23-05-2025
A chokepoint for housing, tickets and tech
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THE BUZZ: TIS' THE SEASON — It's that special time of year in the Capitol when swarms of sweaty lobbyists and even lawmakers have absolutely no clue what's going to happen to their bills — suspense day.
Conditions are ripe for the 'suspense file' — from which appropriations committee members quickly approve, reject and amend hundreds of bills with big price tags — to do significant damage.
Both chambers' panels killed a higher-than-average percentage of bills in the biannual process last year as they grappled with a massive budget deficit, and the state now has a shortfall for the third year in a row.
But many of the legislative fatalities and makeovers coming down the pike will undoubtedly have more to do with policy. Below are a few of the bills we're watching for today:
SHOWTIME: A raft of proposed rules targeting event ticket resellers like StubHub and SeatGeek will run into Assembly Appropriations Chair Buffy Wicks, who has expressed concern that pieces of Assemblymember Isaac Bryan's AB 1349 could inadvertently help cement Ticketmaster's monopoly in the market. Wicks voiced that worry about her fellow Democrat's legislation at the last policy hearing on the bill, and only voted for it on the condition that Bryan work with her on amendments as it moved toward her committee. 'I'd like to bring the opposition into those conversations so that we can land on a product that we can all wrap our arms around as it moves forward,' said Wicks, who last year carried an unsuccessful bill aimed at loosening Ticketmaster's hold on the primary sales market.
Bryan, a proud concert connoisseur hailed by his colleagues for his packed event schedule, aims to keep prices down through 10 provisions that include banning the use of softwares used by scalpers to purchase tickets en masse against vendors' rules. But a compromise has for years been elusive between factions representing singers, sports teams, venue owners and primary and secondary sellers. Changes today to AB 1349 could determine whether this year is different, assuming the bill survives. Neither Bryan nor Wicks' spokesperson responded to inquiries from Playbook.
ANTITRUST OR BUST: Business groups are angling to kill a Democratic-backed proposal from Sen. Melissa Hurtado and Attorney General Rob Bonta that would increase penalties on companies that engage in monopolistic or anticompetitive practices. SB 763 would hike criminal fines under the Cartwright Act, California's century-old antitrust law, for illegal behavior, such as price fixing or restraining trade.
Hurtado, who had a similar measure die last year, told Playbook she's exasperated over lobbyists for the California Chamber of Commerce again opposing her effort. 'I would hate for it to have a quiet death,' Hurtado said, asserting that the bill could help lower costs for consumers. The chamber, meanwhile, argues that fines proposed in the bill (up to $100 million for a corporate violation) is excessive and 'would cripple businesses.'
HOUSING HUFF: Two bills designed to increase construction of housing are up in the Senate: SB 607, which would overhaul the California Environmental Quality Act to reduce litigation delays; and SB 79, which would allow taller apartment and condo towers near mass transit stops. Both bills are carried by Sen. Scott Wiener, who argues the measures would help California get serious about addressing its vast housing shortage.
Some progressive lawmakers and labor unions have lampooned the bills over their lack of affordability requirements, arguing they would largely lead to the construction of luxury housing. Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire is the big unknown; Capitol insiders told Playbook that he's considering amendments to scale back SB 607.
BOT BATTLE: A couple bills touch on concerns about the potential risks of artificial intelligence.
One by state Sen. Jerry McNerney, SB 833, would prohibit AI programs from being given control over critical infrastructure like power plants without human oversight and require good old-fashioned humans to review and implement any plans an AI might dream up. Amendments to the bill include food and agriculture, financial services and other industries under the critical infrastructure definition.
The successor to last year's SB 1047, Wiener's SB 53 would cement whistleblower protections for AI workers should they see a program run amok in the lab, and would also create a state AI computing resource dubbed CalCompute. It's a far cry from the international debate Wiener sparked last year with his AI safety bill and has seen broad acceptance in the tech world.
— with help from Chase DiFeliciantonio
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WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
LOS ANGELES
TEST RUN — Billionaire developer Rick Caruso will today deliver the commencement speech at Pepperdine Law School — and excerpts from his prepared remarks offer a window into his potential message if he runs against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass again in 2026.
While Caruso hasn't said whether he plans to make another bid for mayor, his critiques of Bass' handling of the wildfires has fueled speculation about his plans. Two key lines from his speech, which Playbook obtained early, that could further fuel that chatter:
On failed prevention efforts: 'Sadly, this horrifying disaster was avoidable. A week earlier, a wildfire flared near here, providing a clear warning to get prepared. What happened next was a series of tragically mishandled events and failure of leadership at many levels allowing the roaring hell of Jan. 7.'
On recovery and rebuilding: 'While our wildfire recovery remains ongoing, I promise you this: We will not rest until the school bells and church choirs ring out again, loud and clear, from Malibu all the way to Eaton Canyon. Indeed, what a godly day that will be. I cannot wait for that day.'
