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Welcome to Essential Politics, our in-the-moment look at California political and government news.

Sign up for our free newsletter for analysis and more, and subscribe to the California Politics Podcast. Don’t miss our Essential Politics page in Sunday’s California section.

L.A. billionaire Eli Broad donates $1.5 million to pro-charter school group supporting Villaraigosa for governor

Billionaire Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, stand for a photo amid Jeff Koons sculptures at "The Broad" museum in downtown Los Angeles.
(Richard Vogel / Associated Press)

Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million on Thursday to a pro-charter school group supporting Antonio Villaraigosa’s candidacy for governor.

The contribution came one day after Netflix chief Reed Hastings donated $7 million to the same group, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, which is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of state’s office.

Broad and Hastings are wealthy backers of the education-reform movement. Villaraigosa is the most prominent California Democrat to back the effort to reform traditional protections for teachers that are a key priority for teachers’ unions. His stance has made him a target of those unions and many other labor groups, in part because of his roots as a labor organizer.

It’s unclear what the independent expenditure group plans to do with the millions of dollars in donations, but it could boost Villaraigosa’s chances against Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who leads in the polls and fundraising. Newsom is backed by the powerful California Teachers Assn. and other education unions.

The charter school association has previously been successful in local elections, notably last year when its efforts led to the first Los Angeles Unified School District board majority of elected officials with major pro-charter financial support.

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Petition drive to repeal California gas tax increase temporarily slows down

A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015.
A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015.
( (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images))

Paid signature-gatherers for a ballot measure that would repeal gas tax increases may be hard to find on the streets of California this week.

Organizers say it’s not a money issue, adding that they needed to briefly halt paid signature-gathering to catch up on collecting petitions from volunteers.

The petition drive has so far collected more than 327,800 verified signatures of the 587,407 needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot, according to Dave Gilliard, the political strategist behind the drive.

“We knew it was popular but the incredible pace is even faster than we expected so we outran the capacity of our verification operation over the Christmas holiday and told our crew managers to slow down so we could catch up,” Gilliard said. “We will be back up to speed by the end of this week.”

The gas tax and vehicle fee increases signed by Gov. Jerry Brown are expected to raise $5.2 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and expanded mass transit. The gas tax jumped from 18 cents to 30 cents per gallon on Nov. 1, and vehicle fees of at least $25 kicked in Jan. 1.

“The gas tax repeal petition is breaking records for both paid and volunteer signatures and we’re using the next two weeks to catch up on validation of signatures already received,” said Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Councilman and conservative radio talk-show host. “As a grass-roots-funded effort we are also continuously raising funds and volunteer support. We are highly confident we’ll qualify this Initiative for the November 2018 ballot.”

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State pot bureau ready to enforce California’s new marijuana laws as license applications flood in

The state has issued 104 licenses for retail stores to sell marijuana for recreational use in California and 239 other applications for those permits are pending, officials said Tuesday.

An official with the state Bureau of Cannabis Control added that the agency is prepared to begin taking enforcement action against pot shops that are not properly licensed.

“The bureau’s enforcement team is ready to respond to any complaints it receives and start doing compliance checks and site visits at any time,” said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the bureau.

Selling marijuana without a license is a crime punishable by up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $500. Those convicted of engaging in any marijuana business activity without a license will also be subject to a civil penalty of up to three times the amount of the license fee for each violation.

A new report issued Tuesday indicated the bureau has issued 478 temporary licenses to firms to test, distribute and sell medical and recreational marijuana, which began Jan. 1 after voters approved a legalization initiative, Proposition 64, in 2016. Businesses have received 153 licenses to sell marijuana for medical use.

Another 1,458 firms have applied for licenses that are still being processed.

The state Department of Food and Agriculture has separately issued 207 licenses to marijuana growers.

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Two possible instances of discrimination reported after California issues driver’s licenses to immigrants here illegally

The California Research Bureau on Tuesday released its first report on incidents of discrimination under a 2015 state law that has provided driver’s licenses for hundreds of thousands of immigrants here illegally.

Researchers found no complaints have been made against government agencies tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws. But two possible instances of discrimination were reported in focus group interviews conducted by Drive California, a coalition of advocates studying the impact of the new law.

In one case, a woman in Fresno was told her license was not a valid form of identification at a retail store, though it was unclear “whether the incident reflected intentional discrimination or simple ignorance of the license marking,” the report states.

A MoneyGram clerk in another case denied a license holder the ability to cash a check. The same person was later rejected again at a bank.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has issued 960,000 AB 60 driver’s licenses as of Nov. 30. The state research bureau produced the report for the Legislature as part of the new law, which declares discrimination against an AB 60 license holder a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

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California lawmaker proposes requiring panic buttons for hotel workers in response to widespread sexual harassment

More than half of hotel workers surveyed report being sexually harassed at some point.
(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Alarmed by a survey indicating sexual harassment of hotel housekeepers is widespread, a California state lawmaker on Tuesday proposed requiring employers to provide “panic button” devices to their employees so they can summon help if abused by a guest.

The bill to be introduced Wednesday by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) would also require individual hotels to impose a three-year ban on guests who engage in harassment on the property.

“We want to protect our most vulnerable women workers, hotel maids who are going into rooms alone, from sexual harassment,” said Muratsuchi, who co-authored the bill with Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward).

The legislation signals that concerns over sexual harassment that dominated the state Legislature last year will continue to be an issue for lawmakers as they begin the new legislative year Wednesday.

Harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, comedian Louis C.K. and other high-profile men have involved sexual misconduct in hotel rooms.

A survey in July by Unite Here Local 1 found that 49% of female hotel workers in Chicago had experienced a guest answering the door naked or exposing himself. The report titled “Hands Off, Pants On,” found 58% of hotel workers said they had been sexually harassed by a guest.

California’s Unite Here Local 11 has been calling for the action proposed in the legislation.

“It is the intent of this measure to protect hotel employees from violent assault, including sexual assault, and sexual harassment, and to enable those employees to speak out when they experience harassment on the job,” said the introduction to the legislation introduced by Muratsuchi.

In addition to requiring hotels to provide panic buttons to employees who work alone in rooms, the bill requires hotels to take written complaints from employees and keep them for five years. Any complaint backed by evidence including a statement given under penalty of perjury would result in a guest being banned from a hotel for three years.

Hotels would also be required to post a notice on the inside of hotel room doors warning guests about the consequences of sexual harassment.

Updated at 4:10 pm to include comment from Assemblyman Muratsuchi.

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Money, Republican malaise and Tom Steyer: These are the things to watch for in California’s 2018 statewide elections

Get ready, California. What had been a behind-the-scenes dash for cash closely watched by few other than political observers is about to burst into public view.

Voters this year will decide who will succeed Democrat Jerry Brown as the next governor and whether they will send Sen. Dianne Feinstein back to Washington.

Before the June 5 primary, candidates will ramp up their campaigns with messages on television and stuffed into mailboxes. Here’s a primer on the state’s two marquee races.

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This dispute over candidate endorsements is dividing the California Democratic Party

It’s up to a few thousand California Democratic Party delegates to decide whether the state party endorses candidates at its February convention in San Diego — a nod that could come with millions of dollars of support.

But this month, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman sent a letter to statewide candidates urging them not to seek the state party endorsement in February, prompting allegations that he was trying to silence dissenting voices. Bauman said his letter was simply meant to stave off disunity at the convention.

The dispute over endorsements is the latest battle between Bauman and those who backed his rival, Kimberly Ellis, in a bitter leadership contest in the spring that was decided by a handful of votes and resulted in a recount. Party delegates split into establishment and grass-roots factions, aligning themselves with Bauman and Ellis respectively, mirroring the divide among Democrats in deciding between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary.

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Fickle L.A. County is pivotal in the race for California governor

Home to a quarter of California’s 5.2 million registered voters, Los Angeles County is the biggest prize in California’s 2018 race for governor.

For two hometown Democratic candidates especially — former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang of Torrance — doing well in L.A. County is essential if they hope to best the front-runner, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Yet this overwhelmingly Democratic stronghold continually bedevils even the most adept campaigns.

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A renewed brawl over single-payer healthcare in California is on deck for 2018

Carolyn Angela Chen, a registered nurse, gives a free hepatitis A vaccination to Glenn Gardner, 52, at Joshua House Clinic
(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

California officials are bracing for healthcare battles in Washington to have a major impact on the state’s budget and programs. Activists and politicians are planning a showdown over whether or not to establish a single-payer healthcare system in the state. And prescription drug manufacturers are the target of a number of bills meant to target the rising costs of medication.

Sound familiar? Turns out the brewing healthcare battles in California in 2018 aren’t all that different from those from 2017.

Here’s a primer on the upcoming healthcare agenda in California:

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A guide to figuring out whether California will flip the House for Democrats this fall

Activists with several California groups rally outside Rep. Mimi Walters' Irvine office.
( (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times))

Now that the year of the midterm election has arrived, the battles will start to pick up speed as Democrats try to reclaim control of the House.

The path to the 24 seats Democrats need passes through California — and that means they need to win at least a handful of the Republican seats they hope to flip.

As the contests take shape, we’re watching a few things to get a sense of what the 2018 election might bring.

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How California lawmakers plan to protect the online privacy of consumers in 2018

(Elise Amendola / Associated Press)

With federal regulation rollbacks and a rise in data breaches, California lawmakers this year are looking for ways to protect consumers and their personal information.

Some legislation under consideration could give people more notice and control over what data is collected, without having to pay for privacy or better services. Other bills could provide free credit freezes for consumers and require new privacy features for products that connect to the internet.

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2018 will see California motorists pay more to the state to repair roads and bridges

The new year brings with it new vehicle fees in California ranging from $25 to $175 depending on the value of your car, but Republican lawmakers are hoping to qualify a ballot measure in November to repeal the higher charges.

The fees and a 12-cent increase in California’s gas tax last year are part of a plan by Democrats to raise more than $5.2 billion annually to deal with a backlog of road and bridge repairs.

Petitions to qualify a repeal initiative are circulating now.

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A rent control battle tops the list of California housing issues to watch in 2018

A new-home community in Anaheim in 2016
(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

California lawmakers aren’t wasting any time in tackling one of the most contentious issues in state housing politics this year.

On Jan. 11, the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee is set to hold a hearing on legislation that could lead to a dramatic expansion of rent control policies across the state.

The debate over rent control could spill over onto the 2018 ballot, where Californians also could see proposals to expand or curtail the property tax restrictions ushered in 40 years ago by Proposition 13.

Lawmakers will have to wrestle with how to follow up a package of housing bills that passed last year. The measures provided new funding and regulations designed to encourage homebuilding, but are unlikely to make an appreciable difference in housing costs.

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6 things you probably didn’t know about the Californians in Congress

California’s 55 members of Congress make up the largest and most diverse delegation in the country.

From favorite movies to military commendations, check out our list of six things you may not know about them:

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Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas is resigning

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles)
Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas abruptly announced his resignation from the California Legislature on Wednesday, citing health reasons.

Ridley-Thomas, a Democrat from Los Angeles, informed Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) Tuesday night.

“The reason for this difficult decision is that I am facing persistent health issues,” Ridley-Thomas, 30, said in a written statement on Wednesday. “On December 18th, I underwent surgery for the fifth time this year. Although I expect a full recovery, my physicians advise that I will need an extended period of time to recuperate.”

Earlier this year, Ridley-Thomas was absent from work for more than two weeks. Staff members initially said the absence was a personal leave, then said the time off was due to unspecified medical reasons. His resignation letter on Wednesday offered no additional details.

“When I resume public life, I intend to remain active in civic affairs, where my passion lies,” he said in the statement released by his office.

Ridley-Thomas was first elected to the Assembly in a 2013 special election. He is the son of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Before winning elected office at age 26, the younger Ridley-Thomas worked as an aide for Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price and managed a 2012 Assembly campaign in San Bernardino County.

In a statement about his son’s decision, Mark Ridley-Thomas said he and his wife “more than anyone, have seen him struggle with health challenges this year, and we fully support his decision to step down from the state Legislature so that he can recuperate with complete rest, in accordance with his doctor’s orders.”

His solidly Democratic district includes the west Los Angeles neighborhoods of Westwood, Culver City, Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills. He is chairman of the influential Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, which oversees all tax-related legislation. Ridley-Thomas is a proponent of changes in the operation of the state Board of Equalization, though his plan would have allowed the agency to ultimately retain many of its duties. A more substantial shake-up was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in June.

Ridley-Thomas was the author of a bill signed into law in October giving the Los Angeles Unified School District the power to preserve some of its existing single-gender schools. He was unsuccessful, though, in an effort to stop local governments from imposing taxes on streaming video services like Netflix and Hulu.

Ridley-Thomas’ departure will require a special election in 2018. He is the fourth Southern California legislator to leave office this year. The election of Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) to Congress also required a special election. The other two lawmakers— Assemblymen Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) and Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) — stepped down in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, which both men have denied. A special election to fill Bocanegra’s seat will be held on April 3, with a potential runoff on June 5. A special election date has not yet been set for Dababneh’s seat.

“My colleagues and I wish Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas all the best going forward as he deals with his health challenges,” Rendon said in a statement. “The Assembly will continue to assist the residents of the 54th Assembly District until a new assemblymember is seated.”

This post was updated with comment from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, as well as more information about special elections. It was originally published at 11:10 a.m.

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Former California Secretary of State March Fong Eu to be honored in Sacramento

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California Senate Democrats are considering some ideas to counter the GOP tax plan

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Democrats in the California Senate are planning to write legislation to lessen the effects of the elimination of popular tax breaks in the GOP’s overhaul of the federal tax system.

To finance broad-based corporate tax cuts and reductions in individual tax rates, the GOP plan caps the deductibility of state and local income and property taxes — a benefit used often in suburban areas of California.

“The Republican tax scam disproportionately harms California taxpayers,” Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said in a statement. “Our hard-earned tax dollars should not be subject to double-taxation, especially not to line the pockets of the Trump family, hedge fund managers and private jet owners.”

De León, who also is running for U.S. Senate, said the state Senate is working with law professors at UCLA, UC Davis and the University of Chicago to develop the legislation.

Ideas being considered, according to a de León spokesman, include:

  • Reducing state personal income taxes through a tax credit program and offsetting that amount through payroll taxes.
  • Allowing individuals to make voluntary gifts to the state of California, which would be deductible as a charitable donation under federal law. The deduction for the donated amount would replace the state and local tax deduction.

Lawmakers return to Sacramento in January.

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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti admits considering a 2020 bid: ‘I am thinking about this’

Eric Garcetti
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

It’s no secret Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is interested in running for president.

When reporters ask about his intentions, he has used all sorts of ways to deflect, typically by saying he’s focused on his day job — for the moment.

But speaking in Spanish to a Univision reporter this week, Garcetti edged ever closer to the telltale admission he’s actually considering it.

“I am thinking about this,” said Garcetti, who is partly of Mexican heritage but learned Spanish attending private school. “The majority of time goes to my work as mayor of Los Angeles, but every [citizen] should think about what our role is in these difficult times, in these dangerous times.”

Garcetti added that he expects many mayors to run for president, and noted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently visited Iowa, which holds the first presidential nominating contest.

Garcetti has long been rumored to be flirting with a White House bid, and he has fueled such speculation by traveling out of state to places such as the early presidential primary state of New Hampshire to campaign for a mayoral candidate.

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Gov. Brown makes judicial appointments, including attorney who helps train Legislature on anti-sexual-harassment policies

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The California Housing Crisis Podcast’s predictions for 2018

After a big year in 2017, California’s housing affordability crisis is going to be another major topic in state politics.

On the 2018 docket, lawmakers will tackle rent control and voters statewide could see many housing-related ballot measures, including a $4-billion bond primarily to fund new low-income developments and potential major changes to Proposition 13’s property tax restrictions.

On this week’s Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast, we debate all those topics, highlight the effects of the GOP federal tax plan on California housing and interview Amy Thoma Tan, who works in public affairs, about what it’s like to purchase a new home in Sacramento’s hot real estate market.

Gimme Shelter, a podcast covering why it’s so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, is recorded every two weeks and features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues out of the Los Angeles Times’ Sacramento bureau, and Matt Levin, data reporter for CalMatters.

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California’s former top cop forms marijuana distribution firm in new age of legalization

Former California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer is going from enforcing laws against marijuana to legally distributing the drug under the state’s new rules that allow the sale and possession of pot for recreational use.

With state-licensed sales of marijuana starting Jan. 1, Lockyer has co-founded a firm, C4 Distro, that will distribute packaged marijuana concentrates and edibles to stores in Los Angeles.

He says California’s new regulated system has a chance to be a model for the rest of the country.

“For me as somebody who was on the law enforcement side for so many years, I saw the inadequacies of the effort to regulate something just by calling it illegal,” Lockyer said. “I think legalizing will help stabilize and help legitimize this industry and result in better consumer protection and other public benefits.”

Lockyer, a Democrat who served in the state Assembly and was leader of the state Senate, has co-founded the firm with Eric Spitz, who was chairman and president of the former parent company of the Orange County Register.

The businessmen aim to get their products to pot shops in L.A. in late January or early February, Spitz said.

Asked if he uses marijuana himself, Lockyer, 76, said, “Not in any recent times, but there were college years.”

He said he sees his involvement in the marijuana industry as a mixture of helping to pay for his kids’ college tuition and public service to help the new regulations work. “This whole industry has to come from the dark side to the light,” he said.

By focusing on delivery to as many as 700 stores that might open in Los Angeles, C4 Distro hopes to capture a targeted market while other firms distribute statewide. The business has a warehouse in southeast Los Angeles County and is close to applying for a distributor’s license from the state, Lockyer said.

Lockyer served a quarter century in the state Legislature before he was elected as state attorney general in 1999. He left that office in 2007 when he was elected as state treasurer, serving until his retirement from politics in 2015.

Before co-leading a group that bought the Register newspaper in 2012, Spitz served as chief financial officer at Narragansett Brewing Company. Spitz left the Register’s Freedom Communications in 2016.

2 p.m.: An earlier version of this article mistakenly said Spitz left Freedom Communications in 2015.

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House passes disaster aid bill with wildfire funding, 18 Californians vote no

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Eighteen of California’s 53 House members voted no on an $81-billion disaster aid package Thursday, which includes funds for California’s recent wildfires.

The 17 Democrats and one Republican voted no on the bill, which passed the House by a 251 to 169 vote.

The Senate is not expected to take up the bill until January, when Congress returns from its holiday break.

The entire California delegation had recently signed onto a letter asking for the disaster aid.

In a speech on the House floor before the vote, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) pleaded with colleagues not to take a political stance on a disaster aid bill.

