Newsom to lawmakers: Spend this money, ASAP + Impeachment, again + Biden nabs another Californian
Happy Monday, let’s get the ball rolling.
RUSH TO SPEND
CALIFORNIA legislators return to the Capitol today after a delayed start due to COVID-19 and they already have a lot on their plate.
Specifically, a $227 billion budget proposal.
The plan from Gov. Gavin Newsom is loaded with new spending thanks to an unexpected surplus. In fact, the state has so much cash, it might have to send some back to taxpayers under a 1979 law that aims to restricts government spending.
The state budget can take months to work through, but Newsom is asking lawmakers to quickly approve $2 billion for school reopenings, $650 million for struggling small businesses and $2.4 billion in direct aid for low-income families.
Newsom also plans to quickly spend $300 million on COVID-19 vaccine distribution, a proposal that doesn’t need legislative approval because he plans to use money from an emergency fund.
He’s in a hurry.
The Democratic governor argues the traditional budget process will take too long for families and businesses struggling to make it through the pandemic. Spending approved through the regular 2021 budget won’t kick in until July 1, when the state’s next fiscal year begins.
“In this environment, we can’t wait as we traditionally have for the fiscal year to end,” Newsom said during a Friday press conference to announce his plan.
But lawmakers have not yet signed on to the specific proposals, meaning they’ll still need to negotiate final deals.
Legislative leaders, including Senate Budget Chair Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat, said they agree lawmakers should spend some of the money quickly. Skinner expressed support for the areas Newsom has highlighted, including getting students back into the classroom and prioritizing low-income Californians.
More effort also is needed to speed up vaccination efforts, Skinner said.
“We just need to all roll up our sleeves to make sure that we’ve got the systems in line, whether it requires funding or not, to do that,” she said.
The Bee’s Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley have more on the rush in this story today.
HOW MANY NEWS CYCLES UNTIL BIDEN’S INAUGURATION?
House Speaker Nany Pelosi on Sunday made clear she’s ready to move forward with impeaching President Donald Trump, again. Today the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office following the raid on the U.S. Capitol he incited last week.
“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” Pelsi wrote in a letter to Democratic colleagues, according to The Associated Press. “The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”
Meanwhile, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released a moving video in which he shared personal experiences from his youth in post-Nazi Austria in a warning to Americans that democracy can be fragile.
“I grew up in the ruins of a country that suffered the loss of its democracy,” he said. “I was surrounded by broken men drinking away their guilt over their participation in the most evil regime in history. Not all of them were rabid antisemites or Nazis, many just went along, step by step down the road. They were the people next door.”
In the roughly eight-minute long video shared on Twitter, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said the violent attempt to overturn a fair and free election at the Capitol on Wednesday echoed the 1938 night of broken glass in Europe, or Kristallnacht, a night of rampage against Jews that many consider to mark the start of the Holocaust.
“Wednesday was the day of broken glass right here in the United States. The broken glass was in the windows of the United States Capitol. But the mob did not just shatter the windows of the Capitol, they shattered the ideals we took for granted,” he said. “They didn’t just break down the doors of the building that housed the American democracy, they trampled the very principles on which our country was founded.”
ANOTHER CALIFORNIAN HEADS TO D.C.
Via Kim Bojórquez...
President-elect Joe Biden has tapped another Californian to serve on his administration.
Isabel Guzman, Go-Biz director of the Office of Small Business Advocate, was nominated this week by Biden to lead the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“For almost two years, she has worked tirelessly as part of my administration to ensure California’s small businesses have a seat at the table,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement on Thursday. “Her leadership has been fundamental in guiding this state through the ongoing economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The California-based Hispanas Organized for Political Equality applauded Guzman becoming “the first Latina named to a cabinet-level position” by Biden.
She is also the fourth Latino to be named by Biden to serve on his cabinet, according to HOPE.
“An entrepreneur herself, Ms. Guzman is an excellent representation of the people who are starting businesses at higher rates than any other demographic group: Latinas,” said HOPE CEO Helen Iris Torres in a statement.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Our name is mud. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and expecting a different result.”
- San Francisco attorney and Republican National Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon to Washington Post reporter Josh Dawsey in a news story on the RNC re-electing pro-Trump leadership.
BEST OF THE BEE:
Gavin Newsom said he would punish counties for not enforcing COVID rules. Why hasn’t he? Via Lara Korte
- California has so much money, it could send some back to taxpayers, Newsom says. Here’s what you should know about a 1970’s provision known as the Gann limit. Via Adam Ashton
A better-than-expected financial outlook, including a projected $15 billion surplus, means the state can consider modifying the pay cuts that took effect in July of last year for the state’s roughly 230,000 employees, according to the budget proposal. Via Wes Venteicher
Your new COVID bubble: 120 miles. That’s the maximum distance you should travel outside your home, California health officials said last week, while at the same time urging residents to stay home whenever possible. Via Michael McGough
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 4:55 AM.