A BUDGET, BEGRUDGINGLY — Los Angeles City Council approved a budget for the upcoming fiscal year Thursday afternoon, even though none of the players involved sounded particularly happy about it.
'It's easy to get lost in the details and lose sight of the magnitude of the crisis we're in,' said Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, chair of the budget committee, at the start of a marathon hearing. 'It's real, and it will likely only get worse, given what's happening in Washington.'
Yaroslavsky chose to accentuate the positive — including 1000 fewer layoffs than Mayor Karen Bass' original proposal — and called the spending plan a 'bare-bones budget that puts us on the path toward fiscal solvency.'
The plan passed by a 12-3 vote; among the ayes, notably, was the bloc of progressive councilmembers who had defected in past years over objections about increased police spending.
This time, the detractors were the more moderate members, including Councilmember Traci Park, who laced into the city's homelessness spending as a 'taxpayer boondoggle.'
'Frankly, at this point, it's just embarrassing,' Park said.
CAMPAIGN YEAR(S)
BETWEEN A DOC AND A HARD PLACE — Democratic Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains introduced a resolution to censure California House Republicans for voting for the GOP megabill because it included cuts to Medicaid and food benefits. The move from Bains, a politically moderate physician from the Central Valley, is sure to fuel preexisting chatter that she could challenge battleground Republican Rep. David Valadao. Already, she has been featured in SEIU ads running in Valadao's district pushing him not to cut Medicaid, though she has not said she will run.
'Instead of standing up for us, our Republican delegation sold us out,' Bains said in a statement. 'The Negligent Nine betrayed California, putting loyalty to Trump and their political party above the 40 million residents of the greatest state in the union.'
QUICK CASH — Anuj Dixit, a lawyer and the newest challenger to GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, reports raising more than $150,000 in the 48 hours since jumping into the race. Dixit joins an already-burgeoning crop of Democratic contenders for the Inland Empire district, including former OneRepublic bassist Tim Myers and entrepreneur Brandon Riker.
CONVENTION EXTRAS
NEXT UP — Democratic Reps. Derek Tran, Robert Garcia, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Dave Min and Jimmy Gomez have been added to the list of officials who will speak at their home state Democratic convention later this month in Anaheim.
NEVERMIND, BOYS — A resolution from San Francisco Democratic leaders urging the party to pay more attention to the well-being of men and boys won't be presented at the state party convention next weekend after all.
Emma Hare, a vice chair of the county party who wrote the resolution, said she didn't submit it in time for it to be considered at the convention. Nevertheless, the SF Democratic County Central Committee will consider her resolution at its regular May 28 meeting.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
ELON'S EXIT — Congressional Republicans dealt Tesla a blow Thursday when they canceled California's nation-leading vehicle emissions rules. Read about the breakup and why Musk might not be pining for lost electric vehicle incentives in last night's California Climate.
Top Talkers
HIGHWAY TO THE BALLOT — The campaign to recall San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio over his role in converting the Great Highway into a park told the SF Standard it has collected enough signatures to put the recall to voters. Engardio championed a successful ballot measure to make the change.
Engardio 'ignored our community's needs and kept pushing policies and propositions that hurt us and all San Franciscans,' campaign volunteer Selena Chu said.
BUDGET BACKLASH — Foster youth advocates are blasting Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal for cutting funding for a helpline for foster families and omitting a request for money for foster family agencies, CapRadio reported.
'We don't think it was appropriate to target such a vulnerable population,' said Susanna Kniffen, a child welfare policy director at Children Now.
AROUND THE STATE
— AFSCME Local 2620, which represents nearly 5,000 health care and social service workers, created a $1 million strike fund in the latest sign of tensions with their employer, the state. (Sacramento Bee)
— A San Francisco supervisor's proposal to more evenly spread homeless shelters throughout the city could prompt Mayor Daniel Lurie's first major policy disagreement with the county board. (SF Chronicle)
— Fresno lost its pro-housing designation from the state, which will make it more difficult for the city to access affordable housing grants. (GV Wire)
PLAYBOOKERS
WEDDING BELLS — Louis Mirante, VP of public policy for the Bay Area Council, will marry Dr. Kanishka Patel, a UC Davis Health oncologist, in a multi-day matrimonial extravaganza over Memorial Day weekend in San Francisco.
PEOPLE MOVES — Levi Lall is now counsel at the DOJ's office of legal policy. He previously was counsel for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet.
— Carmen-Nicole Cox has opened The Cox Firm for Law and Policy, offering legal and lobbying services. She was most recently director of government affairs for ACLU California Action and previously served as chief of legislation for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for Govs. Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown, and before that as deputy legal affairs secretary for Brown.
BIRTHDAYS — author Yaron Brook … comedian Drew Carey … recording artist Jewel
BELATED B-DAY WISHES — (was Thursday): Dustin Moskovitz ... Michael Wilner ... Michael Kostroff
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