“Don’t play politics on a vote to give aid to the people of Texas, to the people of Puerto Rico and to the Virgin Islands, to the people of Florida, and to the people of California that are still fighting the fires. Don’t play politics on a bill where you hope to maybe stop another. That would be the worst of any politics I’ve seen played here,” McCarthy said. “Here and now, right before Christmas, don’t vote against aid for Americans who just lost everything.”

Several of the Democrats who voted no also voted against the spending bill Thursday, and said that they felt they could not support either because the bills did not include Democratic priorities for the end of the year, including protections for people brought to the country illegally as children.

Others said the aid bill doesn’t provide enough money for California and doesn’t treat Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands fairly in terms of competing for the funds.

The 18 representatives voting no were:

  • Nanette Barragán (D-San Pedro)
  • Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles)
  • Tony Cardenas (D-Los Angeles)
  • Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park)
  • Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana)
  • Anna Eshoo (D-Menlo Park)
  • Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles)
  • Ro Khanna (D-Fremont)
  • Barbara Lee (D-Oakland)
  • Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)
  • Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove)
  • Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco)
  • Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Downey)
  • Linda Sanchez (D-Whittier)
  • Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough)
  • Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin)
  • Norma Torres (D-Pomona)
  • Juan Vargas (D-San Diego)
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Three California House members cross party lines on spending bill to keep government open

Three California House members crossed party lines Thursday on a vote to pass a spending bill that will keep the government open until mid-January.

Democratic Reps. Jim Costa of Fresno and Raul Ruiz of Palm Desert joined the majority of Republicans to vote for the bill. Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of Alpine joined Democrats to vote against it.

The bill, which funds the government through Jan. 19, passed the House 231 to 188, right before representatives left for the holidays.

Costa said in a statement that he voted yes because keeping the government open is Congress’ job, but he called the vote “a continuation of the dysfunction in Washington.”

“It further illustrates the damage that results from partisan politics and irresponsible leadership. It is unacceptable that we have to resort to funding the government for weeks at a time because we cannot sit down together — Democrats and Republicans — and negotiate a real budget bill,” Costa said.

Hunter’s staff said the congressman was concerned that military spending in the bill was extended for only a short period. He had wanted the spending to be extended until September.

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Poll points to all-Democrat runoffs in California races for governor and senator

Californians could see two Democrat-on-Democrat contests in the state’s premier races in 2018, according to a new poll released Thursday.

In the gubernatorial race, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom remains the front-runner with the support of 26% of likely voters in a Berkeley IGS poll. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came in second with the backing of 17%.

The poll found notable demographic differences in the two men’s bases of support. Newsom had strong leads in the Bay Area, where he once served as the mayor of San Francisco, as well as among white voters, liberals and the wealthy. Villaraigosa saw strong backing in Los Angeles County, among Latino voters and among those who earned less than $40,000.

Republicans splintered in the race, placing businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen in a tie for third place with 9% each. Two other Democrats, state Treasurer John Chiang and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin, each won the support of 5% of likely voters.

If Republicans fail to consolidate behind a candidate in the June primary, voters will for the first time see no GOP candidate on the November ballot for governor.

It’s a repeat of what occurred in the 2016 U.S. Senate race, and what is likely to occur again in the 2018 U.S. Senate race if the field does not grow.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has the support of 41% of likely voters in her reelection bid, but her rival, fellow Democrat Kevin de León, won the support of 27%, according to the poll. There is no GOP candidate in the race.

Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, has enormous advantages in fundraising, name recognition and support among powerful political groups.

However, the poll found that nearly one-third of likely voters said they are undecided or would like to support another candidate.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will not back must-pass spending bill without fixes for ‘Dreamers’ and children’s healthcare

In a surprising reversal, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced Thursday that she will not vote for an end-of-year spending bill that does not include protections for people brought to the country illegally as children as well as funding for a children’s health insurance program.

“It’s absolutely unconscionable that Republicans are leaving these items out of their bill to fund the government,” she said in a statement Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Democrat said she would vote for the bill, which must be passed in order to keep the government open past Friday.

Feinstein’s reversal is largely symbolic because the Senate likely still has enough Democratic votes to pass a temporary spending bill and push off a deal for so-called Dreamers until the new year.

Feinstein had been facing pressure from advocates and one of her 2018 opponents for refusing to block the bill if it didn’t include protections for Dreamers, who had benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that President Trump ended in September. About a quarter of the nearly 800,000 so-called Dreamers live in California, and almost 2 million California children and pregnant women use the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which the state government says is expected to run out of money next month.

“I’ve talked with them, I’ve met with them, I understand their plight and it breaks my heart. In California, 200,000 DACA youth are living in fear. The government knows where they live, where they study and where they work, and unless Congress acts, they know the government can show up at any moment and deport them,” Feinstein said.

Protesters had flooded Feinstein’s California and Washington offices in recent days.

Some on the left in California have questioned whether Feinstein is too moderate for a state that feels it’s under attack by the new administration. Her most prominent 2018 opponent, Democratic state Senate leader Kevin de León, has tried to capitalize on her reluctance to block the spending bill.

An Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley poll released Thursday found Feinstein leading De León 41% to 27% among likely voters, with 32% of respondents saying they were undecided or would support another candidate. House Democrats who have pushed to block the spending bill in order to get a deal for Dreamers by the end of the year praised Feinstein.

Rep. Nanette Barragán of San Pedro, whose cousin is among the Dreamers anxiously waiting a resolution, said she spoke twice with Feinstein on Thursday morning.

“It was a really good conversation, and to see her take a stand and say “I’m with you guys’… is great to see,” Barragán said.

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park) said she’s glad Feinstein took a stand.

“It sends a powerful message, and it shows that we can be even more unified on holding the line on Dreamers and the [spending bill],” she said.

Read MoreFOR THE RECORD

12:49 p.m. The poll was of likely voters, this post initially stated it was of registered voters.

UPDATE

11:26 a.m.: This post has been updated with reaction from the California congressional delegation.

This post was originally published at 10:07 a.m.

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California legislator wants to curb sexual harassment in Hollywood and eating disorders for models

Fashion models show off the BCBG MAX AZRIA Spring 2016 collection during New York Fashion Week.
(Richard Drew / AP)

A new proposal by a California assemblyman is taking aim at two of the more criticized phenomena in the entertainment industry: sexual harassment and unhealthy body standards for fashion models.

The legislation, by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael), would require the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards to adopt guidelines for fashion models in an attempt to combat the prevalence of eating disorders and excessive thinness in the industry.

This is the second time Levine has tried to take on the fashion industry. His similar bill to impose standards on models sputtered in 2016.

This time, Levine also is trying to address the prevalence of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry by requiring that talent agencies — which represent actors, performers and other artists — provide training on sexual harassment and how to identify and prevent inappropriate behavior.

“I believed women who told me their stories of abuse when I introduced legislation to provide workplace protections in the fashion industry in 2016 just like I believe them now,” Levine said in a statement. “It’s time that law reflects society’s rejection of sexual harassment in all workplaces, including Hollywood. My bill aims to address the problem before it starts, but also empowers survivors with the tools to report these cases.”

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Local Indivisible group picks Democrat to endorse against Rep. Duncan Hunter

Ammar Campa-Najjar, 28, is running against Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine).
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)

With an already crowded field of contenders hoping to unseat Rep. Duncan Hunter and months to go before the candidate filing deadline, one local activist group has made an early endorsement in the race.

Indivisible CA50, made up of activists mostly in San Diego County, announced Thursday that it’s endorsing Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat and public affairs consultant who’s challenging Hunter.

The endorsement comes as liberal activists and interest groups all over the state are grappling with whether — and how — to winnow down the dozens of candidates vying for 10 GOP-held seats in California.

The group held more than half a dozen endorsement meetings to allow members throughout Hunter’s district to vote on their preferred candidate. One of the candidates, Pierre Beauregard, dropped out of the race recently and endorsed Campa-Najjar.

In a statement Campa-Najjar said in a statement that the nod “represents the enthusiasm of hundreds of progressive grassroots activists.”

Indivisible’s national political director Maria Urbina said the endorsement was the first made by any California chapter in the 2018 midterms.

Aside from Campa-Najjar, two other Democrats are running for Hunter’s seat: Josh Butner, a school board trustee and former Navy SEAL, and realtor Patrick Malloy, who ran last year and lost to Hunter by nearly 27 percentage points.

Hunter will also face at least two GOP challengers: Shamus Sayed and Andrew Zelt. Hunter is not considered to be particularly vulnerable in next year’s election, but an investigation into his alleged misuse of campaign funds has caused at least one election handicapper to move his race from “solid Republican” to the “likely Republican” column.

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San Francisco is getting a new mayor and creating a political star. Who will it be?

San Francisco is the city everyone loves, even if they hate it.

The stately Victorians, like a gingerbread dream come to life. The majestic Golden Gate Bridge, standing like heaven’s portal above the fog. The plucky cable cars, scrabbling up its impossible hillsides.

It can almost make you forget the bands of ravaged homeless, the paralyzing traffic, the scent of human waste wafting from sidewalks outside the city’s posh eateries and palatial tech headquarters.

San Francisco is getting a new mayor, owing to the sudden death of incumbent Ed Lee. All of the grandeur, and all of the grit, accompany the position.

To say the race is wide open — Lee having died just about a week ago — is an understatement.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein is under pressure over a fix for ‘Dreamers’

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is under pressure from activists and fellow Democrats to withhold support for a spending bill that would avert a government shutdown in exchange for protections for people brought to the country illegally as children.

Feinstein said in October that protections for so-called Dreamers are “the most important thing we can get done,” but the senator known for her moderate bent said this week that she won’t try to block the end-of-the-year spending bill over it, and has not offered an explanation.

Dreamers this week flooded Feinstein’s five California offices and her office on Capitol Hill. Two UCLA students refused to leave her Capitol Hill office after three hours Tuesday and were briefly detained by police. On Wednesday, about a dozen students and parents returned and were asked to leave after about 30 minutes of shouting in her office lobby.

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Emily’s List endorses woman running against Rep. Darrell Issa

National abortion rights behemoth Emily’s List has made its next choice among California’s vast array of Democratic congressional challengers.

The group announced Thursday it’s endorsing Democrat Sara Jacobs, a former policy advisor for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign who most recently served as CEO of a New York nonprofit.

Jacobs, 28, is also the granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs and is the only woman so far to enter the race for Rep. Darrell Issa’s seat.

In a statement, Emily’s List president Stephanie Schriock called Jacobs a “passionate, energetic leader” who will “deliver a fresh, new approach to government that creates economic opportunity and works for Southern California families.”

Emily’s List included Issa in a list of seven GOP members in California that they’re looking to unseat next year. So far, the group has backed pro-abortion-rights female candidates in four of them.

Issa is considered by many election observers to be the most vulnerable congressional incumbent. He won his reelection campaign by just 1,621 votes last year against Democrat Doug Applegate, who is also running this year. In addition to Applegate and Issa, Jacobs will face Democrats Mike Levin and Paul Kerr.

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The GOP tax plan passed. Now Democrats have another big issue to use in the midterms

As GOP leaders in Congress met behind closed doors to hash out the details of their massive tax overhaul, a group of UC Irvine graduate students met in Rep. Mimi Walters’ district, fretting about how the plan could cost them money.

About 20 miles north, dozens of activists in top hats stood outside Rep. Ed Royce’s Brea office as they chanted, “Shame on you!”

And up in the Central Valley, protesters gathered outside Rep. Jeff Denham’s Modesto office to sing “Protest ye dreary congressman … Remember that he voted to take healthcare away. To save himself from taxes now, so you will have to pay.’

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Kevin de León to Feinstein: ‘Don’t come back’ to California without forcing a government shutdown over Dream Act

State Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), left, and Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), right.
(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Taking direct criticism to the woman he is attempting to unseat in next year’s U.S. Senate race, California Senate leader Kevin de León on Wednesday urged Democrats to block a year-end spending bill as leverage to pass a Dream Act — “clean” of GOP demands for increased border security.

At a news conference in downtown Los Angeles, De León commended Sen. Kamala Harris for pledging to block the measure, saying he could not understand why her colleague Sen. Dianne Feinstein had failed to take a similar stance in pushing for legislation to protect the so-called Dreamers, immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

“Dreamers make up hundreds of thousands of Sen. Feinstein’s constituents, and while talking a good game on Dreamers, when it comes to standing up and supporting them, she is AWOL,” said De León (D-Los Angeles), who has attempted to position himself to Feinstein’s left as he campaigns for her seat.

His statements follow days of demonstrations by young protesters at legislators’ offices in Washington and California. The coalitions of activists have been calling on Democrats to hold up the spending bill, a move that could force a government shutdown. They want to pass Dream Act legislation that would provide protections and a path to citizenship to young people without legal residency in the U.S.

At least two young protesters were arrested Tuesday outside of Feinstein’s Capitol Hill office, and more demonstrations took place at her offices in Washington and San Francisco on Wednesday.

Feinstein, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have sponsored Dream Act legislation but have not pledged to hold up the spending deal. A separate bipartisan group of senators is advocating punting the issue to January. President Trump has asked Congress to come up with a solution by March.

Standing next to De León and immigrant rights advocates on Wednesday, state Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) said advocates had “to double down the shame on any Democrat” who thinks it’s time to wait on the issue.

De León said they had made that message clear to Schumer, saying, “It is time to find your spine, sir.” To Pelosi and Feinstein, he said: “Don’t come back to California if you haven’t demonstrated your leadership and your courage to stand up for these young men and women.”

“I can tell you this,” De León said. “If the Republicans were on the other side, they wouldn’t hesitate for a nanosecond to shut down the government to move forward what they believe in.”

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Rep. Zoe Lofgren loses race to lead Democrats on Judiciary Committee

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) lost a vote Tuesday to become the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

The House Democratic Caucus, by a 118-72 tally, instead picked Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to replace outgoing Rep. John Conyers Jr.

Conyers (D-Mich.) recently agreed to step down amid sexual harassment allegations.

Lofgren, a former immigration lawyer serving her 12th term, was the third-most-senior Democrat on the committee. But when Conyers announced he was stepping down after 23 years as the panel’s senior Democrat, she made it clear that she didn’t intend to yield to Nadler, the second-most-senior Democrat on the committee.

Being the highest-ranking member of the minority party on a committee doesn’t hold much power. However, if Democrats win control of the House in 2018, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee would take over leadership of the panel, which would be tasked with considering impeachment charges against President Trump if they are brought forward.

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12 California Republicans vote to support tax overhaul for a second time; Rohrabacher and Issa say no

The House gave final approval for the GOP tax bill Wednesday, with 12 Republicans in the state delegation again voting in favor of the bill.

Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Darrell Issa of Vista voted no.

The House and Senate both passed the bill Tuesday, but, because Democrats raised procedural objections that forced the bill to be changed in the Senate, the House had to vote on the bill again Wednesday before sending it to President Trump for his signature.

Though many California taxpayers are expected to see an initial income tax cut under the plan, a significant number probably will have higher taxes because of the lost deductions. Analysts also expect the biggest cuts to flow to corporations and the state’s wealthiest residents.

Republicans are expected to head to the White House later Wednesday for a celebration with Trump.

No House Democrats, including the 39 from California, supported the bill. Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) was not present for the second vote, but she voted no on Tuesday.

See the Republican votes here:

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California’s Democratic senators vote no on GOP tax bill

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GOP tax overhaul passes House with help from a dozen California Republicans

Despite weeks of consternation from some California House Republicans, a dozen of them joined their colleagues to pass an overhaul of the U.S. tax code Tuesday. Two — Reps. Darrell Issa and Dana Rohrabacher — voted against the plan.

In the weeks before the vote, Republican Reps. Mimi Walters of Irvine and Steve Knight of Palmdale cited new caps on popular deductions as reasons they were uncertain about whether to vote for the bill. Both worked behind the scenes on changes and ultimately supported the bill, which passed the House on a near party line vote 227-203.

Knight said he’s satisfied the changes are enough to to turn what would have been a tax increase into a tax cut for his constituents.

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More than half of Californians oppose GOP tax bill, according to new poll

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) arrives for a news conference about the tax plan.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) arrives for a news conference about the tax plan.
(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

More than half of Californians oppose the GOP tax bill expected to be approved by Congress today, and just 20% believe it will have a positive affect on their families, according to a poll released Monday.

Just over half of California voters, 51%, oppose the tax bill, and 30% support it, according to the newest IGS Poll, a survey by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley.

And the belief falls largely along party lines, with Democrats opposing the bill by a more than 4-to-1 (67% to 15%) margin and Republicans supporting it 3 to 1 (60% to 21%).

The House and Senate are expected to vote on the tax bill Tuesday. California’s Republican members of Congress largely support the bill despite some concerns about how cuts to the state and local tax deduction and mortgage interest deduction might affect Californians. Democrats in the delegation oppose it and have said they will use the vote against vulnerable Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections.

When asked about the impact they think the bill will have on themselves and their families, just 20% of the poll’s respondents said they think it will benefit them directly, while 40% foresee a negative impact. About 27% do not expect much of an impact, and 13% said they don’t know if they’ll be affected.

The poll of a random sample of 1,000 registered voters was completed by telephone in English and Spanish from Dec. 7 to 16.

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A quick look at some of the biggest tax changes for Californians

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

Congressional Republicans are framing their tax cut bill as a Christmas gift that will give Americans an average tax cut of $2,059. For Californians, especially in the wealthier areas along the coast, the situation isn’t as clear-cut.

When the measure comes up for a vote in the House on Tuesday morning, it’s expected to pass along party lines. At least two Republicans say they will join Democrats in the California delegation to oppose the plan because they fear it will hurt their constituents’ bottom line.

Take a quick look at what some of the biggest changes in the tax bill might mean for average Californians.

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Lawmakers, pot growers say California’s marijuana cultivation rules favor big corporate farms

California’s new rules allowing marijuana cultivation favor large corporate farms despite a promise in Proposition 64 that small growers would be protected, according to a group of state lawmakers and marijuana industry leaders who called Monday for the policy to be changed.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture issued emergency rules last month that allow for small and medium-sized farms of up to a quarter acre and one acre, respectively, to get licenses for the first five years. That five-year head start for small farms was promised in Proposition 64, the initiative approved last year by voters that legalized growing and selling marijuana for recreational use.

Individuals and businesses can get only one license for a medium-sized farm, but the new rules do not set a limit on how many small-farm licenses can be obtained by one person or business.

That could allow a corporation to assemble a 20-acre farm by obtaining 80 licenses for a quarter-acre each, opponents worry.

Democratic state Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Mike McGuire of Healdsburg, Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) and the California Growers Assn. asked for swift action by the state agricultural department to change the rule.

“This is clearly a broken promise,” McGuire said. “For two years, every discussion has included a cap on cannabis grows and the Department of Food and Agriculture needs to fix this massive loophole they have created. This last-minute revision rolls out the red carpet for large corporations to crush the livelihood of small family farmers.”

