Closing California prisons + More help for undocumented + Cash discrimination? + Cities’ big ask
Happy Tuesday! Thanks as always for reading!
First up: Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to close two state prisons, and corrections employees want to know which ones.
Newsom last week announced that he’s ready to start closing two of the state’s 34 prisons, accelerating a proposal he’s been airing since last fall to begin closing at least one during his time in office.
The idea is to save money. Shutting a prison is one of the only ways to save a lot of it in the state’s $16 billion corrections budget. Closing two could yield $400 million in annual savings, according to Newsom’s office.
That direction has public employees worrying about their jobs, even at places that they think are unlikely to close. After all, they say, someone with seniority at another site could bump them out of their positions.
But the governor won’t say which prisons are his top candidates because he doesn’t want to harm recruitment and retention.
As a result, “Instead of having several hundred people worried, he’s got several thousand people worried,” said Steve Crouch, director of public employees for the International Union of Operating Engineers.
For more on the plan, check out Wes Venteicher’s story today.
LAWMAKER URGES MORE UNDOCUMENTED ASSISTANCE
Unemployed, undocumented immigrants need more financial support, argued Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, and 13 other lawmakers in a letter to Gov. Newsom.
The lawmakers are asking for the creation of a temporary, partial income replacement program that would pay a flat $400 a week, for a maximum of eight weeks, between March 29 and July 25, to an estimated 216,499 individuals.
This would supplement the existing fund, created by Newsom and partially funded by philanthropy, that pays out $500 to individuals, up to $1,000 for families.
“We are grateful for the governor’s foresight and leadership in establishing the Disaster Relief Fund that is providing life-sustaining emergency support for immigrant workers, but we need to continue to work together to provide an ongoing safety net for California families who are the foundation of our economic vitality,” Kalra said in a statement. “This program would help address the void created by the lack of action by the federal administration that has left our undocumented worker population in the cold, without any semblance of support or gratitude for the work they do on a daily basis.”
The statement cites U.S. Census Bureau data showing that nearly a quarter of job losses in California through April 18 were for jobs held by undocumented immigrants.
A coalition of groups numbering in the dozens has signed onto the letter, including the Partnership for Working Families.
“The health and well-being of all Californians depends on a strong safety net to ensure families have shelter, food and care through this crisis,” said Elly Matsumura, California Director for the group. “A crisis like this is no time for anti-immigrant exclusion—yet every income replacement or federal relief program leaves one group behind. We need to stand by our values in California and hold firm that no one gets left behind.”
CASH BILL ADVANCES THROUGH COMMITTEE
They say “cash is king,” but in the era of coronavirus, some businesses might be touchy about handling it.
Still, a bill prohibiting the discrimination against cash-only customers cleared the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee by unanimous vote.
The bill, authored by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, now advances to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“Businesses should not be allowed to deny cash as a valid payment method, especially not during a pandemic when access to basic necessities is greatly limited and when many of our frontline healthcare workers rely on cashless payments,” Hill said in a statement. “COVID-19 and its effects further illustrate the need to protect California’s vulnerable communities. By preventing cash discrimination, California can ensure its economy is accessible and that all people can benefit from and participate in it.”
Hill’s office cited a 2017 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, more commonly known as the FDIC, study which found that 8.4 million households in the U.S. did not have a bank account, and that in California one-fifth of black households and 14.5 percent of Latino households also were unbanked.
The bill is opposed by, among other groups, the California Bankers Association, which noted in its opposition, according to a committee analysis of the bill, that “While we believe your measure is a laudable attempt to ensure retail customers are treated equally regardless of their chosen payment method, this measure will make it more difficult for financial institutions to comply with federal banking law.”
Specifically, that the bill could run afoul of federal money laundering statutes by requiring banks to accept currency exchanges from non-customers.
“These type of cash conversions often give rise to suspicion of money laundering; therefore, many banks will only process these transactions for their customers, with whom they have an established account relationship,” the group said.
In his statement, Hill’s office noted that he will continue to work with the California Bankers Association to address their concerns.
“They have reasonable concerns and there are reasonable solutions,” Hill said.
CITIES, COUNTIES NEED MORE MONEY
Via Hannah Wiley...
California’s cities and counties don’t think Gov. Newsom’s budget includes enough money to keep public health programs and social services open at a time they’re needed most.
Newsom’s new $203 billion budget he introduced Thursday cobbles together an assortment of federal aid and general fund dollars to close a projected $54 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus’ economic onslaught.
The federal CARES Act passed in March sent a total $15.3 billion to California, with $9.5 billion for the state to use and another $5.8 billion to help cities and counties with a population larger than 500,000.
The money is intended to support revenue losses directly related to COVID-19 and to keep social and public health services above water during the unprecedented pandemic.
Because the population standard excluded several jurisdictions from the relief, Newsom’s budget directs an additional $450 million to cities and $1.3 billion to counties from the state’s portion of the money.
That’s a start, said California State Association of Counties Executive Director Graham Knaus. But if California wants to survive this economic crisis, the 58 counties are going to need an additional infusion of federal money to avoid “eviscerating cuts.”
“We as a state and we as individual counties will not be able to navigate out of this without additional federal support,” Knaus said. “It just won’t happen.”
His organization and the League of California Cities joined Newsom late Friday in calling for Republicans in the Senate and the Trump administration to pass the so-called HEROES Act, which Democrats in the House of Representatives advanced to send about $1 trillion to states and cities.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Today is a day of hope and renewal. We will begin the work of safely reopening — guided by science — and protecting our vulnerable populations. We have asked our residents to make incredible sacrifices over the past two months. They have risen to the challenge at enormous personal cost. Now we can begin to rebuild our lives and our communities under our own control. And together we will rebuild.”
- Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo. Cunningham was responding to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order loosening the guidelines for how counties can achieve a regional variance.
Best of the Bee:
Northern California’s casinos are gearing up to reopen — with temperature stations to screen customers for COVID-19 and fewer slot machines to create social distancing — but are being asked by Gov. Gavin Newsom to back off, via Dale Kasler.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom navigates one of his most vexing problems during the pandemic, supplying the state with enough tests for COVID-19, he has relied heavily on a single company: insurance giant Blue Shield of California, a generous campaign contributor and supporter, via Sophia Bollag and Jason Pohl.
Need a haircut? Gavin Newsom says salons are a ‘few weeks’ away from reopening statewide, via Andrew Sheeler
This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 4:55 AM.