SUPERVISING DRUG USE: The nation has seen a stunning increase in opioid overdose deaths, driven by the rise in fentanyl poisonings. Some lawmakers argue it’s past time to try something new: supervised injection sites.
But sanctioning such a program has proven to be politically tough, even in California.
Proponents of such a model, where adults could take illicit drugs around trained staff, point to the grim stats:
California, at one point, was poised to be the first state in the country to approve this approach, but has since been leap-frogged by legislation in other states and cities, including New York and Rhode Island. This is hardly the first time up at bat for these sites.
Here’s a bit of the tortured history:
- State Sen. Susan Eggman, when she was in the Assembly, tried three times since 2016 to pass supervised drug consumption site legislation.
- Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed her 2018 effort, saying that “enabling illegal and destructive drug use will never work.”
- Questions about whether these sites would run afoul of federal law derailed state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 57 last year, as city leaders sought clarification from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Assembly’s public safety committee is set next week to vote on SB 57. If cleared, Wiener plans to move for a swift floor vote. The San Francisco Democrat’s bill would authorize San Francisco, Oakland and the city and county of Los Angeles to try out these sites.
Even though New York now has two sites up and running, don’t count on that to pave the way for Wiener’s bill. The politics of our times has heightened the stakes.
Fears that these sites will exacerbate drug use and illegal activity in San Francisco and other cities serves as a rallying cry for the measure’s opponents. With crime being a driving force behind the upcoming recall election of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, homelessness and other quality-of-life issues loom large for Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats in the midterms.
At least on this issue, California doesn’t have to be out first.
HAPPY THURSDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. We’ll go Monday to Thursday through June 9 before returning in August for the legislative homestretch. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to [email protected] and [email protected] or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!
Programming Note: Playbook PM will be off this Monday for Memorial Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday.
TERRAIN SHIFT: Republican Rep. Young Kim and Democratic Rep. Mike Levin could be in for tougher reelection races than they anticipated. The Cook Political Report on Thursday changed the designation of the two closely watched California House races, moving Kim’s CA-40 from “likely Republican” to “leans Republican,” and Levin’s CA-49 from “likely Democrat” to “leans Democrat.” The shift follows reports from earlier this week showing Kim was targeting her GOP primary opponent Greg Raths in her latest advertisement. “GOP strategists believe Kim was slow to take Raths seriously,” Cook writes today.
DENSITY DANCE: Areas with low car traffic could see denser, higher housing developments under a bill by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, AB 2334, that squeaked off the Assembly floor this morning. Wicks has notched some significant wins in her first House of Origin since taking over the Assembly Housing Committee. Earlier in the week, the Assembly passed her bill to expedite housing construction on commercial land. Both measures were opposed by the State Building and Construction Trades Council union umbrella group, which has opposed bills to expedite housing on the grounds they don’t do enough to guarantee stable jobs. — Jeremy White
RUSSIAN DIVESTMENT — A bill to divest California’s public pension funds of Russian assets passed unanimously out of the state Senate today. Senate Bill 1328 calls for CalPERS and CalSTRS to stop investing in companies with connections to the Russian and Belarusian governments in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, aided by Belarus. The bill also blocks the awarding of state contracts to any company that is working with Russia. — Juhi Doshi
DOCTORS AND DISINFO: California doctors could face punishment from their medical board and even suspension for posting what’s deemed Covid-19 “misinformation or disinformation” under a bill that passed the Assembly today. The measure from Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell), one of the few contentious vaccine bills still advancing, comes with worries about free-speech chill, particularly given the fluctuating consensus on pandemic safety measures and the Covid-19 shot’s effectiveness in terms of blocking transmission.
Assembly Bill 2098 defines misinformation as “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus to an extent where its dissemination constitutes gross negligence by the licensee,” and disinformation as “misinformation that the licensee deliberately disseminated with malicious intent or an intent to mislead.” Before disciplining anyone, the state’s medical board will have to look at whether the doctor in question “departed from the applicable standard of care” as well as if the purported misinformation or disinformation actually hurt a patient. — Susannah Luthi
ABOUT FACE: Today in the Capitol, a lawmaker urged colleagues to vote against his own bill.
Sen. Henry Stern’s Senate Bill 1486 originally would have required the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility — the site of the worst methane leak in U.S. history — to close by 2027. But the proposal was practically gutted last week in the Senate Appropriations Committee with amendments that scrapped the retirement date.
These changes didn’t sit well with the Canoga Park Democrat, leading him to sabotage the legislation and call out (though not by name) the natural gas interests that lobbied against his original proposal. Sempra, the parent company of Aliso Canyon owner Southern California Gas, and two of its subsidiaries spent over $1.96 million from January through March lobbying the Legislature on SB 1486 and other bills.
“I can’t in good conscience go home and just sock this bill away and make it hide … the gas industry is very powerful,” he said, adding: “There’s a power shift that needs to happen in Sacramento and all over this state.” – Colby Bermel
“Orange County man arrested, accused of stalking ‘World of Warcraft’ video game player,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Solis: “A former Marine from Orange County has been arrested and faces federal charges for allegedly creating hundreds of Twitter accounts used to stalk a professional video game player who lives in Calgary, Canada, authorities said.
Evan Baltierra, 29, was arrested Monday by FBI agents at his home in Trabuco Canyon on suspicion of stalking, according to federal prosecutors. He admitted to investigators he harassed the woman who made her living as a professional online gamer on the popular “War of Warcraft,” authorities said.
The suspect “orchestrated a campaign of harassment targeting the victim, her boyfriend, her friends and her boyfriend’s family,” according to court records.”
“Sacramento clears another homeless encampment. It was supposed to become a tiny homes site,” by Sacramento Bee’s Theresa Clift: “The city of Sacramento this month struck a deal to lease a vacant lot at no cost to an auto repair company before clearing the property of a substantial homeless encampment.
It’s the second time this year that Sacramento reached an agreement to lease a property to a private entity that had complained about homeless camps before clearing a site of tents or vehicles. The company leasing the new property sued the city in January, alleging the city had allowed the encampment to become a public nuisance.
This time, the sweep at Lexington Street and Dixieanne Avenue took place at a lot the City Council previously identified as one that would host a government-sanctioned site for homeless services.”
Compiled by Juhi Doshi
— San Diego County recordsits 10th jail death this year. (LATimes)
— The family of one of nine men killed at a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority rail yard is suing the VTA, saying they should have known much earlier that the gunman was angry and dangerous. (SF Chronicle)
— Ray Liottadied at age 67. (Hollywood Reporter)