With cultivation licenses set to take effect next month, the lawmakers also promised legislative hearings on why the rules were drafted to disadvantage small, mom-and-pop farms.

“California only has one chance to get this right, and it is already on the wrong path with this last-minute change that flies in the face of what the backers of Prop. 64 promised,” said Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Assn. “This single decision will hand over the California marketplace to multinational corporations and a wealthy few at the expense of thousands of growers who are ready to play by the rules and provide economic opportunity in communities that until recently were criminalized or — at the very least — marginalized.”

The industry estimates there are about 3,500 independent growers on track to get a state license in the first half of 2018. Allen’s group estimates that number could grow to as many as 10,000 or 15,000 by the end of 2020, but not if large corporate farms are allowed in early.

The agricultural agency issued a response later: “A one-acre canopy limit has not been in proposed regulations at any point and was not included in the emergency regulations due to the fact that Proposition 64, the law guiding the process, did not provide authority to include it. However, local jurisdictions may impose that limitation on their own if it meets the needs of their constituents.”

Updated at 5:10 pm to include comment from agricultural agency.

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Gov. Jerry Brown takes to social media to criticize Republican ‘tax monstrosity’

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Rep. Grace Napolitano’s husband, Frank Napolitano, dies after battle with cancer

Rep. Grace Napolitano’s husband, Frank Napolitano, died Friday at their home in Norwalk after a battle with cancer.

The former restaurateur was 90, and had undergone chemotherapy and radiation to treat esophageal cancer over the summer.

“The congresswoman loved Frank dearly and is immensely saddened by his passing. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather,” her office said in a statement.

The couple was married in the early 1980s after the death of Napolitano’s first husband, with whom she had five children.

The congresswoman, a Democrat, will return to Washington for this week’s vote on a tax code overhaul.

She said in April that she planned to seek reelection next year, though her husband’s health problems prompted The Times to keep the congresswoman on its retirement watch list.

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Final tax bill dramatically softens blow to mortgage interest deductions in California

Last-minute changes to the Republican-led tax overhaul seem to be tailor-made to entice support from California GOP lawmakers, several of whom voted against a previous version passed in the House last month.

The House version, passed with the support of all but three California Republicans, had proposed capping the mortgage interest deduction at loans of $500,000 or less. Republicans in high-tax, expensive states had voiced concerns the bill would have major effects in their districts.

But the final version of the bill dramatically slashed the percentage of new mortgages that would be affected if the package becomes law.

*New mortgages over $500,000 include data through Sept. 2017. New mortgages over $750,000 include data through Oct. 2017.

Source: Times analysis of data provided by CoreLogic

The particulars of the mortgage interest provision and other popular deductions were major sticking points as House and Senate negotiators hammered out a compromise between the two versions.

A previous Times analysis showed that more than half of new mortgages this year in Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s coastal Orange County district exceeded the $500,000 cap laid out in the House version. Text of the new bill released Friday outlined a cap of $750,000, which would apply to just under a quarter of new mortgages there through October 2017. Rohrabacher was one of three California Republicans, along with Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) who previously voted against the measure.

Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) said she supported the House version after receiving assurances from leaders that the bill would be changed to account for the loss of deductions, The percentage of new mortgages over the cap dropped from 48% to 14%.

Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), whose district had 1% of mortgages exceeding the $500,000 cap proposed previously, saw that share drop almost to zero; 27 of 7,515 mortgages in his congressional district this year have been for more than $750,000.

The House is expected to vote on the final tax bill Tuesday.

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California Politics Podcast: The state Senate hires new help for sexual misconduct investigations

Leaders of the California Senate have taken the first big step in changing the way sexual misconduct investigations are handled, though few would argue the real work has yet to begin.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast episode, we discuss the decision to hire two outside law firms to handle all investigations involving staffers or members of the Senate — a decision that some of the women demanding change says still needs to lead to a single new policy embraced by both houses of the Legislature.

We also discuss the legacy of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, whose death last week marks the end of an important era in the city. It also means new statewide attention for the woman who’s now stepped into his role.

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A major change to Proposition 13 takes its first step toward the 2018 ballot

A commercial property in San Bernardino County that could face higher property taxes under a proposed ballot measure
(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Proponents of making a dramatic change to California’s landmark Proposition 13 property tax restrictions took their first step to getting a measure on the November 2018 statewide ballot Friday.

The change would allow the state to receive more tax dollars from commercial and industrial properties by assessing them at their current market value, an effort known as “split roll” because existing tax protections on homes would remain in place.

Advocates of the measure, including the League of Women Voters of California and community organizing nonprofits California Calls and PICO Network said the change could raise billions of dollars that could be spent on public schools and community colleges.

“I think the cumulative effects of the unfair tax system have gotten to the point where it’s created crippling economic impacts on the state,” said Melissa Breach, executive director of the League of Women Voters of California.

Backers filed their proposed initiative Friday. The attorney general’s office will prepare an official title and summary for the measure and it will receive a financial analysis. From there, advocates will decide if they will collect signatures to put the measure on the ballot.

Proposition 13 passed in 1978 amid concerns that rising property taxes could force people out of their homes. The ballot measure limited property taxes to 1% of a property’s value at the time of purchase and ensures that the assessed value on which taxes are based can only increase by a maximum of 2% a year — no matter how much a property’s market value goes up.

Split-roll measures have been long debated in state politics, but business groups and anti-tax groups have expressed substantial opposition to the idea, arguing that it would cause major harm to the state’s business climate.

Breach said she expected “an avalanche of big money” against the measure should it go forward, but said that her organization wouldn’t get involved without believing it could raise sufficient funding.S

For the record

1 p.m., Dec. 18: An earlier version of this post said the “split roll” ballot measure would allow California to charge higher tax rates on commercial and industrial properties. It would allow the state to assess those properties at current market value, not charge higher rates.

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Three more women accuse California assemblyman of sexual misconduct

Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills)
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A Los Angeles woman has filed a police report alleging Democratic Assemblyman Matt Dababneh had sex with her without consent four years ago, adding new allegations of sexual misconduct to those that led the politician to announce his resignation last week. He says her claims are false.

Nancy Miret, 26, told The Times that when she was 22 and a recent college graduate, she spent time with Dababneh over two months in late 2013, primarily at his Encino apartment.

At the time, Dababneh was running for Assembly to represent the western San Fernando Valley. They had consensual sex on one occasion, but after that, Miret said she had multiple nonconsensual sexual encounters with Dababneh that left her traumatized. Miret, who now works in commercial real estate, is one of three women interviewed by The Times who have made new allegations concerning Dababneh’s behavior.

“These allegations are false and I’m confident that when all the facts are in, it will clearly show that these claims are not true,” Dababneh told The Times.

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San Diego business is first in California to be issued license to sell marijuana for recreational use

A San Diego medical marijuana business is the first firm to be issued a license by the state of California to sell marijuana for recreational use, officials said Thursday.

Torrey Holistics received two of the first 20 licenses granted by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control this week to sell or distribute marijuana, although the licenses do not take effect until Jan. 1, according to bureau chief Lori Ajax.

An additional 180 firms have applied for licenses but they are being processed.

“Last week, we officially launched our online licensing system, and today we’re pleased to issue the first group of temporary licenses to cannabis businesses that fall under the Bureau’s jurisdiction,” Ajax said in a statement. “We plan to issue many more before January 1.”

The bureau is issuing temporary, four-month licenses to firms initially, but will eventually require firms to undergo background checks and pay a $1,000 application fee for yearlong permits.

Tony Hall left a chemical distribution business two years ago to start Torrey Holistics with a friend and classmate at San Diego State. He said he was ecstatic to have the first recreational permit in California. He also obtained a new license to continue selling marijuana for medical uses.

“We feel fricking great about it,” he said Thursday. “It’s just exciting. This is a once in a multi-generational event,” he added, likening it to the end of prohibition.

Added Ruthie Edelson, the firm’s marketing director, “We will be open at 7 a.m. on Jan. 1.”

Last year, voters approved Proposition 64, which makes California one of eight states that allow the growing and sale of marijuana for recreational uses.

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Conservative activist group files a lawsuit over Los Angeles County ‘inactive voter’ list

A Washington-based conservative-leaning activist group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging Los Angeles County officials are “refusing to cancel the registrations” of voters who are ineligible to cast a ballot.

The legal action by Judicial Watch comes four months after the organization first accused elections officials across the state of maintaining registration lists that are larger than their voting-age population. The lawsuit also names Secretary of State Alex Padilla as a defendant and alleges the voter lists violate the National Voter Registration Act, or NVRA.

“They don’t care about removing ineligible registration,” said Robert Popper of Judicial Watch. “I think we have a very strong lawsuit.”

The lawsuit names four Los Angeles County voters as co-plaintiffs and asserts that a county’s two lists of voters — the file of active voters and those whose registration has been placed on “inactive” status — should be combined into a single total.

The inactive list includes people who haven’t cast ballots in recent elections and haven’t responded to inquiries from elections officials. Though the names on that list are considered voters, they are not counted in official registration reports and are not mailed election material.

Popper led an effort earlier this year to estimate the size of each county’s voting-age population using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. He said the survey’s five-year average of county populations was then adjusted by focusing just on the estimate of those over the age of 18, and then comparing that with the combined active and inactive voter lists.

Popper dismissed any concern that the resulting number might be skewed by the different standards used by counties for the inactive list, which could include names of voters who moved or died and thus be an imperfect guide.

“I believe that a court is going to accept our numbers,” he said.

Dean Logan, the registrar of voters in Los Angeles County, said his staff’s practices are consistent with federal law. “This lawsuit appears to fundamentally interpret the requirements of the NVRA in a manner inconsistent with ensuring voter enfranchisement and appropriate list maintenance,” he said.

The lawsuit also alleges that Los Angeles elections officials failed to provide Judicial Watch with requested data about the size of the inactive list, and accuses Padilla of failing to address the group’s concerns about California not following NVRA rules.

In a statement on Thursday, Padilla said county inactive-voter files are not out of compliance with the law. He criticized Judicial Watch for its “baseless assertions, bad math, and flawed methodology.”

Local elections officials have said very few “inactive” voters show up on election day, and that any who do would be asked to cast a provisional ballot — one that isn’t counted unless the voter’s eligibility is confirmed through additional review. Popper insisted that if the list is never used, there’s no reason to keep it.

Judicial Watch, which sued for access to Hillary Clinton’s emails in 2016, alleged that its calculations show 11 California counties with questionable voter registration totals.

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Voters in California GOP districts may get calls asking them to thank their member of Congress for tax plan

Voters in four key Republican-held congressional districts could get a robocall starting Friday urging them to call and thank their member of Congress for supporting the tax bill.

It’s a last minute effort by American Action Network, a politically active nonprofit connected with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that has spent millions to shore up Republican support for the bill. The robocalls include the member’s office number.

The four California members being targeted are Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, David Valadao of Hanford, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Mimi Walters of Irvine. All four represent districts that backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and are Democratic targets in 2018.

Knight and Walters had been particularly vocal about their concerns with the plan, saying it might raise taxes for their constituents. The final text of the bill is set to be released Friday, with a vote expected early next week.

In total, American Action Network plans to place 1 million robocalls in 29 districts nationwide.

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‘Merry Christmas Republicans in Congress’: Funny or Die video goes after California lawmakers over DACA

As members of Congress try to pass a controversial tax bill and a measure to keep the federal government funded, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is hitting Republicans hard over another unresolved issue: the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children who could face deportation if lawmakers don’t act.

Amid negotiations over a long-term spending bill, Democratic leaders have been pushing their GOP colleagues to include a fix for those who were granted temporary protection under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA. President Trump announced an end to the program earlier this year and gave Congress a March deadline to address it.

Funny or Die and BOLD PAC released a video Friday featuring comedians skewering GOP members, including two in California, for their inaction.

In the video, Oscar Nuñez, best known for his role on “The Office,” calls out Reps. Steve Knight (Palmdale), Ed Royce (Fullerton), Carlos Curbelo (Florida) and John Culberson (Texas), who “get to go ahead and celebrate as thousands of Dreamers are banished from the only country they’ve ever called home.”

“How many broken promises can fit in a stocking?” Nuñez asks later. “I’m asking for a congressman.”

The political action committee says it’s spending six figures on the weeklong buy, which will go out nationwide across Funny Or Die’s social media channels. They are known for blasting out irreverent, often viral parodies that play to young audiences.

The video will also be targeted to constituents in each of the four congressional districts. A separate video released by the ACLU last week also urged members of Congress to strike a deal on DACA.

Many California Republicans have remained mum on the issue, particularly those facing tough races in 2018. So far, only Reps. David Valadao (Hanford), Jeff Denham (Turlock) and Mimi Walters (Irvine) have pressured fellow Republicans to come up with a solution before Congress breaks for Christmas.

Following Trump’s decision, Knight said the issue should “receive attention by Congress.” Royce, who has taken hard-line stances on immigration in the past, urged his colleagues to provide a “permanent, legislative solution that gives certainty to these kids.” Neither elaborated on what that solution should be.

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For a prominent California consumer group and savvy political consultants, documents reveal a close financial relationship

If there’s a clear mantra for Consumer Watchdog, one of California’s most visible and vocal advocacy groups, it’s that hidden financial relationships shouldn’t shape politics and public policy.

The Santa Monica-based nonprofit has spent more than three decades reprimanding politicians and interest groups for doing the bidding of those who give them money. Its official motto is “expose, confront, change.”

“We are loud, and we speak more of a populist truth than the way people usually talk to each other in Sacramento,” said Jamie Court, Consumer Watchdog’s president.

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Regional director resigns from California Democratic Party amid sexual misconduct claims

A regional director with the California Democratic Party submitted his resignation on Thursday, nearly two weeks after a 23-year-old woman reported that he sexually assaulted her last year, spurring party leaders to seek his ouster.

Craig Cheslog served as Region 2 director spanning the East Bay, Napa, Sonoma and the Clearlake areas. In a statement, his lawyer, Mary P. Carey, said she and her client were “confident that a full and fair exploration of this matter, undertaken in an appropriate, fact-governed venue, would exonerate Mr. Cheslog.”

“We are prepared, if necessary, to put forward the facts of this matter in just such a venue,” she said.

Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman and other officials initially called for Cheslog’s removal in a Nov. 29 letter to state party secretary Jenny Bach. They said he was seen acting “in an inappropriate and sexually aggressive manner” toward a member of the party in a public area of the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel, following a Nov. 18 executive board meeting.

“The level to which this activity advanced made a number of those in attendance uncomfortable,” the letter stated. It added that another member reported “that Mr. Cheslog raped her at a CDP executive board meeting the previous year.”

Party officers said the incident occurred during a weekend where the prevention of sexual harassment of women in politics was a dominant theme in the wake of the #metoo movement. Before the meeting’s conclusion on Sunday, the California Women’s Caucus approved a resolution making clear that sexual harassment, bullying and other forms of abuse are grounds to lose endorsements and be stripped of party membership.

Maddy Dean, who was not named in the letter, spoke at the meeting about her experiences of sexual harassment in the movie industry, and told the Times that she reported Cheslog. She said she could not provide further details about her allegation as she explores possible legal paths moving forward.

“This was about protecting other women and in particular other young women,” she said of reporting the assault.

In his own letter to Bach on Thursday, Cheslog did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. He said he was stepping down to prevent any personal misconduct allegations “from creating a distraction with the party at a critical moment in national and state politics.”

“I am confident of the results that would be forthcoming in a fair, fact-based exploration of this matter,” he said.

Since the report, Cheslog has been fired from his job at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that helps families navigate media and technology. He also has stepped down from his position on the Acalanes Union High School District Board of Trustees.

“The conduct represented a serious violation of both company policy and the way in which our employees are expected to conduct themselves in the community at large,” Common Sense spokeswoman Corbie Kiernan said in a statement. “We immediately suspended Mr. Cheslog and conducted an investigation. As a result of the investigation, Mr. Cheslog’s employment with Common Sense was terminated.”

4:05 p.m.: This post was updated with Cheslog’s resignation from the school board.

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Sen. Bob Hertzberg will cooperate with investigation into unwanted hugs

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg works at his Senate Chambers desk. He faces an investigation into unwanted hugging
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

State Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles) said Thursday he will cooperate with a state investigation into complaints from a former legislator that she was uncomfortable with his repeated hugs after she asked him not to touch her.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León said Thursday that a team of outside attorneys will investigate a complaint by former Assemblywoman Linda Halderman that Hertzberg has made her uncomfortable with hugs that were too close and lasted too long.

Hertzberg, well-known for hugging other lawmakers, said he supports having any allegations investigated by the two outside law firms.

“I just learned of the investigation, and will fully cooperate,” he said. “The use of an independent third party investigator is essential to improving transparency and trust in the system.”

Halderman said Thursday she was encouraged that her concerns will be investigated, but said it was “disturbing “ that attorneys for one of the law firms selected, Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, contributed more than $90,000 in campaign funds to sitting legislators including Hertzberg.

Halderman, a surgeon, served in the state Assembly from 2010 through 2012 and said Hertzberg hugged her multiple times even after she asked him to stop because she was uncomfortable. The last incident occurred in a hallway of the Capitol, she claimed.

“I told him I don’t care to be hugged. ‘Don’t touch me,’ ” Halderman recalled. “He then grabbed me and pinned my arms to my side and used his hands to press my lower back into his groin and he essentially pinned me so I couldn’t push off of him to get away the way I ended previous hugs.”

“It was certainly so over the line,” she added.

Halderman said a current female senator and assemblywoman also have complained about inappropriate hugs from Hertzberg.

However,

Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) defended Hertzberg, saying she has known him for many years and he has always acted as a “gentleman.”

“I have never felt uncomfortable with him, and have always felt his hugs were a display of affection - which I appreciate,” she said. “I consider him a dear friend.”

Updated at 5:30 pm to include comment from Sen. Galgiani.

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California regulators sign off on the state’s ambitious 2030 climate change plan

California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

California climate regulators on Thursday approved a detailed plan for the state to meet its 2030 carbon reduction goals.

The effort, known formally as the “scoping plan,” details the state’s strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels over the next 13 years as a way to fight climate change.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, called the plan “a visionary look at the longer term and deeper kinds of transformations that we’ll need to stabilize our climate.”

“This is a major step forward,” she said.

To meet the 2030 goals, which were approved by the state Legislature in 2016, regulators plan to rely on implementing goals set in other recently passed legislation, including:

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Rep. Maxine Waters asks Justice Department to investigate fake letter tweeted by Republican opponent

(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Maxine Waters is asking the Justice Department to look into a fake letter posted to Twitter by her Republican challenger that falsely indicated the congresswoman wants to resettle tens of thousand of refugees in her Los Angeles district.

