$25 an hour minimum wage? + LAO budget forecast + Offshore drilling ban reintroduced

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

$25 AN HOUR FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS? CA BILL WOULD MAKE IT HAPPEN

$15.50 an hour? That’s simply not good enough for health care workers in California, argues Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, the author of SB 525 to raise the minimum wage for those in that industry to $25 an hour.

Women and people of color make up the backbone of California’s health care system. According to the Employment Development Department, three-quarters of nursing, psychiatric and home health aides are people of color and nearly 80% are women. Among other health care support occupations, 70% are people of color and 84% are women.

In a statement, Durazo said they have been underpaid and undervalued for decades.

“They’ve risked their lives and health and are working multiple shifts only to take home poverty wages in understaffed facilities. We need to ensure that healthcare workers are paid livable wages so that everyone can have access to timely quality care,” she said.

SB 525 would apply to nurses, caregivers, housekeepers, security guards, clerical workers, food preparers, groundskeepers, medical coders, call center and warehouse workers and even gift shop workers, so long as the service they provide directly or indirectly supports patient care.

.According to a statement announcing the bill, five California cities — Inglewood, Los Angeles, Downey, Long Beach and Lynwood — have passed a living wage for workers in the past year, with Inglewood voters approving $25 an hour for private sector health care workers last November.

LAO RELEASES REVISED BUDGET FORECAST, RECOMMENDATIONS

California’s budget situation is likely to be even worse than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2023-24 budget is anticipating, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

“Although the Governor’s budget revenue estimates are reasonable, they are likely a bit too high,” the report says in its summary.

The report’s authors say their best estimate is that revenues for last year’s and this year’s budgets are likely to be about $10 billion lower than expected. It means the budget shortfall is likely to be about $7 billion higher than the $22.5 billion baked into Newsom’s budget.

“That said, after adjusting for inflation, anticipated revenues for 2023‑24 still would remain about 20% higher than before the pandemic,” the report summary goes on to say.

The report offers some advice to Newsom and lawmakers, as they grapple with a massive budgetary shortfall this year.

First, the report cautions against drawing down state reserves to pay off the deficit, unless revenue losses go beyond an additional $10 billion.

Second, the Legislature should consider suspending deposits into the state’s “Rainy Day Fund,” cut more one-time and temporary spending, shift more costs than currently proposed by the governor, and possibly increase revenues on a temporary basis.

You can read the report for yourself by visiting here.

MIN REINTRODUCES BILL TO BAN OFFSHORE DRILLING

Last year, Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, introduced a bill, SB 953, that would have required the California State Lands Commission to terminate all remaining oil and gas leases under its jurisdiction in California coastal waters by Dec. 31 of this year.

That bill was re-written to require the commission to conduct a study, and ultimately it died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Min has vowed to press on, this year introducing SB 559, a bill to end offshore oil and gas drilling in California by the end of 2025.

According to Min’s office, there are three remaining oil platforms still operating in his Orange County district.

“After the 2021 oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach, I promised I would fight to end offshore drilling once and for all. Today, I am proud to say that I am continuing to try and keep that promise,” Min said in a statement.

That 2021 oil spill dumped more than 25,000 gallons of crude oil over a 750-mile radius, stretching south past the Mexican border.

Min said that the coastal economy generates nearly $2 trillion a year, and that “the meager benefits” of the oil and gas industry don’t begin to justify the risk that they pose to that delicate ecosytem.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Biden is considering Newsom’s former Labor Secretary as his new Secretary of Labor. I can’t imagine a worse choice than the person who oversaw the EDD debacle and the AB 5 nightmare.”

- Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• Where is Gavin Newsom? Don’t try checking his schedule, because chances are you won’t find one, via David Lightman and Jenavieve Hatch.

• California plan for food assistance to the undocumented not moving fast enough, advocates say, via Mathew Miranda.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California leaders paid tribute to Sen. Dianne Feinstein after her announcement Tuesday that she won’t seek re-election in 2024, via Jenavieve Hatch.