What Newsom wants from Biden + Finally tally on Becerra v. Trump + Vaccines for farmworkers
Good morning and welcome to the presidential inauguration edition of the A.M. Alert! As always, thanks for reading.
ICYMI — TikTok users were treated Tuesday to a cute video of California’s governor and his young son, with the latter giving the former a (carefully supervised) hair cut. You can watch the video here.
NEWSOM PENS LETTER TO BIDEN
Via Sophia Bollag...
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday endorsed Joe Biden’s economic aid plan in a letter to the incoming president, promising that California would help implement the recovery effort.
In particular, Newsom highlighted Biden’s proposed spending on COVID-19 vaccines, coronavirus testing and school reopenings, all areas where the Democratic governor says California needs help. He also praised Biden’s plans to send more money to struggling small businesses, individuals and state and local governments.
Newsom used the letter to request federal cooperation for several California programs, including:
An extension of increased Medi-Cal funding through the end of next year
More time to start replying loans for unemployment insurance spending
Continued allowance for California to set its own car emission standards
Support for California’s effort to overhaul its Medi-Cal system
He also urged Biden to spend more on efforts to end homelessness, roll back the Trump administration’s public charge rule, keep his commitment to reforming the country’s immigration policies and work on a long-term plan to expand preschool.
“I offer you my full partnership and support as you take office and inherit the tremendous responsibility to restore our nation’s economy and place of leadership on the global stage,” Newsom wrote. “As America’s largest economy and a model for what’s possible, California is eager to support your bold agenda by sharing our experiences implementing progressive policy on everything from workers’ rights to climate change.”
BECERRA UNVEILS NINE NEW LAWSUITS ON TRUMP’S LAST DAY
Make that 122.
That’s the number of lawsuits California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed against President Donald Trump’s administration during Trump’s single term in office.
That includes nine, YES NINE, lawsuits filed Tuesday, the last full day of Trump’s presidency.
“From Day 1, our team at CA DOJ has protected our public lands, natural resources and environment from four years of attack from the White House. We have held the Trump Administration accountable time and again for their failure to follow the rules or respect our nation’s environmental laws. Even as they rush to finalize a number of dubious, anti-environmental proposals in their waning days in office, we are ready to hold the line against their reckless actions,” Becerra said in a statement provided by his office.
The lawsuits touch on a range of subjects, from fighting to maintain energy efficiency standards for household appliances to challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back protections for migratory birds.
“It will take time to unwind the havoc the Trump Administration has wrought. That’s why the nine lawsuits we filed today are so important. These lawsuits address everything from the Trump Administration’s pursuit of free passes for polluters to its continued attempts to dismantle our nation’s foundational environmental laws,” Becerra said.
LAWMAKERS CALL FOR VACCINES FOR FARMWORKERS
Half a dozen California lawmakers have signed on to a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, urging him to authorize a pilot project to vaccinate farmworkers as soon as possible.
Sens. Anna Caballero, Melissa Hurtado, Ben Hueso and Assemblymen Robert Rivas, Jim Frazier, Eduardo Garcia added their signatures to the letter to the Democratic governor.
“Farmworkers are the fulcrum of the food chain, ravaged by COVID-19 with no available replacement labor pool. Therefore, we ask for an executive order authorizing a pilot project through state and private partnership in the following locations: Parlier, San Joaquin, Arvin, Los Baños, Soledad, Coachella and its unincorporated areas, Brawley, Calexico and El Centro, chosen for their sociocultural challenges and transmission rates,” the letter reads in part.
The letter argues that California’s pharmacies are the ideal vehicle for getting the COVID-19 vaccine into as many arms as possible. In addition, the lawmakers say that churches and community centers could be converted into mobile vaccine clinics in those rural areas.
“If the pilot proves effective, it would be scalable, for adaption in regions throughout the state. However, given what we know about our constituencies, this pilot is the best means to vaccinate thousands of the most at-risk farmworkers, quickly and safely. All Californians are pandemic weary and in need of hope and relief. We fervently believe this pilot partnership will accomplish those ends,” the letter goes on to say.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Driving into the Capitol was surreal. Very quiet, very secure, lots of armored vehicles and armed guards.”
- Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
In a time of record-breaking unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Californians owe an estimated $1 billion in unpaid water utility bills. With reduced revenue, hundreds of water utilities are at high risk of financial emergency, via Monica Vaughan.
The area around the state Capitol building in downtown Sacramento was calm with no signs of unrest Tuesday morning as National Guard troops and California Highway Patrol officer remained vigilant there in advance of Wednesday’s presidential inauguration, via Rosalio Ahumada.
Under California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal, some undocumented workers would be eligible for stimulus financial relief, but a large number of them would be left out of any cash assistance, despite being the most affected during the pandemic, researchers and advocates say, via Yesenia Amaro.