The GOP candidate, Omar Navarro, posted the letter on what looks like official House of Representatives letterhead to Twitter on Monday. The letter, which purports to be from the congresswoman, says the congresswoman wants to bring refugees to her congressional district after the 2018 election “and perhaps even once I have secured the Speaker of the House position.”

Navarro accompanied the tweeted letter with a message: “According to this document, Maxine Waters wants more terrorists, like the one who bombed NYC, in California’s 43rd District. As Congressman of CA’s 43rd District, I will oppose such policies.”

It’s been retweeted more than 680 times. But the letter is “a forgery and a fake,” her chief of staff, Twaun Samuel, said in a news release.

The letter, dated June of this year, also contains several inaccuracies. It references multiple committees and subcommittees Waters does not serve on, and lists an address for a district office that has been closed for nearly a decade.

Waters filed a complaint about the tweeted letter with the House general counsel, who forwarded the complaint to the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and the fraud section of the Criminal Division for the United States Department of Justice.

The complaint states that Waters has not communicated with the letter’s purported addressee — Teri Williams, who is president and chief operating officer of the Los Angeles-based OneUnited Bank, about any refugee resettlement program.

Impersonating a federal official and misusing a federal seal are federal crimes.

Navarro, who is backed by big name far-right conservatives, said Thursday that the letter was sent to his campaign through Facebook by a person he didn’t know. He said neither the Justice Department or Waters’ staff has asked him about the letter.

“I don’t know if it’s real or not, so I put it out there,” Navarro said, adding that he believed his followers would help him determine if it is real. “It doesn’t say that I know. It’s according to this document … what, am I supposed to send it to her and get an email back from Maxine?”

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Sen. Tony Mendoza refuses to take a leave of absence amid harassment probe

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), left, talks earlier this year about a pending bill with Sen. Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado Hills).
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Defying pressure from legislative leadership, state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) refused Thursday to take a leave of absence until an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him is concluded early next year.

Mendoza has denied allegations by former employees that he treated three female aides inappropriately, inviting them to hotel stays and asking one to visit his home to work on her resume.

“I am very disappointed that certain Senate Rules Committee members are apparently asking me to take a leave of absence or resign before any investigation has even begun and without giving me an opportunity to defend myself,” Mendoza said in a statement. “This is contrary to the very concept of due process, which is a pillar of our American system of fairness and judicial prudence. These actions bypass any process in a rush to judgment.”

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) earlier Thursday called on Mendoza to take a leave of absence.

Mendoza had previously been stripped of his leadership positions, including chairmanship of the Senate’s committee on banking and insurance.

Mendoza questioned statements urging him to step down, saying they leave him concerned about the fairness of the investigation. He also said he has been disappointed that he has been told he cannot publicly address allegations.

“I was not appointed to the position I hold, but was elected by the voters in my district,” he said. “I am grateful to the voters in my district and thank them for their trust and their continued support. The Senate owes them an opportunity to hear the truth. I assure them that I will vigorously defend myself to clear my name.”

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State Senate leader asks Sen. Tony Mendoza to take leave of absence amid sexual harassment investigation

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

State Senate leader Kevin de León said Thursday he has “strongly suggested” that Sen. Tony Mendoza take a leave of absence until the completion of an investigation by outside attorneys into allegations that Mendoza sexually harassed three former aides.

“Given the severity of the allegations against Senator Mendoza I do not believe he can perform the duties in Sacramento right now while the investigation is being conducted,” De León told a packed news conference in his Capitol office. “I believe It’s the right thing to do, it’s the fair thing to do,” to take a leave, he said.

The Senate leader also said the outside attorneys have been asked to investigate complaints by former Assemblywoman Linda Halderman that Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles) inappropriately hugged her on multiple occasions in a way that made her uncomfortable, even after she asked him to stop.

De León also announced the hiring of two law firms to handle the Mendoza and Hertzberg investigations, and all future probes of harassment and abuse involving Senate employees.

Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, did not immediately respond to the request to step aside.

De León, a Democrat from Los Angeles who had been Mendoza’s roommate before the allegations were made public, said he made the suggestion to Mendoza in a meeting Thursday morning.

If Mendoza refuses to take a leave, the Senate has the power to suspend him without pay, but De León said that is not currently under discussion. There is an effort underway to force his expulsion in January when the Legislature returns to Sacramento.

Former Mendoza employees have claimed that he gave inappropriate attention to a female fellow and intern, inviting one to his home and hotel and giving the other alcohol in a hotel even though she was underage. Another former female aide told the Sacramento Bee that Mendoza invited her to one-on-one dinners and a weekend at Pebble Beach.

Mendoza has denied the allegations.

The Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and Van Dermyden Maddux law firms have been retained for two years, according to Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), who participated in their selection.

Have you experienced sexual harassment in government or politics? Tell us your story » »

In addition, the state is contracting with Weave, a Sacramento crisis-intervention organization for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, to provide counseling and to establish a hotline for Senate employees who are victims of sexual assault. The hotline number is 1-800-729-1443.

“America is finally reckoning with entrenched inequities in our personal and professional relationships and in workplaces of every type,” De León said. “Nowhere is this reckoning more important than in the halls of power — our political institutions.”

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Watch live: California Senate leader addresses sexual misconduct at state Capitol

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California state senator pledges to bring back net neutrality rules just as FCC votes to repeal them

Demonstrators rally in support of net neutrality outside a Verizon store in New York on Dec. 7.
Demonstrators rally in support of net neutrality outside a Verizon store in New York on Dec. 7.
(Mary Altaffer / Associated Press)

Moments after the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to roll back net neutrality regulations, a state senator pledged to introduce legislation that would preserve open internet protections for consumers in California.

“Net neutrality is essential to our 21st century democracy, and we need to be sure that people can access websites and information freely and fairly,” Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said in a statement. “If the FCC is going to destroy net neutrality and create a system that favors certain websites just because they can pay more money, California must step in and ensure open internet access.”

The announcement of the proposal came shortly after the FCC voted to repeal net neutrality in an expected 3-2 party-line vote, with Republicans calling for an end to the utility-like oversight of internet service providers.

The Obama-era rules put in February 2015 barred broadband and wireless companies, such at AT&T Inc., Charter Communications Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. from selling faster delivery of certain data, slowing speeds for certain video streams and other content, and discriminating against legal material online.

Before the vote, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai argued loosening the regulations would allow the online economy to flourish. FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the the two Democrats on the commission, said the rollback would inhibit the openness that has made the U.S. internet the “envy of the world.”

Supporters of net neutrality are expected to file suit to try to halt the repeal plan.

Weiner’s attempt to institute net neutrality rules in California could have challenges. The FCC order states that “allowing state and local governments to adopt their own separate requirements,” which could impose a heavier burden on companies, could disrupt the balance between state and federal regulations.

The preemption of state and local net neutrality measures is something that could be challenged in court. Amid such legal battles state legislation could face heavy lobbying efforts from internet providers arguing against uneven regulations.

A bill by Assemblyman Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) was shelved last legislative session over similar disputes. It would have enshrined in state law other FCC regulations that were rolled back this year by President Trump and Congress. The Internet privacy rules limited what broadband providers can do with their customers’ data.

The bill’s defeat capped a behind-the-scenes battle that pitted telecom companies against state internet service providers and brought other bills to a halt in the state Senate as negotiations unfolded over legislation that would have had national significance.

UPDATES

7:57 a.m.: This post was updated with additional information about the potential legal case.

LA Times reporter Jim Puzzanghera contributed to this report.

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L.A. County sheriff’s office failed to follow policy for issuing concealed weapon permits, audit says

Handguns are displayed at the Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show in Las Vegas in 2016.
( (John Locher / Associated Press))

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has repeatedly failed to follow its own rules for issuing concealed weapon permits, the state auditor concluded in a report released Thursday.

L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell disputed some of the key findings of the audit, saying state officials misinterpreted the policy.

The department policy requires applicants to provide “convincing evidence” of a “clear and present danger to life or of great bodily harm” to get a license, but the audit found the department issued 24 licenses during the last few years without sufficient evidence.

Most of the 197 active licenses in L.A. County as of August went to current or former law enforcement officers, judges and prosecutors, the audit found. The lieutenant in charge of reviewing applications told auditors that people in law enforcement satisfy the department’s requirements by the nature of their jobs.

“However, making that decision based solely on the applicant’s profession both directly contradicts Los Angeles’s written policy — which specifically states that no position or job classification in itself shall constitute good cause for issuance — and has led the department to treat applicants inequitably based on their occupations,” the audit says.

McDonnell said the audit identified some legitimate issues, and the department has added a checklist to the application process in order to show requirements have been met. But he disagreed on the report’s sweeping conclusion that the department consistently failed to follow its own policies.

“The LASD policy simply requires that the applicant provide ‘convincing evidence’” that his or her life or physical safety is threatened, the sheriff said. He said the policy does not require additional documentation of that evidence if sufficient information is provided in the application.

Auditors also concluded that Sacramento County issued some licenses without proper documentation and that San Diego County’s renewal process led it to inappropriately renew some licenses.

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State Sen. Andy Vidak drafts resolution to expel Sen. Tony Mendoza following harassment allegations

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Anti-Issa effort discloses donors: Leo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, Ted Danson and more

A political group that has brought professional political organizers into the campaign against Rep. Darrell Issa has received its most significant contributions to date — from actress Jane Fonda and other celebrities.

Fonda gave $100,000 to Flip the 49th! Neighbors in Action, which recently registered as a political committee to get Issa, R-Vista, out of office. Comedian Bill Maher gave $15,000 to the group, a rebuke of a politician who has twice appeared on his talk show. Former California Sen. Barbara Boxer gave $2,500, as did Academy Award recipient Leonardo DiCaprio. Actor Ted Danson gave $1,500.

Flip the 49th gave the The San Diego Union-Tribune a list of donors more than a month before it’s required to disclose them to the Federal Election Commission.

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California Senate GOP leader: Release Capitol whistleblowers from non-disclosure agreements

California Senate Republican leader Patricia Bates is wading into the sexual harassment debate that has swept up the Capitol and is calling on her Democratic colleagues to allow whistleblowers to speak out by releasing them from non-disclosure agreements.

Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) wrote in a letter to the Democratic legislative leaders — Senate Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) — that Senate Republicans are calling for the Legislature to allow victims or witnesses who may have signed such agreements to share their experiences publicly.

“This release from NDAs would empower victims of sexual harassment, create a new atmosphere for resolving sexual harassment or discrimination concerns, increase public awareness and transparency, and ensure that both the Senate and the Assembly fulfill their obligations to the public and their employees for providing a safe and welcoming workplace environment,” Bates wrote in the letter, dated Dec. 12.

The Republican senator also laid out suggestions to improve the Legislature’s handling of sexual harassment complaints, such as jointly convening both houses’ rules committees — which act as the chambers’ human resources departments — to have a “comprehensive, bicameral and bipartisan review.”

Bates wrote that the Joint Rules Committee “should consider the assigning of an outside entity for assuming responsibility for all issues regarding sexual harassment.” She said the California Highway Patrol or an inspector general could serve that function.

Bates is currently serving on a panel designated by the Senate Rules Committee to select an outside law firm to investigate sexual harassment complaints.

De León, in a statement, said he agreed with Bates “that sexual harassment is a bipartisan, bicameral problem that requires bipartisan, bicameral solutions.”

“Many of these recommendations we are already pursuing and evaluating in some form and we look forward to working in collaboration with Senator Bates — as we did with the independent selection panel — on additional reforms in the weeks to come,” De León said.

With regard to non-disclosure agreements, De León spokesman Jonathan Underland said the Senate is “discussing with attorneys and anti-harassment experts about what options are available without violating the privacy rights of past victims.”

John Casey, a spokesman for Rendon, said “the Assembly does not ask for NDAs in settlement agreements.”

“The Speaker agrees with both the Legislative Women’s Caucus and the Rules Committee chair that any sexual harassment policy should be both bicameral and bipartisan,” Casey said.

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California plans to send out licenses for pot sales this month — but they won’t be effective until Jan. 1

Patrons shop at Bud and Bloom, a Santa Ana marijuana dispensary, last year.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

California officials said Wednesday they plan to use email before the new year to send out some licenses to sell marijuana to speed up the transition to a regulated market. The licenses will not go into effect until Jan. 1.

Proposition 64, which legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational use, required the state to begin issuing licenses by Jan. 1. Because that date is a state holiday, the bureau originally planned to begin sending them out on Jan. 2. That has changed.

“Much of the date discussion — Jan. 1 versus Jan. 2 — was based on whether or not we’d be able to be open on a state holiday,” said Alex Traverso, a bureau spokesman. “The solution to that issue was to issue licenses with an effective date of Jan. 1 since licenses will be issued electronically. That eliminates the need to have the office open on Jan. 1.”

He said that, as of Wednesday, the bureau has not yet sent out any emails with licenses approved to begin operating Jan. 1.

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California’s budget director makes last ditch effort to urge GOP members to vote against tax plan

House Republicans hold a news conference after the House passed the GOP tax bill.
(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

As closed-door negotiations over the final tax bill come to an end, the head of the California Department of Finance is making a last-ditch effort to convince Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation to vote against the plan.

In a letter to the entire delegation Wednesday, Finance Department Director Michael Cohen detailed 10 issues in the current tax proposals about which the state is worried.

Some of Cohen’s concerns may be addressed in the deal that House and Senate leaders said they reached Wednesday morning. Details of the agreement are not yet public.

Cohen’s concerns range from potentially billions less in federal funding available to California to offset the $1.4 trillion the plan is expected to add to the federal deficit, to the environmental effect of ending green energy tax credits.

California’s 39 Democratic representatives are expected to oppose the final tax bill, which could come before both chambers of Congress by early next week. Three California Republicans — Reps. Darrell Issa of Vista, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Tom McClintock of Elk Grove — voted against the original House version, and several other California Republicans have indicated they might be willing to vote against the final plan.

Cohen specifically pointed to issues that have been raised by the uncertain House members, including the proposal to lower the cap on the mortgage interest deduction, the plan to limit state and local tax deductions and the elimination of a deduction for uninsured personal property damaged in natural disasters such as fires.

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California lawmakers have fought sexual misconduct on military bases, farms and college campuses. Will they police their own house?

Over the past decade, California lawmakers have worked to help curb sexual violence in the workplace and other spheres of public life. They have pushed college campuses to keep better track of incident reports, created whistleblower protections for military officers who file claims and established sexual harassment training for farmworkers and janitors.

Now, as more than 140 women have come forward in an open letter to denounce a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment in the California Legislature, activists and employment lawyers say lawmakers have not held colleagues and staffers to the same standards demanded of those in other fields.

“Members [of the state Assembly and Senate] are quick at pointing the finger at other folks,” said Fiona Ma, a former Democratic assemblywoman from San Francisco who is now running for state treasurer. “But they don’t want to look inside and fix their own house, air their own dark, dirty laundry.”

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California’s cap-and-trade climate program could generate more than $8 billion by 2027, report says

Gov. Jerry Brown signs an extension of California's cap-and-trade program in July.
(Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

Although California’s cap-and-trade program was designed to combat climate change, a new analysis predicts it could also provide significant cash — as much as $8 billion in a decade’s time — for state and regional programs.

The report issued Tuesday by the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office projects a wide range of revenue generated by the sale of permits for companies to emit greenhouse gases beyond a state-ordered emissions cap. The most recent auction of those emission permits brought in more than $800 million.

The analysis warns that annual cap-and-trade revenue beyond 2020 is “highly uncertain,” and offers a possible range from $2 billion in 2018 to almost $7 billion in 2030 — the final year of the program under legislation Gov. Jerry Brown signed in July.

The estimate of $8.3 billion in 2027 is the high-water mark for any year in the report. Researchers cite a number of factors that make a specific prediction impossible, including future technology that allows industries to cut greenhouse gas emissions easily and thus pass on purchasing emission allowances.

“While it is clear that there will be additional revenues to the state beyond 2020, the amount that will be generated annually is highly uncertain,” the report reads.

Money collected from the sale of pollution permits is required to be spent on programs combating climate change. A portion of the money also is earmarked for the state’s high-speed rail program.

The report urges lawmakers to provide oversight for future decisions made by the California Air Resources Board, the agency that has taken the lead on climate change efforts. In particular, the analysts warn that allowing businesses to stockpile too many permits — ones bought at current low prices — could lead to excessive greenhouse gas emissions in future years, potentially even causing the state to miss its annual benchmark as soon as 2024.

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Vice President Pence meets with California lawmakers about massive fires

A handful of California representatives discussed the federal response to their state’s wildfires Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence.

Attending the West Wing meeting were House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), Darrell Issa (R-Vista), Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village), Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) and Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara).

“It was a very bipartisan-spirited meeting. He clearly understood the significance of the fires and the impacts,” Brownley said after the meeting. She said Pence offered federal assistance and “recognized that recovery was going to be very important and that we want to work together to make sure that we can get the resources needed.”

President Trump signed an emergency declaration for the Southern California fires last week. Pence visited California this fall to view fire damage in Northern California.

“He stayed engaged and specifically wanted to make sure that FEMA and the other organizations were continuing to meet or exceed all expectations,” Issa said after the meeting. “We mostly thanked him for the fact that he’s taken a personal interest and his team has been at the heart of the domestic coordination.”

There was no discussion about reinstating a federal tax deduction for uninsured damage repairs that would end up in the House and Senate tax bills, Brownley said.

“If you can’t deduct uninsured property loss, it’s devastating. It would be devastating,” Brownley said.

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Rep. Issa joins California cities in urging Congress to keep state and local tax deduction

(Olamikan Gbemiga / Associated Press)

As the House and Senate work to reconcile their versions of the tax bill, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Alpine) is urging negotiators to let Americans continue to deduct their state and local taxes on their federal income tax returns. He also is asking for a fix to continue a credit for post-disaster rebuilding costs.

In a letter Tuesday to House and Senate leadership and the members tasked with melding the two bills together, Issa emphasized that the final bill should not pick winners and losers.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real reprieve from years of heavy-handed, misguided tax policy that has left millions paying more to their government and getting less in return. We must not squander this moment by passing a bill that does not allow all hard-working taxpayers to see relief,” Issa said.

Issa included letters calling for the deduction to be preserved from cities in his district as well as from hundreds of city officials through the League of California Cities.

“California cities cannot afford the current versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1) passed by both chambers,” the League’s letter states.

Issa was among just three GOP California House members who voted no on the House version of the bill, saying that ending or limiting the salt and local tax deduction would result in a tax increase for people in his Orange County and San Diego County district. He’s since said the version that came out of the Senate was not an improvement and that Californians shouldn’t be taxed twice on the same money.

“Yes, the tax factory known as the California State Legislature is the root cause of the problem. But my constituents did not ask me — or any Republican for that matter — to vote to make their tax burden even worse,” Issa said.

