Newsom ends session with major bills + ‘Public charge’ rule denied + 2020 candidates selected for forum

It’s Monday, California! I think we all needed the weekend after such a deluge of news and bill signings on Friday.

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a deluge of bills on Friday and this weekend, capping off a sprint to the 2019 session finish line.

In case you missed it, here are some notable new laws that might have gotten lost in Friday’s shuffle:

• The state has to start cutting ties with private, for-profit prisons and immigrant detention centers, with a 2028 deadline to do so.

• Public colleges will be required, starting in 2023, to provide abortion medication through campus clinics.

• Californians will be limited to purchasing one long gun per month, building on the same handgun restriction.

• Coworkers, employers and school faculty will be able to petition a court for a gun violence restraining order against individuals they think pose a harm to themselves or the community.

• Loans of $2,500 to $10,000 are now capped at a 36 percent interest rate in efforts to target “predatory lending” in California.

• Newsom signed off on legislation that his predecessor Jerry Brown rejected. On Sunday Newsom agreed with legislation to push back the opening bell at middle schools to 8 a.m. and at high schools to 8:30 a.m.

Then there were the bills sent to the graveyard.

• We already knew Newsom vetoed Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins’ legislation to lock in pre-2017 environmental regulations, a bold decision by the governor considering who the proposal targeted (ahem, President Donald Trump). Not to mention, who wrote the bill (ahem, Democratic leadership).
• Legislation to prohibit cities from entering new tax-sharing agreements with retailers like Amazon and Apple died with Newsom’s veto on Saturday night. Central Valley lawmakers staunchly opposed the measure, arguing the tax breaks helped kick start economic vitality in some communities.
• “Zoning and streamlining alone will not result in any meaningful affordable housing production,” said state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, when his measure was vetoed on Sunday. Beall attempted to unlock a gradual release of hundreds of millions to finance local housing projects.

BLOCKED

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra achieved a win on Friday when he and four other attorneys general secured a preliminary injunction against Trump’s “public charge rule.”

Becerra sued the Trump administration back in August for its move to deny immigrants green cards if they’re likely to rely on public assistance. The attorney general warned that the rule would harm the state’s economy and called the effort a “cruel policy,” while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Ken Cuccinelli said it will ensure immigrants aren’t reliant on federal assistance.

“If people are not able to be self-sufficient, then this negative factor is going to bear very heavily against them in a decision about whether they’ll be able to become a legal permanent resident,” Cuccinelli said.

Becerra’s team argued that the Department of Homeland Security’s new definition of “public charge” would lead to “widespread disenrollment,” according to the ruling, which could lead to a loss of “substantial” funding from the federal government to support the programs.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed with Becerra’s assertion.

The court determined that the federal government’s new definition is likely to be “outside the bounds of a reasonable interpretation” and that the plaintiffs are likely to be “irreparably harmed” by the rule’s implementation.

“Today’s court ruling stops the Trump administration’s heartless attempt to weaponize essential healthcare, housing, and nutrition programs,” Becerra said. “This ruling is a victory for California communities who deserve to thrive, not live in fear. We look forward to continuing the fight against this unlawful rule.”

MAGIC EIGHT

Univision and the California Democratic Party announced on Friday that they’ve sent invitations to the top eight presidential candidates to participate in their joint forum on Nov. 16.

The contenders:

• Former Vice President Joe Biden
• South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro
• California Sen. Kamala Harris
• Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders
• Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke
• Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren
• Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

The forum is scheduled to take place during the upcoming 2019 state convention in Long Beach next month, during which delegates, community members and guests will get a front-seat idea of how the candidates would steer the White House.

“On behalf of California’s nearly nine million Democrats, we look forward to hearing from this wonderful slate of presidential candidates,” said party chair Rusty Hicks. “We will have an audience of 5,000 of the most dedicated Democratic activists and opinion-makers in the nation’s most populous state who are eager to hear the candidates’ ideas on how they will lead us out of the nightmare of the Trump era and into a bolder, brighter and more positive future.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

October 14 ⁠— State Sen. Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga

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This story was originally published October 14, 2019 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Newsom ends session with major bills + ‘Public charge’ rule denied + 2020 candidates selected for forum."