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If you had been studying the text of the California Constitution on Wednesday — as one does — you’d have seen a brand new line: “The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”
That addition is the results of voters in November overwhelmingly approving Proposition 1, which Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers placed on the ballot following the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion that previewed the court docket’s final choice to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1978 ruling that established federal abortion protections.
Prop. 1 went into effect Wednesday, 5 days after Secretary of State Shirley Weber certified the results of the Nov. 8 election.
Also in impact as of Wednesday: California’s ban on the sale of certain flavored tobacco products — the results of voters in November upholding a state law that will have been applied two years in the past had the tobacco business not certified a referendum to place it on maintain till voters had an opportunity to weigh in. After the election, the tobacco business sought to dam the legislation from taking impact by petitioning all the best way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene.
2022 Election
Latest coverage of the 2022 general election in California
As more and more business groups look to referendums to attempt to overturn — or not less than delay — legal guidelines they dislike popping out of Sacramento, advocacy teams and Californians are pushing again.
But some aren’t ready to search out out whether or not the referendums qualify for the 2024 poll. A coalition of environmental teams despatched Newsom and different state officers a letter last week urging them to “cease approving oil and gas permits for further extractive activities at wells already located within 3,200 feet of a home, school, or other sensitive receptor.”
And the Los Angeles Times editorial board argued Tuesday that Newsom “has the power to shut down new drilling independent of the new law — and he should use it.”
Whether Newsom will try to avoid a attainable referendum on a legislation he signed simply two months in the past might function a litmus check for a way far he’s keen to escalate his battle with the oil business, on which he’s asked state lawmakers to enact a penalty for allegedly price-gouging Californians on the gasoline pump.
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1
2024 election battles take form
Yes, the results of California’s Nov. 8 election had been licensed simply 5 days in the past, and sure, 2024 election battles are already starting to brew. Combine that with branching household timber and Dem-on-Dem fights, and 2024 is already trying fairly explosive. Here’s the most recent:
- Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes announced Wednesday that she is going to in 2024 search the state Assembly seat at the moment held by her sister, Sabrina, who on Tuesday launched her own 2024 campaign for the state Senate seat that will probably be vacated by the termed-out incumbent Richard Roth. If each Cervantes win their campaigns, it could mark the most recent entry within the California Legislature’s long list of lawmakers bequeathing their seats to family members or staffers. Some latest examples: Akilah Weber changed her mom, Shirley, within the state Assembly after the latter was appointed secretary of state — whereas Mia Bonta changed her husband, Rob, within the Assembly after he was appointed attorney general. The household connection doesn’t all the time work, nevertheless: Daniel Hertzberg recently lost his bid to interchange his termed-out father, Bob, within the state Senate.
- Both Cervantes are set to face off in opposition to fellow Democrats in 2024: Clarissa in opposition to fellow Riverside City Councilmember Ronaldo Fierro and Sabrina against Riverside school board member Angelo Farooq.
- Another presumably fierce Democratic intraparty battle is taking form in Orange County: Incumbent state Sens. Dave Min and Josh Newman — who had been drawn into the identical district following 2021’s post-Census redistricting process — will both vie for the new seat in 2024.
2
Looking again on 2022 — and forward to 2023
It appears that one aftereffect of the pandemic is that it’s warped our sense of time — which may make it tough to recollect the whole lot that occurred on the earth of California politics and coverage in 2022, and the way these occasions may inform the challenges and alternatives the state faces in 2023. But by no means concern, CalMatters’ annual primer is right here! In this comprehensive, concise guide, our group of reporters breaks down key 2022 developments within the Newsom administration and state Legislature and delves into such points because the financial system, well being, housing and homelessness, Okay-12 and better training, justice, the surroundings, poverty and inequality and the federal authorities. We additionally preview key themes to look at in 2023. Give the primer a read here.
- CalMatters Editor-in-Chief Dave Lesher: “We hope it helps you learn a bit more about how California government works, and that it informs or even inspires your participation in our democracy.”
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