Several California Republicans are supporting a moderated version of the popular tax deduction in the final tax bill, with a potential $10,000 cap to the total annual deduction. That’s half of what most Californians who take the deduction usually claim, on average.

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Duncan Hunter challenger drops his campaign, endorses Democratic opponent

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‘We must talk about the health aspects’ of climate change, Schwarzenegger says in Paris

(Thibault Camus / Associated Press)

He showed up at Paris City Hall on Monday on a green bicycle and wearing a green tie to talk climate change with the mayor.

But Arnold Schwarzenegger almost didn’t make the trip from Los Angeles. One of the wildfires scorching Southern California was threatening his home.

“Luckily we have extraordinary firefighters,” he told a group of officials and journalists.

The actor and former governor of California was speaking in Paris as the founder of R20, a nonprofit based in Geneva that aims to help regional, state and local governments reduce their carbon emissions by developing clean energy sources.

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A special recall election for state Sen. Josh Newman would cost a lot more than waiting for the June primary, state says

State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) faces a recall campaign
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press))

State finance officials said Monday it would cost about $2.67 million for a special election on the recall of state Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), but only $931,000 to put his potential recall on the regular June primary ballot, which will also feature races for governor and congressional seats.

The savings — and the time it took to complete the financial assessment — could give ammunition to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown to put the recall measure on the primary ballot, possibly improving Newman’s chance of staying in office. The higher turnout expected in the primary might benefit Newman as he tries to fend off the Republican recall drive.

The financial analysis was a new requirement of a law approved this year by the Democrat-controlled Legislature that has slowed the Newman recall. Brown and legislators now have 30 days to review the election cost report.

The deadline for calling a special election was last week, 180 days before the June 5 primary, although state officials have been known to extend such deadlines. In this case, that is unlikely.

Carl Demaio, a former San Diego City councilman who is leading the Republican-funded recall, denounced the lengthy new process Monday, but said it will not save Newman’s political career.

“This is about a shameful tactic by Sacramento politicians to keep politicians who break public trust and engage in misconduct in office for as long as possible,” he said.

Republicans launched the recall after Newman voted with the majority of legislators to raise gas taxes and vehicle fees to raise more than $5.2 billion a year for road repairs and mass transit. They have turned in enough signatures to put the recall measure on a ballot.

Newman won election last year by a close margin, and Republicans see him as vulnerable to recall, which would deprive Democrats of their two-thirds majority they enjoy in the Senate.

The costs of a recall will be borne by Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties, which all have a share of Newman’s Senate district.

Derek Humphrey, a campaign consultant for Newman, said the financial report provides a preferred option.

“The recall is a waste of tax dollars no matter when they schedule it, but consolidating the election with the June Primary will save some money and allow more voters to participate,” Humphrey said. “This recall effort is another example of the partisan politics-as-usual that people are tired of.”

Representative of Brown noted there are other steps in the review process before the governor makes a decision.

Updated at 5 pm to include comment from Newman spokesman.

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The special election to replace Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra will be in spring 2018

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) speaks in Sacramento in August 2014.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The special election to replace Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) will be in spring 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday.

Brown said the primary election to replace Bocanegra would be April 3, with a potential runoff to follow June 5 — the same day as the state’s regularly scheduled primary election.

Bocanegra resigned last month amid a sexual misconduct investigation after multiple women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances. His resignation, combined with that of Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) under similar circumstances last week, put Democrats in the Assembly below the two-thirds supermajority threshold needed to pass tax increases and urgency legislation without GOP support. The soonest Democrats could regain that standing is after Bocanegra’s replacement is selected.

If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in April, he or she would win outright and there would not need to be a runoff to complete Bocanegra’s expiring term.

If that doesn’t happen, the race would appear twice on the June ballot — once to complete the term and a second time as a primary for the new two-year term beginning in 2019, said Dean Logan, Los Angeles County’s registrar of voters.

Patty Lopez, who upset Bocanegra in the 2014 Assembly race before losing the 2016 rematch, has already expressed interest in running again. So have at least four others: Republican Ricardo Benitez, Green Party candidate Steve Correa and Democrats Bonnie Corwin and Antonio Sanchez.

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Assemblymen Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, Frank Bigelow agree to pay fines for campaign finance violations

Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas is greeted by activists at the state Capitol.ge.
(Rich Pedroncelli / AP)

Assemblymen Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) and Frank Bigelow (R-O’Neals) have agreed to pay fines to the state’s political watchdog agency for violating campaign finance rules, according to documents released Monday.

Ridley-Thomas has agreed to pay $3,500 in fines to the state Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to properly report contributions he received for his 2014 election.

He failed to report a contribution of $7,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11, within 10 days as required by campaign finance rules, according to a report by the commission’s enforcement staff. He also failed to disclose contributions of $1,000 from PG&E and $8,200 from the Los Angeles County Firefighters Local 1014 Legislative Fund Committee within 24 hours, the report said.

“Higher penalties are not being sought in this case because Ridley-Thomas served as his own committee treasurer, and he was not an experienced candidate,” the report said. “He relied upon a consultant who was hired to assist with campaign reporting, and he believed that the consultant was complying with all disclosure rules.”

Bigelow has agreed to pay $2,000 in fines for failing to make expenditures for his campaign from the designated campaign bank account for his 2016 election.

Instead, he used a personal account to pay for $2,189 in expenditures for meals at restaurants with donors.

The commission will vote Dec. 21 on whether to approve the fines agreed to by Bigelow and Ridley-Thomas in talks with its enforcement staff.

The commission will also consider approving $18,000 in fines agreed to be paid by Sutter Health for failing to file in a timely manner nine lobbyist employer reports.

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Cheech Marin teaches Californians how to register marijuana businesses with the state on new website

State officials have enlisted counter-culture comedian Cheech Marin to help educate Californians that if they want to start a business to grow, distribute or sell marijuana they have to register their business with the state.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla has created an online portal for cannabis firms to register and conduct other business with the state, including registering trademarks and converting non-profit entities into for-profit companies.

California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control will begin issuing licenses to firms for growing and selling cannabis on Jan. 2, but one requirement is that they first register their business with the secretary of state.

“There is a lot of interest from entrepreneurs to be part of the next big industry for the California economy and we want to make sure people do it appropriately and that begins with registering your business,” Padilla said.

Marin, who was part of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong, appears in a video describing how easy it is to register a business online.

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Tech executive is latest Democrat to challenge Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

As 2018 approaches, the roster of challengers looking to unseat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is already at a dozen candidates.

Rachel Payne, a former Google executive who now heads up two Southern California-based technology firms, announced Monday that she’s running against the 15-term Republican from Costa Mesa.

In a video posted to her website shortly after she announced, Payne focused on job security and stagnant wages, saying it was important to ensure “everyone has an opportunity to play the game” in a rapidly changing economy.

“We need to think about where are those jobs coming from in the future and how we’re arming people in America for them,” Payne said in an interview. She said if elected, she would fight for policies that would incentivize corporations to invest more in training American workers for skills that will still be relevant as automation and artificial intelligence begin to play a larger role in business.

Payne, 42, was born in San Bernardino, grew up Southern California and Las Vegas, and has an master’s of business administration from Stanford University. She spent several years as an executive for Google, living and working in Uganda for a time before moving to Aliso Viejo eight years ago to be closer to family.

She is now CEO of FEM Inc., a media research firm, and Prizma, a video platform that uses artificial intelligence to serve up content recommendations on the web.

Payne said she isn’t fazed by the crowded field in the 48th Congressional District and that her success as a female entrepreneur in the male-dominated world of technology has given her the tools to succeed.

“Regardless of who wins in any district, I am delighted that we have a competitive bench. This is what democracy should look like,” she said. “I think people want sanity, they want common ground, they want someone who knows how to execute and to be able to believe in their leaders again.”

Rohrabacher is considered one of the most vulnerable congressional incumbents, and the race for his seat has been rated a “toss-up” by more than one election handicapper.

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California Politics Podcast: A new state Senate leader, another lawmaker resigns

Only two people — both men in the state’s Gold Rush era — have served as the leader of both houses of the California Legislature.

A third person, a woman, will join that elite list early next year.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we discuss the selection of Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to be the new Senate president pro tem. Atkins left her post as Assembly speaker less than two years ago.

We also take a closer look at major developments in the ongoing discussion of sexual misconduct in state political circles, after the decision by another Assembly member to resign and a tense public hearing into how the lower house handles sexual harassment complaints.

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‘The planet is warming and all hell is breaking loose,’ says Gov. Jerry Brown as he heads to Paris for a climate event

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Renewing his criticism of President Trump’s stance on climate change as he traveled to Paris for an international meeting, Gov. Jerry Brown said on Sunday that the president’s agenda has a “reckless disregard” for the seriousness of the problem.

“Nature is not a political game. Nature is the ground on which we stand, it’s the air which we breathe,” Brown said in an interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “The truth of the case is that there’s too much carbon being emitted, that heat trapping gases are building up, the planet is warming and all hell is breaking loose.”

The governor left on Sunday for an event marking the two-year anniversary of the Paris Climate Accord, a summit whose final agreement was praised by Brown but rejected by Trump this past June.

Brown was invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to represent the United States at Tuesday’s One Planet Summit, where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech.

In the CBS interview, Brown said everyone should fear the impact on the planet from the warming caused by the proliferation of greenhouse gases.

“Anyone who isn’t is not looking at the facts,” he said. “I don’t think President Trump has a fear of the lord, the fear of the wrath of God, which leads one to more humility. And this is such a reckless disregard for the truth and for the existential consequences that can be unleashed.”

The governor, who has made several trips across the globe in 2017 to discuss California’s efforts on climate change, will return to the state on Thursday. He is scheduled to receive an honorary degree at a Paris university on Wednesday.

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As California burns, Congress plans to slash tax write-offs for fires and other disasters

As California burns, Congress is planning to limit taxpayers’ ability to write off losses from future wildfires and other disasters.

The disaster write-off is one of the many little-known deductions set to be mostly wiped out in the GOP tax plan, but it’s getting fresh attention because of the fires that have devastated parts of Southern California over the last week.

The House tax bill entirely eliminates the deduction that allows people to claim uninsured losses after all types of disasters; the Senate version allows people to take the deduction only if the president declares a federal disaster.

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Drug manufacturers ask federal court to block California’s new prescription medicine transparency law

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California’s landmark law to require new disclosure of prescription drug prices was challenged in federal court Friday, with the pharmaceutical industry accusing state officials of trying to “dictate” national healthcare policy.

If successful, the lawsuit by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America could either delay or derail implementation of what supporters predicted would be a major improvement in the transparency of drug pricing. The industry effort argues the state law is unconstitutional.

“The law creates bureaucracy, thwarts private market competition, and ignores the role of insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and hospitals in what patients pay for their medicines,” said James Stansel, the trade group’s executive vice president, in a written statement.

The law, Senate Bill 17, imposes a required 60-day notice to health plans and other providers when drugmakers intend to raise their prices beyond a certain threshold. The industry group said Friday that the list price identified in SB 17 applies nationwide and that the additional rule “expressly saddles the entire country” with a mandate imposed in California.

The lawsuit alleges that lawmakers wrote a bill with “openly acknowledged animus” toward the pharmaceutical industry.

The law by state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa) also requires health insurance plans to submit annual reports to the state about which drugs are most frequently prescribed, those which are most expensive and those with the largest year-to-year price increase.

Hernandez rejected the assertion that the law could raise prices nationwide and said the industry was “refusing to accept any responsibility for the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs.”

“The idea that anyone other than drug companies is responsible for price increases is absurd,” he said in a written statement.

Other SB 17 supporters noted the bill passed with bipartisan support in Sacramento.

“From day one they have been unable to acknowledge their outsized role in driving health care costs skyward and continue to pretend they are above the law,” Charles Bacchi, president of the California Assn. of Health Plans, said in a written statement.

7:53 p.m.: This story was updated with a comment from Sen. Hernandez.

This story was originally published at 5:56 p.m.

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Lawyer for lobbyist who accused Asssemblyman Matt Dababneh of sexual misconduct seeks details about investigation

Lobbyist Pamela Lopez accused Assemblyman Matt Dababneh of sexual misconduct.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

A lawyer for Sacramento lobbyist Pamela Lopez wants the state Assembly to detail how the investigation into her client’s sexual misconduct claim will be conducted, saying Lopez needs assurance that politics won’t influence the final conclusion.

Lopez filed a formal complaint letter with the Assembly Rules Committee on Monday, saying Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) followed her into a bathroom, masturbated in front of her and urged her to touch him.

She said she decided to name him in public after Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), chairman of the Rules Committee, urged sexual harassment victims in the Capitol community to come forward, promising a neutral and unbiased investigative process.

In a letter to Cooley sent Friday, Lopez’s lawyer, Jean Hyams, makes a series of requests for information, including details on who will investigate the case, what previous contact that investigator has had with Dababneh and what the scope of the investigation will be.

Hyams states she is concerned the chamber’s “current system for responding to reports of sexual harassment is broken.”

“In order for any victim to feel safe participating in an investigation, she or he needs to know that the process will be neutral and independent of the forces of politics,” Hyams writes.

A spokeswoman for Cooley referred all questions about the letter to Assembly Chief Administrative Officer Debra Gravert. In a statement, Gravert said the Rules Committee would be considering and addressing questions like those posed by Hyams.

But whether that will entail a new process is unclear.

Gravert said the Rules Committee would follow the same investigative processes and procedures already in place, though an Assembly subcommittee is still reviewing them and its leaders pledged to overhaul them. Victims denounced the chamber’s handling of sexual harassment claims at its first special hearing last month.

Dababneh has strongly denied the allegations. On Friday he announced he would step down from office at the end of the month.

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John Chiang pitches billions in new low-income housing spending and homebuilding incentives

John Chiang
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California gubernatorial candidate John Chiang wants to tackle the state’s housing affordability crisis by spending billions more on low-income development and offering greater financial incentives to cities that permit new building.

“The housing shortage in this state is a drag on our economy and is a barrier to climbing the socioeconomic ladder for thousands of families in California,” Chiang said in a statement.

Chiang, the state treasurer, released the plan on his campaign website Friday. The policy changes he wants to make include:

  • Promoting a $9-billion bond to help fund new low-income housing development and an additional $600 million in annual spending through a low-income housing tax credit. Chiang said these proposals would be on top of the $4-billion housing bond that will appear on the statewide ballot in November 2018. California’s low-income housing spending needs have been estimated conservatively at $15 billion a year.
  • Offering local governments more sales tax revenue and transportation funds if they approve more housing. This is an effort to change the state’s tax system, which currently provides more tax revenue to cities that approve more hotel and office development than housing.
  • Modeling new state laws after programs in Massachusetts and New York City. The Massachusetts law allows the state to override local decisions to deny low-income housing projects if a city is behind on its housing goals. The New York City law provides property tax breaks to apartment developers who reserve a certain portion of their project for low-income residents.
  • Creating a state rapid rehousing program to help the homeless with short-term rental assistance and with utility and security deposits.

Chiang estimated his efforts would house 4 million additional Californians.

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California begins accepting permit applications for the sale of recreational marijuana

Marijuana in jars at MED X, a pot dispensary on Century Boulevard in South L.A.
Marijuana in jars at MED X, a pot dispensary on Century Boulevard in South L.A.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Just weeks before California begins issuing licenses to businesses to sell marijuana for recreational and medical use, the state on Friday began accepting applications electronically through a new online system.

The state Bureau of Cannabis Control is accepting applications for commercial marijuana licenses for retailers, distributors, micro-businesses, testing laboratories and cannabis events, according to Lori Ajax, chief of the bureau.

“Today’s launch of our online licensing system is the culmination of many months of hard work by our dedicated team,” Ajax said in a statement. “Now that applications are coming in, we can officially move one step closer to issuing California’s first state licenses for commercial cannabis activity.”

The sale of marijuana for recreational use was approved in November 2016 when California voters passed Proposition 64, which also required the Bureau of Cannabis Control to license retail sellers.

Applicants will be required to register an account with the bureau, which will not issue licenses until Jan. 2 and will only license firms that have approval to operate from their city or county. The initial licenses will be four-month temporary permits for which the $1,000 application fee and a background check requirement will be waived.

Marijuana growers must apply for a license to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which plans to launch its application process later this month. The California Department of Public Health will issue licenses next month for manufacturing marijuana products.

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Rep. Devin Nunes cleared of allegations that he disclosed classified information in Russia investigation

The House Ethics Committee on Thursday cleared Rep. Devin Nunes of allegations that he disclosed classified information related to the House investigation of Russian meddling in last year’s election.

The committee said in a statement that experts it interviewed determined that the information the House Select Intelligence Committee chairman divulged was not classified.

When the complaint was filed in April, the Tulare Republican said he would step away from leading the intelligence committee’s Russia investigation. But Nunes did not recuse himself and many Democrats have complained he has been too involved in the investigation.

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Liberal group wades into primary fights early, endorses challengers in four GOP-held districts

More than four dozen Democrats are already running for seats in the 10 GOP-held congressional districts the minority is eyeing in California ahead of the midterm elections. Many left-leaning groups have avoided picking favorites, choosing instead to attack incumbents while they wait for the heated primaries to play out in June.

Democracy for America, the progressive political action committee started by Howard Dean, is doing things differently.

On Friday, the group announced endorsements in four California districts:

  • Bryan Caforio, running against Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale)
  • Sam Jammal, running against Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton)
  • Laura Oatman, running against Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa)
  • Mike Levin, running against Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista)

All of them are Democrats.

In a statement, the group’s chairman, Jim Dean, said victories in California will be “absolutely critical” to Democrats’ plans to retake the House in 2018 and in opposing President Trump’s agenda.

The group said it made its choices based on conversations with candidates and input from some of its 305,000 members statewide. So far this year, Democracy for America has endorsed Emilio Huerta, who is running for a second time against GOP Rep. David Valadao; Kevin de León, who is challenging Sen. Dianne Feinstein; and Wendy Carrillo, a labor activist who won an Assembly seat on Tuesday.

In an interview, the group’s spokesman, Neil Sroka, said the crowded fields in these races — Knight, Royce and Rohrabacher each have at least six Democrats running against them — helped push them to endorse early.

“We’re choosing between a number of good Democrats, and ferreting out the one that’s best equipped to win and best equipped to stand up for our values when they get to Washington is really important,” Sroka said.

Sroka rejected the idea that lining up behind more progressive candidates in traditionally swing or Republican-heavy districts could be harmful to Democrats’ chances.

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California’s vulnerable GOP members watch closely as final tax bill is negotiated

Vulnerable California Republicans say they are watching closely as House leaders work on a final tax bill with the Senate, hoping they’ll win back some popular deductions that would lower tax bills in their districts.

California Republican votes may prove essential to the final tax bill’s chances, and some have signaled they are willing to vote against it.

Rep. Steve Knight, who was among the California Republicans who voted for the House version after being promised changes in the final bill, said he’s meeting with House leaders multiple times a day to reach a compromise.

