What deficit? + Rendon apologizes + COVID legislation + Pelosi on affirmative action

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Let’s get right into the news.

ADD IT UP

Despite a looming budget deficit, lawmakers on the final day of their legislative session sent Gov. Gavin Newsom proposals to add more than $600 million in spending and reduce some revenue with tax breaks.

Bills to expand tax credits for immigrants, add money for COVID-19 outreach and give tax breaks to businesses that hire more people are among those lawmakers passed Monday.

The proposals build on the $202 billion budget lawmakers and Newsom enacted in June, for which they had to cut spending to make up for a $54 billion shortfall triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn.

Since the initial budget passed, the state has collected more in taxes than expected, although budget experts caution that the strong returns reflect pre-recession economic activity in 2019 taxes. Tax revenue for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which ended in June, came in more than $1 billion higher than projected, according to the California Department of Finance. Revenue from July came in $2.5 billion higher than forecast.

The Department of Finance still projects the state faces an $8.7 billion deficit next year.

Reporter Sophia Bollag breaks down the new spending in this story today.

HRC COMMENDS A WORKING MOM

When she wasn’t allowed to vote from home during a global pandemic, despite having recently delivered a child, Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, brought her newborn Elly onto the Assembly floor and into the headlines.

National media outlets covered it. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board excoriated Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon over it.

“Your move was oblivious to science and a newborn’s health, disrespectful to colleague Wicks, and contrary to the ruling Democrats’ rhetoric and mandates about creating family-friendly workplaces,” the Chronicle’s editorial board wrote.

Even Hillary Clinton tweeted about it.

“California Assemblymember @buffywicks was told that having recently given birth wasn’t sufficient excuse to cast a vote remotely. So she brought her newborn daughter to the floor to weigh in on an important housing bill,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee wrote.

Per The Bee’s Hannah Wiley, Wicks was forced to show up to vote because she didn’t qualify for the Assembly’s limited remote voting policy, which was enacted after two lawmakers tested positive for COVID-19.

“What do I do, stay home or not vote on (bills) when they’re going to be tight, or go up and bring my daughter with me,” Wicks said.

Rendon on Tuesday night issued an apology to Wicks. “Inclusivity and electing more women into politics are core elements of our Democratic values. Nevertheless, I failed to make sure our process took into account the unique needs of our Members. The Assembly needs to do better. I commit to doing better.”

Be sure to read the story here.

COVID-19 BILLS ON THE DOCKET

Via Lara Korte...

The California Legislature at the end of its 2020 session this week sent more than a dozen bills aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic to Gov. Gavin Newsom, including protections for renters that are intended to minimize evictions.

The virus has infected more than 700,000 residents, strained the healthcare system, and put millions of Californians out of work. With no vaccine yet available, it’s unclear how long coronavirus will upend normal life.

Newsom signed one of the biggest bills of the night, the eviction relief measure, just two hours after lawmakers sent it to him. The bill was urgent because the state’s coronavirus eviction ban was scheduled to expire at midnight on Tuesday, and eviction proceedings could have restarted as early as Wednesday.

Other coronavirus bills sent to Newsom include:

• SB 1447, which would offer companies tax credits for each worker they hire.
• SB 276, which would raise the size of loans people can take out of their retirement funds.
• AB 3216, which requires certain businesses to prioritize laid off employees when re-hiring.
• SB 1159, which allows workers who contract COVID-19 to become eligible for workers compensation.
• AB 685, which requires employers to notify their workers in case of COVID-19 exposure.

You can read the full story here.

PELOSI ENDORSES PROP 16

The Speaker of the House is the latest to endorse a ballot measure that would restore affirmative action in California.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said that she stands with Yes On 16 co-chair Eva Paterson in fighting for affirmative action.

“We stood together in 1996 to fight the ‘Civil Wrongs’ initiative, Proposition 209, which banned Affirmative Action in California. We have fought together for decades to advance equality of opportunity, racial and social justice. Today, we stand together to repeal proposition 209 and restore opportunity for all Californians. Please vote yes on Proposition 16!” Pelosi said in a statement.

Pelosi joins Gov. Gavin Newsom, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the San Jose City Council in endorsing the measure, which would undo Proposition 209.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The state Senate leader failed to get her own housing bill over the finish line. A supermajority-Dem Legislature couldn’t pass police reforms. National outlets are decrying why a nursing mom was forced to vote in person. Not a great end of session for California Dems.”

- Sara Libby, managing editor for Voice of San Diego, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• As smoke from wildfires left Sacramento cloaked in a haze, the Legislature ended its session early Tuesday without taking significant action to reduce the state’s enormous fire risks – or to address the crisis that has left thousands of rural Californians struggling to find affordable homeowners insurance, via Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler.

• Arguments between Republicans and Democrats in the California Senate ate up critical time in the last moments of a legislative session already interrupted three times by the coronavirus outbreak, ensuring several high profile bills on housing and police reform failed to get votes by the year’s deadline, via Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley.

• About 192,000 California residents now receiving unemployment benefits are unlikely to qualify for the extra $300 a week payment that begins next week, according to a study released Tuesday by the independent California Policy Lab, via David Lightman.