SB 681..
Then you have the threat to hold the budget captive.  The finish line is in sight for lawmakers who reached a deal this week with the governor over California’s next budget. But one crucial component remains unresolved  — and Gavin Newsom says he won’t sign the budget without it… (more)
 
Are you live Washington? No we are in Sacramento. You are watching Newsom and Wiener at work. 
 
“ But tying hundreds of billions in state spending to one bill has raised the eyebrows of some lawmakers and legislative observers. “This is a unique provision that I am not aware has been in a bill before,” veteran lobbyist and legislative process hawk Chris Micheli wrote in an email about what he called a “reverse contingency provision.”
“It is the first time I’ve ever seen the entire budget bill contingent on being enacted on two policy bills about housing,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee, D-San Jose, during a Wednesday budget committee hearing.  “But that shows how serious we are about getting more housing built, and how dire the housing crisis is.”
Read the details in the Sacramento Bee 

Last-minute budget change brings California housing policy fight to a head

By Kate Wolffe and Nicole Nixon : sacbee – excerpt (audio)
 
Elements of California’s final budget deal are bringing to the forefront housing debates that have been simmering in the Legislature for years, forcing lawmakers to make big decisions before the new fiscal year begins July 1.
On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate pro tem Mike McGuire put out the main aspects of a three-party deal that made compromises on balancing a $321 billion budget with a $12 billion deficit.
 
However, the deal includes a few policy changes that are giving lawmakers pause. Deep in the bill outlining the budget agreement is this provision: “Notwithstanding any other law, if the Governor does not sign one of Assembly Bill 131 or Senate Bill 131 on June 30, 2025, the provisions of the Budget Act of 2025 …(read more here) 
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Silicon Valley Legislators Sic State Auditors on Their Own Districts

by Josh Koehn : sfstandard – excerpt

Two state legislators representing Silicon Valley are ruffling feathers in their home districts after asking California’s aggressive auditing department to scrutinize the local response to two intractable issues: homelessness and transportation.

Senator Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, and Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, each confirmed to The Standard that they requested audits looking into San Jose’s homelessness response and operations at the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), respectively, in an effort to ensure taxpayer money is being used effectively.

The audits—expected to be completed around the end of the year—are almost certain to have broader political implications, as any shortcomings identified in the reports will likely set off a blame game that pits state and local officials against one another…(more)

The same may be said of Newsom, Wiener, Ting, and Haney. They are writing laws that remove the rights of their constituents to decide how the want to live. Attorney General  Bonta is suiting cities that do not follow these laws.

Politicians used to ask “How may I help make your life better”. Now they are say “I don’t care what you think. I am going to force you to live the way I think you should, and, by the way, please send money to my campaign fund, so I can continue to make your life miserable by removing more of your rights.”