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Republican John Cox takes shots at Sacramento ‘cronies’ and Democratic rivals in governor’s race

Republican candidate for governor, John Cox, speaks to attendees of the Santa Monica Republican Women Federated Gubernatorial forum in October.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox on Thursday blamed the Democrats in Sacramento for California’s most serious ills, including high levels of poverty and unaffordable housing costs.

Cox, speaking at the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco, promised to tamp down the clout of special interests and apply “common sense” and conservative fiscal discipline to put California back on the right path.

“This state under the current one-party crony rule has become unaffordable, especially for the middle class,” Cox said.

Cox also delivered a few jabs to his Democratic rivals in the governor’s race.

Cox said Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed so many new government plans and programs that his platform “sounded like the Soviet Union.”

Cox, 62, also said he’s content to serve his full term as governor and is not looking to use the office as a springboard to the White House “like one candidate in this race.” It’s unclear whether Cox was referring to Newsom or one of the other major Democrats in the race, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang.

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released in early November found Cox to be in fifth place, with 11% of likely voters supporting him. He trailed Newsom, Villaraigosa, Chiang and GOP rival Travis Allen, an assemblyman from Huntington Beach.

The San Francisco event was moderated by Public Policy Institute President Mark Baldassare and was part of a series of public interviews of the candidates running for California governor.

Cox, a wealthy businessman and venture capitalist from Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County, hewed toward traditional conservative views on the economy and government regulation.

He’s called for the repeal of the new gas tax, which the governor and Legislature approved for transportation projects. Cox is also calling for the repeal and replacement of the California Environmental Quality Act, saying its regulations have been an impediment to building desperately needed housing in California.

Cox pitched his proposed statewide ballot measure for a “neighborhood legislature,” which would create tiny subdistricts within the state’s current 80 Assembly and 40 Senate districts.

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Key California environmental law not a barrier to development, new state report says

State Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) is chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, which commissioned the study.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The state’s primary environmental law governing development doesn’t block development from actually happening, according to a state study released Thursday.

The study examined, over five years ending in 2016, how state transportation, parks and other projects were handled under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. The law requires developers to disclose and often lessen their project’s effect on the environment before proceeding with construction. The study found that 1% of projects required detailed analyses under the law and less than 1% of them were sued.

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FOR THE RECORD, 4:45 p.m.: A previous version of this post said the study evaluated state housing projects. No housing developments were examined as part of the study.
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“This extensive review of state agencies clearly finds that CEQA is doing what Gov. Reagan and the Legislature hoped it would do when they passed it in 1970 — providing transparency, accountability and reducing harmful impacts to our environment as we undertake important projects to enhance our state,” said Sen. Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, which commissioned the study.

CEQA has long been a lightning rod in state politics, with some crediting the measure for preserving the state’s environment and others arguing it has slowed the building of housing, transit lines and other infrastructure.

Results from recent analyses of CEQA have been mixed. A 2016 environmentalist-sponsored report mirrored the results of Thursday’s state study, finding that few projects were sued compared to the rate of development. A 2016 examination from a law firm that promotes overhauling the law determined that litigation between 2013 and 2015 challenged 10,000 homes in Southern California neighborhoods planned for the most growth.

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California’s Senate will be led by a woman for first time in history: Sen. Toni Atkins

State Senate leader Kevin de León said Thursday that the Senate Democratic Caucus is supporting Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) to take over for him as Senate president pro tem in 2018 after an election in January.

De León, a Los Angeles Democrat who has served as Senate leader for nearly four years, is stepping down from the leadership position as he runs against Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the 2018 election for her seat in the U.S. Senate.

“Four years ago, our caucus elected the first Latino leader in over a century to lead the California state Senate — and, next year, Sen. Atkins will become our first ever woman to be elected Senate leader,” De León said in a statement.

“Toni is a leader of great experience, achievement and integrity, and I have every confidence that she will lead America’s most accomplished legislative chamber to even greater heights,” De León added.

Atkins, 55, brings leadership experience to the job, having previously served as speaker of the state Assembly. She will be the third person to serve both as Assembly speaker and Senate president pro tem and the first leader of the state Senate who has come out as gay.

“Today, I am humbled by the trust my colleagues have placed in me, and I intend to earn that trust every day by working tirelessly and inclusively to keep California a place of opportunity for everyone,” Atkins said in a statement.

She noted that California has become a counter-force to the Republican policies of President Trump and Congress.

“Given our national divisions, California’s example is more important than ever — and I look forward to working with our president pro tem and all of our colleagues to ensure that the Senate continues to rise together to meet the challenges faced by the great people we represent,” Atkins said.

De León did not provide a date for the transition of leadership in 2018, saying it would happen “later in the year.”

The announcement of the first woman Senate leader comes less than a month after 140 female legislators, lobbyists, political advisors and Capitol staff members signed a letter criticizing the “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment and misconduct in state government. The signers said they had all witnessed “dehumanizing behavior by men in our workplace.”

One assemblyman has resigned and two other male legislators are under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment.

Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates of Laguna Niguel noted it will be the first time both leaders of the Senate are women, and offered to work with Atkins “to substantially address the issues raised by reports concerning inappropriate behavior,” the harassment.

De León has instituted changes to address the problem, including a plan to hire an outside law firm to investigate any allegations.

During his term as leader, De León has also overseen a string of accomplishments on environmental, social and immigration issues.

“For nearly four years, it’s been a profound honor to lead a unified, progressive and collaborative California state Senate. Together, we’ve put the public interest over individual ambitions and made enduring progress on behalf of millions of Californians,” De León said.

UPDATES:

1:20 p.m. This article was updated with information about an open letter about sexual harassment and to include a comment by Sen. Bates.

This article was originally published at 11:15 a.m.

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Paul Ryan-linked group urges California Republicans to hold firm on tax bill

American Action Network is pushing back on the onslaught of anti-tax plan ads in California with spots urging four Republicans who voted for the GOP tax bill not to change their minds.

The six-figure digital and TV ad buy from the politically active nonprofit with ties to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) encourages people to call and thank Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, David Valadao of Hanford, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Mimi Walters of Irvine for their votes.

Denham and Valadao have been on board with the tax plan from the beginning, but Knight and Walters have both wavered, saying they only voted for the House plan because they received assurances that the final bill would be better for their constituents.

The House plan reduces or eliminates popular tax deductions used heavily in their wealthy districts, and Knight and Walters are both pushing for them to be included in some form in the final bill.

A Los Angeles Times analysis found that in 2015, 47% of taxpayers in Walters’ Orange County district and 42% of taxpayers in Knight’s Antelope Valley District used the state and local tax deduction that is under threat in the plan.

The ads are part of a $2-million ad campaign targeting 24 congressional districts across the country.

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Pelosi lambastes California Republicans for supporting tax bill that ends wildfire loss deductions

(Reynold / EPA/Shutterstock)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on Thursday criticized Republicans in the California delegation for approving a tax bill that eliminated the deduction for personal losses from wildfires, earthquakes and other natural disasters, but kept the break for victims of the recent severe hurricanes.

“They actually voted for that bill,” Pelosi said during her weekly news conference. “[The members] voted to discriminate against victims of fire. We certainly want to have the deduction for victims of hurricanes and the rest, but why are they doing this to our state?”

The Senate version of the tax bill modifies, but doesn’t eliminate, the fire and earthquake deduction so it can be claimed only in the case of a federally declared disaster. Many California fires do not get that designation. It is one of the items that has to be resolved in the final bill currently being negotiated.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) said Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) is pushing to get relief for the most recent California fires passed this year, and that is expected to include a provision to allow fire victims to deduct their losses.

He noted in a statement Thursday that the entire California delegation just signed a letter in support of fire disaster aid for California in a supplemental funding bill.

“I look forward to passing that supplemental funding package — which will include tax relief that Leader Pelosi and I agree on — and I look forward to her support for tax reform that incorporates this wildfire tax relief and allows the deduction for personal losses and other tax relief for Californians and other victims of the recent disasters,” he said.

Pelosi singled out the California Republicans who voted for the House tax bill by name twice, adding to the deluge of ads and protests hoping to sway their votes.

“It’s once again important to note that 11 Republicans in California voted to do violence to the economy of our state,” Pelosi said.

People across the political spectrum are paying close attention to California Republicans’ votes on the final version of the tax bill.

Several representatives, especially those in Orange County, said they supported the House version because they got assurances that concerns about the loss of deductions for their constituents would be resolved in the final version.

Pelosi noted that the House bill passed with an 11-vote margin, and that if the California members had voted against it, the bill would have failed.

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UPDATES

2:27 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from McCarthy.

This article was originally published at 8:58 a.m.

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Graduate students in Rep. Mimi Walters’ district air concerns over GOP tax bill with her Democratic challenger

(Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times)

Deyanira Nevarez Martinez has already spent three years working toward a doctorate in urban planning and public policy at the University of California in Irvine. She’s about halfway done, but if the GOP tax bill changes the way her graduate student income is taxed, she might have to reconsider whether getting her degree is worth it.

She was among about a dozen UC Irvine graduate students who aired their concerns Wednesday at a roundtable at a pizza place across the street from campus. The event was hosted by Democratic congressional candidate Dave Min, a UC Irvine law professor who is challenging vulnerable Republican Rep. Mimi Walters.

Nevarez Martinez says she’s seen reports that suggest her tax bill could go up by thousands of dollars if Republicans decide to tax tuition waivers or eliminate the student-loan interest deductions that often keep low-paid graduate students afloat.

“When you’re just scraping by, where are you supposed to get that extra two or three thousand dollars?” she said between bites of pizza. She’s a voter in Walters’ district and says she plans to help the local Democratic Party with voter registration efforts and other activities in the 2018 midterms.

The students, many of whom make well below $40,000 a year in stipends for their research work, discussed concerns such as being able to pay their bills, or seeing the quality of graduate student pools decrease if only the rich can afford the financial hit.

The House version of the bill, which passed last month with the support of Walters and 10 other California Republicans, would strip the tax-exempt status of the free tuition benefit given to many graduate students. It would also repeal the deduction for interest payments on student loans. Neither of those provisions are in the Senate version.

The Senate and House are still hashing out the differences in the two versions, but Min said the potential changes would be devastating for students on already tight budgets.

Michelle Zuñiga, who is also studying urban planning, said GOP representatives like Walters who voted for the House bill are underestimating the power of people like her. “Right now, a lot of us maybe are in kind of a state of shock, we just heard about this in the last month,” she said. “But in the short span of time, we’ve seen the [graduate student] union come together, we’ve seen some of our departments come together … Once we’re equipped, I feel like we’ll have more voting power.”

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California legislators to introduce bipartisan bill to give victims of sexual harassment more time to file claims

Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), left, and Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale).
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

A bipartisan group of legislators said Wednesday they plan to introduce a bill next month to give victims of sexual harassment additional time to file claims.

The proposal, by Assemblywomen Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Marie Waldron (R-Escondido), would give both public and private employees more time to come forward with a claim. A spokesman for Reyes said the legislators are working to determine what the new timeframe should be.

Under existing state law, a person has one year from the date of the last incident of sexual harassment to file a claim with the California Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing. That department, which is the state’s civil rights agency, enforces California laws that bar sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination.

All three legislators are on a panel that last week examined the Assembly’s own procedures for handling sexual harassment complaints.

“The stories of sexual harassment told by victims from all careers and walks of life have revealed that the existing systems for seeking justice are not working,” said Reyes in a statement. “The evidence clearly indicates that the fear of retaliation and the psychological wounds caused by such actions can prevent victims from filing claims within the existing timelines required under current law.”

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A dozen California Democrats join effort to begin debate on impeaching Trump

The House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday against considering a resolution to impeach President Trump, but 12 of California’s 39 Democrats voted to move forward on impeachment.

Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green forced a vote on his proposed articles of impeachment Wednesday over the objections of Democratic House leaders. The move put the 57 Democrats who voted with him at odds with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). They have urged their members to wait on impeachment talk.

“Right now, congressional committees continue to be deeply engaged in investigations into the president’s actions both before and after his inauguration. The special counsel’s investigation is moving forward as well, and those inquiries should be allowed to continue. Now is not the time to consider articles of impeachment,” Pelosi and Hoyer said in a joint statement.

The California Democrats who voted to move forward were Reps. Nanette Barragán of San Pedro, Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Mark DeSaulnier of Concord, Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles, Jared Huffman of San Rafael, Barbara Lee of Oakland, Ted Lieu of Torrance, Jerry McNerney of Stockton, Grace Napolitano of Norwalk, Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks, Juan Vargas of San Diego and Maxine Waters of Los Angeles.

Over the summer, Sherman introduced articles of impeachment of his own, but told Pelosi that he wouldn’t force a vote without consulting the House Democratic caucus first.

FOR THE RECORD

A previous version of this post incorrectly reported the number of California House Democrats as 53. There are 39 House Democrats from California.

UPDATES

2:40 p.m.: Updated with information about Sherman’s impeachment effort.

This post was originally published at 12:12 p.m.

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Los Angeles area congresswoman arrested during immigration protest on Capitol Hill

Rep. Judy Chu was arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday during a demonstration calling on Congress to find a legislative fix for the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought into the country illegally as children.

Chu (D-Monterey Park), sitting in the first row of protesters on the Capitol steps and holding a banner that said “Defend our immigrant communities,” was among the first people arrested after Capitol Police repeatedly ordered the protesters to leave.

Before the arrest, she attended a nearby rally in support of the so-called Dreamers and made it clear she intended to get arrested during a demonstration afterward, even posting a photo of her “civil disobedience starter kit.”

Chu spoke at the rally, telling the crowd “let’s make sure America remains a land of opportunity.” She said her choice to be arrested wasn’t a difficult decision.

“This is such a critical week and month in the lives of these Dreamers. I have heard from them, I have heard their anxiety and their incredible fear,” Chu said. “It’s a very urgent matter and we have to put our actions where our mouths are.”

Capitol police have not responded to questions about the arrests, but Capitol Hill protesters are typically charged with unlawful conduct, a violation of District of Columbia’s code.

An estimated one-quarter of the 800,000 people who were granted work permits under the discontinued Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program live in California, and members of the state’s congressional delegation have put intense pressure on their colleagues to quickly find a fix to the current situation.

President Trump announced in September that he would end the program, giving Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix. He halted renewals of the two-year permits soon after, which means an estimated 122 people could lose protection from deportation and permission to legally work in the United States every day.

Democrats, and some Republicans, are pushing for a legislative fix before the end of the year, perhaps as a part of the spending bill Congress has to approve to keep the government open. However, House and Senate Republican leaders have said there is plenty of time to address the issue before the March deadline, and that Congress has other priorities right now.

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California lobbyist who spoke out against sexual harassment in the Capitol featured on Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ cover

Time magazine has bestowed its annual “Person of the Year” honor to the people who have spoken out against sexual harassment and abuse—including a San Francisco-based lobbyist who helped ignite the conversation in the California Capitol.

Adama Iwu, one of the founders of the We Said Enough group that has called attention to sexual misconduct in state politics, is one of five women featured on the magazine’s cover, which was unveiled Wednesday morning.

Recognized collectively as “The Silence Breakers,” Iwu, a government affairs expert for Visa, appeared with actress Ashley Judd, singer Taylor Swift, former Uber engineer Susan Folwer and Isabel Pascual, a strawberry picker whose name was changed to protect her identity. They, along with many others, are featured in the cover story on people who exposed harassment and abuse in an array of industries.

“For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year,” wrote Edward Felsenthal, the magazine’s editor-in-chief.

“It was a huge honor,” Iwu said of being included in that group of women.

The We Said Enough group, in a statement, noted that its Oct. 17 letter, published in the Los Angeles Times, was the “first open statement by women working in politics calling for an end to the pervasive culture of harassment and assault within a Capitol community.”

“Today we stand on the shoulders of the women who came before us,” the statement says. “Our hope is that in this moment, we can all come together and secure lasting change.”

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Californians vote along party lines as House passes bill to allow concealed guns across state lines

(Al Behrman / Associated Press)

The GOP-controlled House voted along party lines on Wednesday to pass legislation that would require states to recognize concealed carry permits from all other states regardless of a state’s permitting standards.

Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) said after the vote that he’s more worried about Californians being able to carry their concealed weapons when they travel to other states than about people bringing concealed weapons to California from states with lower permitting requirements.

“I think California does a very good job making sure that not only are people trained but they have background checks. I’d like to see other states do that as well, but certainly from a California perspective, I think that Californians should be able to carry their weapons with them in their vehicles as they travel to other states,” Denham said.

State standards for getting a concealed weapon permit vary widely. In California, sheriffs or police may issue permits only to people who make a strong case for why they need to carry a firearm, such as people whose business involves transporting large amounts of cash. In some other states, anyone who passes a gun safety class can carry a concealed weapon.

Allowing concealed carry permits to be valid across state lines has long been a National Rifle Assn. priority. The vote could potentially be used against California Republicans during the 2018 campaign, especially in urban and suburban districts like Orange County.

In an effort to tempt Democrats to vote for the bill, the concealed carry bill was combine with legislation that encourages federal agencies and states to send updated criminal records to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background System. Gun safety advocates called for the legislation following reports that a shooter who killed 20 people in a Texas church this year had a criminal background that was not properly reported.

The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which was co-sponsored by 13 of California’s 14 Republican members, now goes to the Senate, where its chances are unclear in part because Republican senators have balked at linking the two pieces of gun legislation.

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California’s attorney general takes his attacks against the Trump administration to Washington

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra complained in a speech to journalists Wednesday that the Trump administration is failing to release documents that might explain its decisions on immigration and environmental issues.

Addressing the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Becerra said he was outraged that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has not responded properly to Becerra’s Freedom of Information Act request for documents on possible conflicts of interest within the agency.

California has had to sue for the records, Becerra said. Refusing to provide the documents, he said, “is, I believe, an absolute abuse of power and discretion.”

California has also gone to court to seek documents that might reveal the basis of Trump’s decision to discontinue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that has allowed young immigrants known as Dreamers to stay in the country.

“What is this administration trying to hide when it doesn’t want to reveal to us the basis of their decision to try to deny 200,000 DACA Dreamers in California the chance to remain?” Becerra said.

Becerra admiringly described DACA participants who are loudly demanding an extension of their time in this country as “tough.” He said they have been emboldened enough to even shout him down. “That’s the American way,” he said, adding, “I believe the DACA Dreamers are here to stay.”

Becerra also predicted that the pro-immigrant, pro-clean-energy policies of California will reach the rest of the country.

“What happens in California ultimately happens in the rest of the nation,” he said.

The attorney general also criticized the Republican tax overhaul legislation pending in Congress, saying it will increase federal budget deficits and hurt the middle class while benefiting the wealthy.

