Keeping up with the recall + Adding up corporate tax breaks + Capitol eatery reopens

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CAITLYN JENNER REPORTEDLY EYEING A RUN FOR GOVERNOR

Via Lara Korte...

The famous Olympian-turned-reality-TV-star Caitlyn Jenner is talking with political consultants and actively considering a run for California governor, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Jenner, of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” fame, is said to be considering a challenge to Gov. Gavin Newsom in the event a recall election qualifies for the ballot. She received national acclaim after winning a gold medal in the 1976 Olympic decathlon. Jenner then married Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian family, in 1991, and was a central figure in the family’s reality TV show. In 2015, Caitlyn Jenner transitioned to a woman and adopted a new name.

She is a high-profile Republican and previously supported Donald Trump, though she rescinded her endorsement in a 2018 op-ed, where she wrote, “I thought Trump would help trans people. I was wrong.”

If she were to run, Jenner could bring the kind of name recognition that some say helped put Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor’s office. She would join a growing field of Republicans who have already entered the race, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and businessman John Cox, who ran and lost to Newsom in 2018.

IN OTHER NEWSOM NEWS — The governor on Tuesday announced the state could fully reopen on June 15 if vaccine supplies hold steady and hospitalization rates stay down. The “naysayers and doomsdayers” weren’t jumping for joy, however. Many of the governor’s detractors said it was a politically motivated move.

“Newsom has shown that he’s only motivated by his own political survival, not doing what’s best for Californians,” said Faulconer.

“It’s all politics... he’ll close us on a whim again,” tweeted gubernatorial-maybe and former Trump cabinet member Richard Grenell.

“Today’s politically-motivated announcement is too little too late from Gavin Newsom,” said Joanna Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Republican Governors Association.

COVID frustrations have been a major motivating factor in the recall. Will that resentment hold steady as cases rates drop? Stay tuned.

CALIFORNIA GIVES BILLIONS IN TAX BREAKS TO LARGE COMPANIES: REPORT

via Jeong Park ...

California is missing out on billions of dollars from its companies because of tax breaks and cuts to its corporate tax rate over the last few decades, according to a new report by the California Budget & Policy Center.

California could have gotten $13.3 billion more in revenue in 2018 if the state taxed companies at the same rate they did in 1981, according to the report.

“Corporations, like individuals… benefit from a range of public services such as those provided by fire departments and the state judicial system that protect corporations’ legal rights,” the report’s author, Jonathan Kaplan, wrote. “Yet, profitable corporations are contributing less in taxes that support these public services, as a share of their California income, than a generation ago.”

California has cut its corporate tax rates from 9.6% in 1980 to 8.84% in 1997. The state in this fiscal year will also spend $6.6 billion in tax breaks for corporations, according to the report. So-called “water’s edge,” in which companies can choose to pay taxes based on their worldwide or domestic income, whichever is lower, will cost the state an estimated $2.6 billion, according to the report.

Those tax breaks far exceed $1.1 billion California spent in 2019 in tax breaks for its low-income workers in the form of the California Earned Income Tax Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit, according to the report.

STATEHOUSE EATERY REOPENS

Capitol workers and lurkers rejoice: the Statehouse Eatery is now open for coffee and pastries.

According to a memo sent out Tuesday by the Assembly Rules Committee, the basement coffee shop’s hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.

On April 19, the Statehouse Eatery will begin featuring “grab and go items” such as soup, salads and sandwiches.

The eatery had been closed since March 17 of last year, according to their Facebook page, when they were forced to shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Laws like this kill. Trans kids are at higher risk for suicide due to stigma. When a State Legislature basically deems it an emergency to stop trans kids from getting healthcare, it’s sends them a profoundly toxic message that they can’t be who they are.”

- Sen. Scott Wiener, discussing the Arkansas Legislature’s recent vote to prohibit gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender minors via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Pandemic has hammered immigrant workers. Here’s some help for finding new jobs, via Jeong Park

• Mark your calendars for June 15, California, and pencil in a pool party, return to the office or a trip to grandma’s house. Newsom announced on Tuesday that by mid-June, the state will do away with its color-coded COVID-19 tier system implemented last summer and fully reopen the economy by lifting most restrictions, via Hannah Wiley.

• VIDEO: Hear moment Newsom announced when California economy will reopen – how he framed it, via David Caraccio.