California budget: A deal on tax rebates

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature’s Democratic leaders have struck a finances deal — simply within the nick of time.

After months of haggling, Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on Sunday night time unveiled their joint $300 billion spending plan for the fiscal yr that begins Friday.

The centerpiece is a $17 billion inflation reduction package deal that features direct funds of as a lot as $1,050 to an estimated 23 million Californians, together with particular person filers making as a lot as $250,000 and joint filers making as a lot as $500,000, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff studies. Lower- and middle-income taxpayers, in addition to households with youngsters, will obtain more cash than these with larger incomes. About $1.1 billion will go to elderly, blind or disabled Californians with low incomes and really low-income households enrolled in the state’s public assistance program.

• Newsom, Atkins and Rendon: “California’s budget addresses the state’s most pressing needs, and prioritizes getting dollars back into the pockets of millions of Californians who are grappling with global inflation and rising prices of everything from gas to groceries.”
• But, whereas California will spend $439 million to droop a portion of the diesel gross sales tax, reducing costs by about 23 cents per gallon, the excise fuel tax — which is about to extend by almost 3 cents per gallon on Friday — will stay in place.
• And Californians aren’t prone to begin receiving rebates till October, Rendon stated final week — by the way, a couple of month earlier than the statewide normal election.

Many of the finances deal’s different particulars are ensconced in a collection of “trailer bills” — measures drafted behind closed doorways that may embody main coverage adjustments with little to no relationship to the finances — published over the weekend.

The Legislature is about to think about the payments — a few of that are hundreds of pages long — in hearings beginning this morning and can doubtless approve a lot of them earlier than leaving for summer recess on Friday.

• Veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli requested me Sunday night time: “How is less than 24 hours to review and analyze massive trailer bills good for public transparency and the ability to communicate with legislators?”

Here’s a rundown of different key deadlines this week:

The coronavirus backside line: As of Thursday, California had 9,312,854 confirmed circumstances (+0.5% from earlier day) and 91,420 deaths (+0.1% from earlier day), in keeping with state data now up to date simply twice per week on Tuesdays and Fridays. CalMatters can also be monitoring coronavirus hospitalizations by county.

California has administered 77,359,712 vaccine doses, and 75.6% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.

Other Stories You Should Know

1
Roe v. Wade ruling reverberates by way of California

The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday ruling placing down the federal constitutional proper to an abortion — ending the nationwide protections enshrined almost 50 years in the past within the landmark Roe v. Wade choice and permitting every state to manage the difficulty for itself — was each quick and prone to ripple throughout California and the nation for years to return. Here’s a breakdown of how the Golden State plans to reply to the ruling in each the brief and long run:

• Expanding authorized protections. Shortly after the watershed ruling, Newsom and the Democratic governors of Oregon and Washington unveiled a multi-state pact outlining their states’ “commitment to reproductive freedom.” Newsom additionally signed into law a invoice — which takes impact instantly — shielding out-of-state sufferers who obtain, support or present abortion care in California from civil lawsuits. Meanwhile, state lawmakers are contemplating a package deal of greater than a dozen payments — together with the proposed constitutional modification guaranteeing the best to abortion and contraception — that purpose to broaden abortion entry by lowering value and logistical obstacles, strengthening authorized protections for sufferers and suppliers, and rising the well being care workforce.
• Preparing for an inflow of sufferers. California has a multimillion-dollar plan to assist out-of-state girls search reproductive care — but it surely doesn’t even know what number of abortions are at present carried out within the state, making it troublesome to investigate traits, craft exact coverage and observe the effectiveness of its applications, CalMatters’ Kristen Hwang studies. The Golden State is one in all simply three states that doesn’t observe abortion knowledge and hasn’t executed so since 1997. When Kristen requested why, the California Department of Public Health didn’t present a solution.
• Galvanizing voters. Expect to listen to lots about abortion rights forward of the November normal election, as Democratic candidates flood the airwaves with adverts warning of a bleak future for entry if their Republican opponents win, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff and Kristen Hwang report. Some Democrats, together with Newsom, are warning that Republicans may cross a nationwide abortion ban in the event that they win management of Congress. “I’m very worried about it — and the only thing that’s gonna stop us is us,” Newsom said. If “people don’t wake up, we can be living in that reality.” California Republicans, nonetheless, are expected to focus on points like inflation, homelessness and crime.
• Protecting rights that could possibly be endangered sooner or later. Citing Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion suggesting the nation’s highest courtroom ought to evaluate choices defending the best to contraception and same-sex intimacy and marriage, Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, said advocacy groups are beginning to conduct legal analysis for a constitutional modification enshrining LGTBQ rights that might go earlier than California voters in 2024.

Meanwhile, Californians of all backgrounds and beliefs are making their voices heard. Thousands of individuals rallied in cities across the state over the weekend to protest the courtroom placing down Roe v. Wade, whereas many religious leaders, conservative lawmakers and anti-abortion advocates applauded the ruling. And at weekend Pride parades in San Francisco, Orange County and elsewhere, Californians celebrated the LGBTQ group at the same time as many voiced fears their rights may quickly be rolled again.

2
Changes to math framework doubtless delayed

It seems as if the fierce debate over California’s plan to overtake its framework for instructing math in public faculties — through a non-binding collection of suggestions some critics have denounced as “woke math” — goes to proceed some time longer. Although the State Board of Education had been poised to approve a revised model of the framework in July after reviewing public feedback, the California Department of Education announced Friday that on account of “the current amount of feedback received on the latest draft,” workers at the moment are recommending the board postpone its choice till the “winter of 2022-23.” More than 900 public feedback concerning the second draft had been submitted between March and May, in keeping with the training division.

• The division stated in an announcement: “Updating state guidance for teachers on best practices for aligning instruction to California’s math standards remains a priority. However, rushing the development of the math curriculum framework runs counter to California’s commitment to a transparent process that follows a flexible schedule established at the discretion of the State Board of Education. The adaptable nature of the schedule allows for broad public participation and careful consideration of all potential impacts.”
• The proposed math framework — which goals to make math extra relatable, incorporate social justice ideas and shut achievement gaps for Black and Latino college students — has proved divisive amongst educators and specialists, with some describing it as “a crime against fundamental logic” and others arguing the “status quo” isn’t “good enough for the 21st century.”

3
Can California decarbonize its cement business?

As California considers adopting a controversial new local weather plan, the cement business is going through a state mandate to succeed in net-zero carbon emissions by 2045 — a tall order, contemplating the Golden State’s eight cement crops accounted for about 2% of complete greenhouse fuel emissions in 2017. Although the crops managed to slash carbon emissions by 20% between 2000 and 2015 on account of improved vitality effectivity and elevated use of lower-carbon fuels, attending to web zero would require a “significant shift” industrywide, Guarav Sant, director of UCLA’s Institute for Carbon Management, informed CalMatters’ Nadia Lopez. “Fundamentally,” he added, “we need to think about technological innovations.”

Some crops are already making an attempt new applied sciences: A facility in Redding is partnering with a Silicon Valley-based firm to transform the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions right into a mineral, which may then used to enhance the energy and sturdiness of cement, Nadia studies. But specialists say sizable state and federal investments are additionally mandatory.

• State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat: “If we don’t assist the cement industry in California to become less carbon intensive or emit less greenhouse gases, then, in fact, we’ll be driving the industry out of our state. Then we’ll be dependent on cement from elsewhere and that cement will have far more carbon content.”

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