“The lion’s share of benefits will flow to mega-corporations and those who are wealthy enough to own a lot of stock in those corporations,” Becerra said.

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Outside Rep. Ed Royce’s office, protesters don top hats, call GOP tax bill a tool for the rich

Protesters pose for photos in the hall outside Rep. Ed Royce's district office in Brea.
(Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times)

Protests over the GOP tax bill continued Wednesday, with several dozen opponents picketing outside Republican Rep. Ed Royce’s district office in Brea.

Some of them donned black blazers and top hats — one had a monocle — echoing widespread criticism that the measure is primarily designed to benefit wealthy Americans and corporations. They chanted, “Shame on you!” and held signs denouncing the “GOP tax scam,” before filing in, a few at a time, to fill out comment cards with Royce’s district office staff.

Royce, one of 11 California Republicans who voted for the House version of the tax bill last month, has stayed mum about whether he’ll support the final bill, which still needs to be crafted by negotiators from both houses of Congress.

“I think it’s going to hurt him,” said Mary Mogge, 74, a retired physics professor who lives in Royce’s district. “There’s going to be a lot of people mad at him.” She was holding a sign that read, “If you are not the 1% you just got punished.” Mogge said voters in Royce’s wealthy Orange County district are more likely to itemize their income tax deductions, meaning they could be hurt if deductions for mortgage interest or state and local taxes are eliminated or reduced.

Miguel Hernandez, a 51-year-old maintenance supervisor who showed up with several other pro-Trump counter-protesters, said he agrees that Royce’s vote in favor of the House version of the tax bill could hurt him in the midterm elections next year.

But even if his own tax bill goes up, Hernandez said, it’s a “step in the right direction” and could be a wake-up call for Californians “so they see that we’re so overtaxed.”

The demonstration at Royce’s office happened two days after hundreds of people gathered outside the district office of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), who voted against the previous House version and has said he opposes the Senate version, too. Republican Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Tom McClintock of Elk Grove, both of whom were also “no” votes last month, have also been under pressure to withhold their support if the deductions aren’t preserved.

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Progressive group launches television ad aimed at swaying Rep. Steve Knight on tax vote

The onslaught of anti-tax reform ads aimed at vulnerable California Republicans continues Wednesday with a six-figure television ad targeting Rep. Steve Knight.

The ad calling on the Palmdale Republican to vote “No” will run on broadcast and cable channels in the expensive Los Angeles media market, and will also appear on Spanish-language channels. It is funded by Not One Penny, a coalition of progressive groups.

“Knight sided against California once, but he’s got one more chance to get it right,” the ad states.

Just three of California’s 14 Republican members joined Democrats in opposing the tax bill last month, saying changes to the state and local tax deduction and mortgage interest deduction would have an outsized impact on their constituents.

Knight and a few other Republican Californians said they voted for the bill with assurances from House leadership that their concerns would be resolved in the final version of the bill.

Not One Penny has run digital ads trying to convince Republican Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, Ed Royce of Fullerton, David Valadao of Hanford and Mimi Walters of Vista, but the shift to broadcast and cable media indicates they think Knight could be swayed.

All of the targeted members are considered among the most vulnerable going into the 2018 midterm election.

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Four California Republicans targeted by group that wants to overturn Citizens United

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

A political action committee aimed at overturning Citizens United says it plans to spend millions in the 2018 midterms to elect Democrats who support campaign finance reform.

On Tuesday, it announced that its top 20 targets include Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine), Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine). All four are on a watchlist for next year’s most vulnerable California House members.

“California represents some of the best opportunities and, frankly, some of the most egregious examples that we have seen,” said End Citizens United executive director Tiffany Muller in a call with reporters. Muller noted the fact that Hunter is currently under investigation for potential misuse of campaign funds, and the campaign contributions Issa has received from telecom companies.

End Citizens United was formed in 2015, and spent about $25.5 million in the 2016 election. Muller said the group plans to go after independent voters it says prioritize money in politics as a top issue.

Federal Election Commission reports show the group has already raised $11.5 million as of Oct. 30. The group’s leaders declined to say how much of the money will likely be spent on the four California districts.

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Labor activist Wendy Carrillo will be L.A.’s newest Assembly member

Democratic labor activist Wendy Carrillo won a special election in Los Angeles Tuesday night to serve out the term of former assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, who was elected to Congress in a special election earlier this year.

Carrillo’s opponent, fellow Democrat Luis López, called her to concede late Tuesday evening as Carrillo led López 52.83% to 47.17% by a 943-vote margin.

Tuesday’s vote is the last in a series of four special elections that have reshuffled the political landscape in a section of Los Angeles stretching from Silver Lake to Eagle Rock and East Los Angeles.

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Wendy Carrillo celebrates first-place finish in Assembly District 51 special election

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Luis López concedes to Wendy Carrillo in Assembly District 51 special election

Assembly candidate Luis López said he called Wendy Carrillo Tuesday night to concede the special election for Assembly District 51. With 100% of precincts reporting, Carrillo led López Tuesday evening 52.83% to 47.17% — a 943-vote margin.

“It did not happen for us, tonight,” Lopez told the crowd at his election night party.

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Assembly candidate Luis López thanks staff as election results come in: ‘I believe these numbers will tighten’

Wendy Carrillo led with about 53.27% of the vote while Luis López claimed 46.73% as the first results from Tuesday’s special election to replace Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez came in.

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Wendy Carrillo takes early lead as polls close in special election for Los Angeles Assembly seat

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‘Luis López knows the area:’ Voters trickle into polls for Los Angeles Assembly election

John Sennick has lived in Mount Washington since 1959, and he wants his California Assembly member to know his neighborhood.

“Luis López knows the area,” he said. “You’re not in some place he’s never heard of.”

So Sennick chose López over his fellow Democrat Wendy Carrillo on Tuesday in a special election to fill the Assembly District 51 seat recently vacated by now U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez.

Sennick said he thinks Lopez— the director of government affairs for City of Hope Medical Center — has done the work to get to know the community and climb up the ranks. He knows his opponent, Wendy Carrillo, as a former local radio show host who is backed by the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

“She’s used to telling people what she thinks on the radio,” he said, and thinks López is a better listener.

The Assembly district roughly encompasses the neighborhoods of Echo Park, Silver Lake, Chinatown, Lincoln Heights and City Terrace. The election is expected to be a low-turnout affair. Polls close at 8 p.m.

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Service union runs radio ads targeting three Republicans on tax bill

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Capitol Hill protesters target California’s Rep. Dana Rohrabacher over tax vote

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John Chiang, Gavin Newsom react to allegations against Assemblyman Matt Dababneh

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The allegations of sexual misconduct against Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) reverberated in the California gubernatorial race on Tuesday, with one candidate calling on Dababneh to resign and another donating political contributions he received from the San Fernando Valley lawmaker.

State Treasurer John Chiang urged Dababneh to step down from his Assembly seat, citing the accounts of two women who spoke out publicly against the legislator on Monday.

“There should be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in the workplace,” Chiang said in a statement. “We cannot change the culture in Sacramento if we don’t remove those in power who abuse it.”

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom donated $10,300 he received from Dababneh’s political action committee to Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit group that works to expand economic and education opportunities for women and girls, according to a campaign spokesman.

The moves come a day after lobbyist Pamela Lopez claimed that in 2016 Dababneh followed her into a bathroom, masturbated in front of her and urged her to touch him. Dababneh strongly denied the allegation.

Jessica Yas Barker, who worked for Dababneh in Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman’s district office, also accused Dababneh of regularly speaking about his sexual exploits and making degrading comments about women at the office. Dababneh has denied the allegations and said they were “politically motivated.”

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Lawmakers say California’s proposed marijuana rules will hurt small family farms

Sustainable cannabis farmer Dillon Turner applies fertilizer to a crop of plants at Sunboldt Farms in Redcrest, Calif.
Sustainable cannabis farmer Dillon Turner applies fertilizer to a crop of plants at Sunboldt Farms in Redcrest, Calif.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Two legislators called Tuesday for changes to regulations for growing marijuana in California to better protect small family farmers from being driven out of business by big corporate cultivators.

Initial proposals to cap licensed marijuana farms at one to four acres were discarded by the state Department of Food and Agriculture, which has since proposed new rules without any cap, according to a letter of complaint to the agency by State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-San Rafael) and Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg). McGuire and Wood support a one-acre cap.

“We support the protection of small family cannabis farmers — the backbone of California’s cannabis industry — and are deeply concerned that a lack of a cap on small cannabis cultivation permits is undermining the desires of California voters expressed through Proposition 64,” the two lawmakers wrote, referring to the initiative approved by voters last year to legalize recreational marijuana.

The legislators noted many of the small-farm operators are second- or third-generation farmers along the North Coast.

“This last minute revision rolls out the red carpet for large corporations to crush the livelihood of small family farmers who should be given a fair chance to succeed in a regulated market,” said the letter to Richard Parrott, director of the Food and Agriculture Department’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division.

Representatives for Parrott were not immediately available to comment on the requested change.

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John Chiang attacks Gavin Newsom’s book ‘Citizenville’ for drawing GOP praise

State Treasurer John Chiang speaks with voters at the Summer Solstice Festival in Santa Barbara in June.
(Mariah Tauger / For The Times)

State Treasurer John Chiang plans to launch a new attack against Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the California governor’s race Tuesday by pointing out that a prominent Republican praised Newsom’s 2013 book “Citizenville.”

“Why did Newt Gingrich call Gavin Newsom’s book ‘A blueprint for the Republican Party?’ ” reads a post that will be published on www.gavinfacts.com, a site Chiang created about Newsom’s record. It has had a single post that criticized Newsom’s tenure as mayor of San Francisco.

The new critique centers on former House Speaker Gingrich’s praise for the book.

“Citizenville” argued that the modern form of government is outdated and that citizens can improve the government through technology. At the time of its publication, Gingrich praised the book but said he deeply disagreed with Newsom’s social policies.

“… the book is a blueprint for a Republican Party focused on a better future for all Americans, with more freedom, more prosperity, and lower cost,” Gingrich said.

In response, the website notes that Newsom thanked Gingrich on Twitter for the praise. The website does not note that many Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, praised the book as well.

Voters may not care that a Republican praised a book by Newsom, but the attack is the latest of many against Newsom, who is leading the gubernatorial race in fundraising and public polls.

Chiang previously criticized Newsom’s mayoral track record. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also is running for governor, routinely refer to Newsom as an out-of-touch Bay Area elite, and Republican John Cox has criticized Newsom’s tenure in Sacramento.

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Cancer biologist to challenge Rep. Steve Knight in 25th Congressional District

Cancer biologist Michael Masterman-Smith is joining the race to challenge Rep. Steve Knight in the Antelope Valley’s 25th Congressional District, saying it’s time for scientists to help draft healthcare policy.

“Our leaders are defining these healthcare policies and yet they themselves have no experience in healthcare,” said Masterman-Smith, 46. If he won, he would join more than a dozen medical specialists, including doctors, in Congress.

Masterman-Smith’s research includes potential medical uses of marijuana, and he is chief executive of the cannabis pharmaceutical company CA Labs, Inc.

Masterman-Smith currently lives on a boat in Marina del Rey, but is registered to vote at an address in La Habra, neither of which is in the 25th District. He said he is looking at finding a place to live in the district, which he said he wants to represent in Congress because it is at the confluence of his business interests.

“It’s a central point for my business work,” he said. “The 25th District is an area that I work out of, so it just made sense.”

Masterman-Smith has degrees from Florida State University and Pepperdine University, and postdoctorate degrees in molecular and medical pharmacology from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

He said he’s watched as more money and research poured into a healthcare system that just gets more expensive, and he’s seen less respect for scientific thought and reasoning.

“This is the first time in my life I feel my country is not treating me as a citizen because I am a scientist,” he said.

Masterman-Smith said he’s hoping his focus on healthcare policy will set him apart from the more than half a dozen other Democrats who have filed to challenge Knight, a Republican.

The district is a frequent target of Democrats, and backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, making it a much-desired pickup for Democrats in 2018.

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‘We need more women in politics,’ says voter who chose female candidate in L.A. Assembly race

Sarah Ramage went to the polls Tuesday in California’s Assembly District 51 with the hope of electing a woman to the seat that was recently vacated by now Rep. Jimmy Gomez.

Ramage, who said she thinks there needs to be more women in office, voted for Wendy Carrillo in Tuesday’s special election, although she voted for Carrillo’s opponent, Luis López, when he ran for the seat in 2012.

Francine Fisher also chose Carrillo on Tuesday. She supported Carrillo’s campaign by assisting with data entry, canvassing and calling voters. She also canvassed for Democrat Hillary Clinton in her failed run against President Trump.

“I became involved because I hate Trump,” she said. “We need more women in politics.”

Ramage, who works at Occidental College and lives in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, noted Carrillo’s community work on homelessness and environmental issues, though she said there were only slight differences between the two candidates, who are both Democrats.

Due to a chain of events that was triggered when U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her retirement from politics more than two years ago, this is the sixth time Assembly District 51 voters have been asked to vote this year.

Last fall, Kamala Harris won Boxer’s seat in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles Rep. Xavier Becerra was appointed fill out Harris’ term as state attorney general. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez in turn won the special election this year for Becerra’s seat in Congress and there were also Los Angeles city election in the mix.

“I am kind of tired of voting,” Ramage said, “but I think it’s an important value we can embrace.”

FOR THE RECORD
4:22 p.m.:
This post originally stated that Ramage was a professor at Occidental. She is an employee of Occidental, not a professor

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Mimi Walters becomes third California GOP representative to advocate for DACA fix this year

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Orange County U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters on Tuesday joined Central Valley congressmen David Valadao and Jeff Denham in urging House Speaker Paul D. Ryan to address the legal status of people brought to the country illegally as children before the end of the year.

“I feel strongly that we take care of the Dreamers in our country and that we try to get them situated as soon as we can,” Walters said. “I think there’s a lot of uncertainty out there for the Dreamers and I want to put that uncertainty at ease and at rest.”

In total, 34 House Republicans sent a letter to Ryan stressing that they support border enforcement and fixing a “broken” immigration system, “but in this moment, we must address the urgent matter before us in a balanced approach that does not harm valuable sectors of our economy nor the lives of these hard-working young people.” The lawmakers didn’t back a particular version of the handful of legislative fixes that have been proposed.

An estimated one-quarter of the 800,000 people who were granted work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program live in California. President Trump announced in September that he would end the program, giving Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers.

House Republican leaders have said there is plenty of time to address the issue before the March deadline, and Congress has other priorities before the end of the year. Walters said that though she understands Ryan is focused on the tax bill, she hopes a legislative fix for the Dreamers can be found “sooner rather than later.”

Denham said Tuesday that he’s hoping the letter will show GOP congressional leaders that lawmakers want a fast fix.

“We are united in finding a permanent fix for DACA recipients,” Denham said. “We know that we’ve got to get this done and we’d like to get it done by the end of the year.”

Walters, Denham and Valadao are among the Republicans considered vulnerable in next year’s House elections.

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Voters head to the polls today to elect a new Assembly member in Los Angeles

Los Angeles voters will decide Tuesday who will replace Democrat Jimmy Gomez in the state Assembly.
( (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times))

Residents of Echo Park, Silver Lake, Chinatown, Lincoln Heights, Highland Park and City Terrace are heading to the polls today to vote for a new Assembly member in the special election to replace former Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, who left office after being elected to Congress.

Democrats Wendy Carrillo and Luis Lopez emerged from a field of 13 candidates in the primary in October. Carrillo claimed 22.16% of the vote and Lopez came in with 18.59% in a low-turnout contest in which just 10% of the roughly 223,000 registered voters cast ballots.

Polls in Assembly District 51 opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m.

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s Russia ties highlighted in new ads from Barbara Boxer’s PAC

Another Democratic group is hitting Rep. Dana Rohrabacher hard on his connections to Russia, this time a political action committee run by former U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

The group, called PAC for a Change, released a digital ad Tuesday morning that features news clips detailing Rohrabacher’s long-held affection for and ties to the country accused of meddling in last year’s elections.

The ad, titled From Russia with Love, ends with Rohrabacher’s photo juxtaposed next to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s, a pink heart drawn around both. “Dana Rohrabacher: Putin’s guy, not ours,” a narrator says.

The 15-term Republican’s well-known affinity for Russia has earned him criticism and further scrutiny in recent days. On Monday, Rohrabacher confirmed he will testify before the House Select Intelligence Committee later this month about his meeting with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. WikiLeaks published emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 election, and Rohrabacher said following the meeting that Assange had insisted Russia was not involved.

In October, Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, placed stricter limits on the subcommittee Rohrabacher heads over his Russia connections.

Boxer, who launched the PAC after she retired, says Rohrabacher’s recent actions are just another indication of how vulnerable he is in 2018.

“People have looked at ‘the Russia thing’ as some obtuse thing happening with Trump. In the case of Rohrabacher … to me, it’s about not taking care of the district,” Boxer said in an interview. “There’s a lot of work to be done and it shouldn’t be work for Russia.”

The ad is scheduled to run on social media platforms and on websites, mostly targeted to voters in Rohrabacher’s district. PAC For A Change plans to spend less than $100,000 on this initial round of ads there, about as much as the group dropped on ads targeting Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista). Those ads received more than 844,000 completed video views and brought in more than 27,000 clicks on its website, according to Boxer.

With the congressman’s name coming up frequently in several ongoing Russia investigations, the DCCC and several of Rohrabacher’s opponents have also been highlighting the issue in ads this year.

Rohrabacher is one of 10 House Republicans the DCCC has identified as vulnerable in California, and the recent controversies have led some election prognosticators to rate his race a “toss-up.”

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ACLU pushes California’s members of Congress to help Dreamers in new online ads

Three California ACLU affiliates are running online ads urging five California Republican members of Congress to support a legislative fix to resolve the legal status of people brought to the country illegally as children.

The online ads target Reps. Paul Cook of Yucca Valley, Darrell Issa of Vista, Devin Nunes of Tulare, Ed Royce of Fullerton and Mimi Walters of Irvine, and depict a mother driving with her two young children when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrest her.

Actress Rosario Dawson does the voice-over narration in the ad. A clock ticks in the background as a woman waits for immigration agents to knock on her car window. She pleads with them to let her drop her children off at school or call her husband. The children scream as she is handcuffed and led away.

“It’s time for you to choose. Is this really the California you stand for? The California you represent?” Dawson says in the ad. “Choose the right side of history. Stand with the Dreamers.”

The five-figure ad buy paid for by the ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California and ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties will target voters in the members’ districts on Facebook and Twitter starting today.

California is home to an estimated one-third of the 750,000 people who were granted work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. President Trump announced in September he would end the program and gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for DACA recipients.

Because Trump’s September order stopped new renewals of the two-year protected status, the effects are already being felt. Every day, an estimated 122 people lose their deportation protection and their permission to legally work in the United States.

Reps. David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock have urged their Republican colleagues to back a legislative fix by the end of the year, and Democrats have hinted that it will need to be included to get their support for an end-of-year spending bill, but so far Republican leadership has been reluctant to take it up.

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Assemblyman Matt Dababneh ‘temporarily stepping down’ from committee chairmanship, says Assembly speaker

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Gov. Jerry Brown plans to upgrade California’s emergency alert system

Gov. Jerry Brown is considering upgrading the state’s emergency alert system in the wake of this fall’s devastating wildfires across Northern California, the governor’s emergency services director told legislators on Monday.

“This is something that we’ve been working on closely,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, at an informational legislative hearing about the state’s response to the wildfires.

Emergency alerting systems received widespread complaints for not notifying residents as wildfires ripped through Napa and Sonoma Counties in October. The blazes, along with others nearby, left 44 residents dead. Ghilarducci said the fires destroyed 8,900 structures, almost 6,000 of which were primary residences. It was the most homes destroyed in a natural disaster since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Ghilarducci said.

Current emergency alerting systems in the state rely on private cell phone carriers and local governments to decide how they communicate information to residents. Ghilarducci said the proposed state upgrade would focus on providing minimum standards for all systems active in the state.

After he testified during the hearing, Ghilarducci told the Times that the plan was still preliminary, but that he expects the request would be for “several million dollars.” Brown unveils his proposed budget next month.

State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), who led the hearing, said the state needed to improve its emergency alerting systems to account for the potential loss of cell towers, which occurred during the wildfires in the fall.

“The most important issue is how do we keep our communities and our people safe,” Jackson said.

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to testify before Intelligence Committee about Julian Assange meeting

(Misha Japaridze / Associated Press)

Orange County Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) will testify before the House Select Intelligence Committee this month about a meeting with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in which the two discussed who stole emails from the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

“As you can see, I am not worried,” Rohrabacher said after votes Monday. “I have no worries at all. Once the public understands that the regular media has given them a false impression of my meetings with Russians, it’ll be fine.”

WikiLeaks published the emails before voters elected a new president in November of last year. U.S. intelligence officials have said Russia was involved in the theft of Democratic Party emails and tried to influence the election to benefit then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Rohrabacher said in an August statement after he met with Assange in London that the WikiLeaks founder “emphatically stated that the Russians were not involved.” Rohrabacher said they discussed potential protection from prosecution in exchange for information in exchange for tangible proof of who stole the emails, but has said since that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is keeping him from talking about it with Trump.

On Monday, he said that the White House is concerned about the optics.

“They don’t want to give the special prosecutor any excuse to claim that they were covering something up or obstructing justice,” Rohrabacher said.

He said he hasn’t been told if the testimony will be limited to the Assange meeting or might cover other topics as well.

Rohrabacher’s interest in improving relations with Russia has been long-known in Congress, and his name has come up repeatedly on the fringes of the investigations into election meddling.

Rohrabacher, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats, says it is his job to talk with Russians and people from other regions the subcommittee has jurisdiction over, something he says the media isn’t including when it writes about him.

“Frankly it’s having a negative impact on the media’s credibility, but not mine, and the minute I talk to these people and the various committees, I’m sure everything will be fine,” he said.

Along with the FBI’s investigation, four House and Senate committees are examining Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election, and what the Trump campaign knew about it. The Senate Intelligence Committee is also considering having Rohrabacher testify about the meeting.

Rohrabacher’s spokesman said the House committee has not set a date for him to testify. A spokesman for Democrats on the committee declined to comment.

4:36 p.m.: This post was updated with comment from Rohrabacher. It was first published at 3:08 p.m.

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Rallies planned across California as activists pressure GOP House members on tax vote

With another round of votes looming on the Republicans’ tax overhaul bill, Democratic activists are planning a series of protests and rallies across the state to pressure GOP members to oppose it.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is the target of at least a couple of those events, starting Monday when activists plan to dress up in Santa suits and hand out “lumps of coal” with notes attached saying Royce “has been naughty and endangers your family” with his previous tax vote.

Activists with a local Indivisible group are also expected to rally outside his Brea office Wednesday afternoon.

Royce was one of 11 California Republicans who voted in favor of the GOP tax bill last month, despite the fact that it’s expected to have an outsized impact on California taxpayers.

Events targeting Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), Rep. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) are also planned.

Lawmakers still have to hash out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the tax plan, after Senate Republicans passed theirs early Saturday morning. Final votes on the package could come as early as the end of this week.

The three GOP members who voted against the measure, Reps. Tom McClintock of Elk Grove, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Darrell Issa of Vista, will also be hearing from activists this week.

A rally will be held at UC San Diego in Issa’s district Monday evening, hosted by local activists and a group calling themselves SoCal Healthcare Coalition. The event, originally scheduled as an “empty chair” town hall featuring Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), was changed at the last minute after Gomez was instructed to stay in Washington for potential votes this week.

Labor groups and other activists are also planning actions outside McClintock’s Roseville office Tuesday morning and outside Rohrabacher’s Huntington Beach office later that day.

The vote on the tax package has been especially contentious for Republican members in California, many of whom represent districts that would be heavily affected by changes to deductions for mortgage interest and state and local taxes.

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Dianne Feinstein: The fight against the GOP’s unfair tax plans isn’t over yet

Tax reform shouldn’t add one penny to our deficit or to the tax bills of middle-class Americans. I thought that belief was shared by everyone in the Senate. It appears I was wrong.

Behind closed doors, Republicans drafted a bill that raises taxes on millions in the middle class and adds at least $1 trillion to our deficit. The bill also renews the GOP attack on the Affordable Care Act, a move that will drive up health insurance premiums in the individual market by 10% each year and will likely result in 13 million more Americans without coverage.

Refusing to hold a single hearing with outside groups, Republicans rushed their bill through the Senate in the hope Americans wouldn’t realize what it really is — a huge windfall for big corporations and the rich.

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Gov. Jerry Brown compares GOP congressional leaders to ‘Mafia thugs’

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday morning that GOP leaders in Congress who are advancing a major federal tax overhaul are “wielding their power like a bunch of Mafia thugs.”

“The most immediate evil of this cynical maneuver called the tax bill is to further divide America when we’re at one of our most divisive periods in history,” Brown said during a conference call with reporters.

Brown, who was joined on the call by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, argued that the tax plan would hurt those living in states that voted against President Trump in the 2016 election while funding massive tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

The version of the tax overhaul passed by the Senate would ax the federal tax deduction for state and local tax payments — which disproportionately affects those living in high-tax states such as California, New York and New Jersey.

Brown noted that the three states produce a significant amount of the nation’s gross domestic product so the plan attacks “the vital sinews of the American economy.”

Cuomo responded to a question about the tax plan’s legality by saying officials in New York were examining whether parts of it could be challenged in the court. Brown, however, seemed cooler to that idea, instead emphasizing that the plan has yet to become law. The House of Representatives has passed its own tax changes and has to reconcile its bill with the Senate’s version.

“This is a quintessentially political challenge,” Brown said. “Our job is to communicate the fraudulent and nefarious character of this tax bill.”

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Lobbyist accuses California assemblyman of forcing her into bathroom and masturbating

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One year after the Ghost Ship fire, artists struggle to find housing in Oakland

Carmen Brito wonders whether there’s room for her in the Bay Area.

Three years ago, she returned to Oakland after teaching English abroad and lived out of a car when other housing fell through. Later on, she moved into the attic of a Berkeley house where the kitchen floor had rotted away. And in late 2015, Brito discovered the Ghost Ship warehouse, which had the artistic energy and community she was longing for and a $600 monthly rent she could afford — even though it wasn’t built for people to live there.

Last Dec. 2, during a concert upstairs from her room , Brito woke up choking on smoke. She fled the building and called 911. Minutes later, the deadliest fire in Oakland’s history destroyed the Ghost Ship, killing 36 people.

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California’s entire congressional delegation seeks more fire disaster aid

Members of California’s congressional delegation are asking their colleagues for $4.4 billion more for fire-related disaster relief.

In a letter led by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), the delegation asked the House Appropriations Committee to include the funding in legislation to provide supplemental disaster relief to areas of the country hit by recent natural disasters.

In mid-November, the White House requested $44 billion for supplemental disaster aid but that request did not include funding to rebuild after this year’s California fires, which killed 43 people and destroyed nearly 9,000 structures, a move that’s sparked an outcry from Thompson and his fellow lawmakers, who had asked for $7.4 billion in aid.

Thompson’s Napa Valley district was hit particularly hard.

“These were the worst fires in California’s history and, as a result, they left unprecedented damage in their wake,” Thompson said in a statement. “California has outlined the funding we need for relief efforts, and it is crucial that the Federal government steps up to help. This funding is a vital first step in our long-term recovery, and I’ll continue to fight to ensure we have all the resources we need to fully recover and rebuild.”

Such letters are common in Congress, but it is unusual for the state’s entire 53 member delegation to sign on.

“We are united as a delegation to help our neighbors recover and rebuild from these tragic fires,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) said in a statement. “California will receive the resources we need in the supplemental package the House will pass — including legislation ensuring wildfire-specific tax relief for affected Californians, just as Congress approved for victims of the recent hurricanes.”

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State Sen. Josh Newman, facing recall threat, is among the California elected officials turning down pay raises

Sen. Josh Newman has filed papers to not accept a pay raise going to most of his colleagues Monday
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), who is facing a recall election, is among a small group of legislators who are turning down pay raises that take effect Monday.

Gov. Jerry Brown, state legislators and other elected state officials will see their salaries increase 3% on Monday as a result of a vote by a citizen commission earlier this year.

Citing his vote for a gas-tax increase, Republicans have turned in enough signatures to qualify a recall election against Newman for next year, although a date has not been finalized. When the raises were approved, Newman said: “Having been recently elected, and out of consideration of the challenges currently confronting so many hard-working Californians, I have decided to forego any increase in my own compensation in the coming year.”

Other lawmakers face strong challenges in the June primary.

In addition to Newman, raises were turned down by Assembly members Catharine Baker (R-Dublin), Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) and Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside).

Most other legislators will see their annual salary bump up to $107,242, although four legislative leaders will receive more.

Brown’s annual salary will rise to $195,806 and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pay will jump to $146,854.

Despite a reorganization that took away much of their power and most of their employees, elected members of the state Board of Equalization will see their salaries increase to $146,854.

Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson each will see their salaries rise to $170,080, the second highest pay for elected state officials.

The pay raises were approved in June by the California Citizens Compensation Commission, a panel appointed by the governor and created by voters in 1990.

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Two California Republican members join GOP push for DACA fix this year

California Reps. David Valadao and Jeff Denham are joining House Republican colleagues in pushing Speaker Paul D. Ryan to find a legislative fix before the end of the year for the legal status of people brought to the country illegally as children.

Virginia Rep. Scott Taylor and Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse are the lead writers of a letter to Ryan that stresses that the signers support border enforcement and fixing a “broken” immigration system, “but in this moment, we must address the urgent matter before us in a balanced approach that does not harm valuable sectors of our economy nor the lives of these hard-working young people.”

California is home to an estimated one-third of the 750,000 people who were granted work permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, giving the Golden State an outsized stake in resolving their legal status. President Trump announced in September he would end the program and gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for DACA recipients.

“I know we have until March, but why not just get it done?” Valadao (R-Hanford) said in an interview.

House Republican leaders have said Congress has plenty of time to find a legislative fix, and don’t need to include it in the flood of must-do issues before the end of the year.

“Do we have to have a DACA solution? Yes, we do. The deadline is March as far as I understand. We’ve got other deadlines in front of that,” Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday.

Denham (R-Turlock) said in an interview he’s working to get as many Republican colleagues to sign the letter as he can.

“I want to send a very clear message to the speaker,” Denham said. “We want to show the speaker there are a large number of votes there...We shouldn’t wait another week or another month or [until] a deadline to pass a bill that has bipartisan support.”

Both Valadao and Denham represent districts with large Latino populations that Democrats want to flip in 2018.

Because Trump’s September order stopped new renewals of the two--year protected status, an estimated 122 people lose their deportation protection, and their permission to legally work in the United States, every day.

“Not acting is creating understandable uncertainty and anxiety amongst immigrant communities,” reads an early draft of the letter, obtained Friday by The Times. “While we firmly believe Congress must work to address other issues within our broken immigration system, it is imperative that Republicans and Democrats come together to solve this problem now and not wait until next year. … Reaching across the aisle to protect DACA recipients before the holidays is the right thing to do.”

Democrats have hinted they might demand a fix for so-called Dreamers in exchange for helping Republicans pass legislation this month to fund the government. While it only needs a simple majority of House members to pass the chamber, conservative hard-liners have balked on the spending bill in the past and Ryan may need to court Democrats to pass it and keep the government open.

Valadao and Denham both said they aren’t ready to join Democrats who say they will vote against any spending bill that doesn’t have a fix.

“I’d like to see what leadership has planned and give them an opportunity to get it done, but we would like to see it get done before the end of the year,” Valadao said.

1:15 p.m.: This post has been updated with comment from Denham.

It was originally posted at 12:57 p.m.

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Emily’s List backs Rep. Steve Knight opponent in 25th District

Emily’s List, the national abortion-rights advocacy group focused on electing women, is endorsing Katie Hill in her campaign against Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) for the 25th Congressional District.

In a statement, the group called her “a fighter for California families with lifelong roots in north Los Angeles County.”

Hill is the executive director and deputy CEO of People Assisting the Homeless, or PATH, a statewide organization that provides homeless services and develops housing.

“As the executive director of a nonprofit dedicated to fighting homelessness, Katie helped pass historic ballot measures to increase affordable housing in the Los Angeles community and was instrumental in expanding the nonprofit into a statewide organization so that it could serve all Californian individuals and families,” the statement said.

Hill called the endorsement a “big moment” and said she’s been working to get it since she announced her candidacy last spring.

Emily’s List raises funds for the candidates it endorses, and advises their campaigns.

“They are the largest, most well-respected and most well-known organization that supports female candidates,” she said. “Getting more women elected is a huge priority and there are a lot of people who see that. … This is a special moment, I think, for women to be standing up and running.”

The 25th District backed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and is among Democrats’ top targets in the 2018 midterm election. A half-dozen other candidates have filed to run against Knight.

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Two Republican lawmakers want former leaders of Assembly Rules Committee to testify on sexual harassment policies

Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) questions Assemblyman Ken Cooley, unseen, how the Legislature handles sexual harassment complaints during this week's first committee hearing.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Two Republican assemblymen are asking that past leaders of the Assembly Rules Committee be called to testify before the group of lawmakers tasked with overhauling the way the chamber tracks and investigates sexual harassment claims.

In a letter to Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) and Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) argue their subcommittee’s first hearing this week on sexual misconduct policies left unanswered important questions about historical data on the number of complaints, investigations and settlements.

The lawmakers said prior leaders of the Rules Committee would be able to provide the information and a better understanding of why the chamber has not tracked complaints since policies were first instituted in 1980.

“It is our common goal to have more transparency and accountability in these important hearings so that we can lead by example and provide real protection for our victims moving forward,” Fong and Cunningham wrote in their letter.

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Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia endorses Gavin Newsom for governor

As Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia explained why he was endorsing Gavin Newsom for governor on Thursday, he recalled two key moments in his life.

The first was in 2004, soon after Garcia graduated from college and was trying to figure out how to tell his family that he was gay.

“I remember clearly watching the TV and seeing Gavin Newsom as the mayor of San Francisco telling the country and the world that gay people, that the LGBTQ community were equal and should be allowed the right to marry,” Garcia said. “It impacted me. It left a piece of my heart really, really touched by that moment.”

The other, he said, was when Newsom endorsed his mayoral campaign in 2014 against a fellow Democrat who had been endorsed by nearly every powerful Democratic voice in the state, including Gov. Jerry Brown.

“Gavin said I’m going to endorse you for mayor against the party, against every elected state official, probably against his best interest at the time,” Garcia said, before introducing Newsom at Fingerprints Music record store near downtown Long Beach. “I’ll never forget that.”

Newsom responded by saying he saw similarities between Garcia and himself as a young man.

He described Garcia as “someone who had a willingness to step up, someone with a willingness to buck conventional wisdom, to buck – to the extent necessary – the establishment, someone who has long been driven by something that drives me — that’s ideas,” Newsom said. “I have always felt and I know your mayor feels this way — the best politics is a better idea. It’s policy.”

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Foes of California gas tax increase launch television ads seeking repeal initiative

Republican opponents of a recent increase to the state gas tax have launched a television ad campaign aimed at getting California voters to sign petitions for an initiative that would repeal the new levies.

The ads have started running on broadcast and cable television stations in the San Diego area and on YouTube. They are part of a $400,000 first-week launch for a drive to collect more than 587,000 signatures to qualify a measure for the November 2018 ballot that would repeal the increase in gas taxes and vehicle fees approved by the Legislature in April.

“Sacramento politicians did it again,” one of the ads says. “They forced a massive hike on our car and gas taxes while raiding our road funds.”

Carl DeMaio, chairman of Reform California and a former San Diego City Council member, said the group’s petitions are in circulation throughout the state.

“We’re leaving no stone untouched to make sure that every eligible California voter has the opportunity to repeal the Gas Tax which hurts Californians of every kind,” he said in a statement.

Supporters of the new gas taxes and vehicle fees, including a coalition of civic leaders called Transportation California, argue the charges will raise more than $5.2 billion annually to take care of much-needed repairs to the state’s system of roads and bridges, while also improving mass transit.

“Carl DeMaio’s ads seem to be a self-serving way for him to get his name and picture plenty of exposure,” said Roger Dickinson, executive director of Transportation California. “Unfortunately his initiative would rob communities of critical local dollars to make road safety improvements and fix crumbled roads. We will mount an aggressive campaign to educate the voters and are confident they will reject this flawed measure.”

Updated at 2:10 pm to include comment from Roger Dickinson.

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Tom Steyer is leading a campaign to impeach Trump. Why does that annoy so many Democrats?

Tom Steyer's drive to impeach President Trump includes a billboard in New York's Times Square.
Tom Steyer’s drive to impeach President Trump includes a billboard in New York’s Times Square.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

From its very founding, California has been a land of reinvention. The creed is practically written in the state Constitution: If you don’t like who you are, or your place in life, start over.

Gold was the first lure. Since then, countless have sought fame. Others, acceptance.

Tom Steyer has no end of wealth, a measure of fame and a seeming appetite for political office.

That requires his own bit of reinvention.

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California GOPers Ed Royce and Mimi Walters more vulnerable, according to one election handicapper

Two Orange County congressional seats are now considered more vulnerable by one of the country’s top campaign handicappers.

Analysts for Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics moved the 39th Congressional District held by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and the 45th District held by Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine) from the “likely Republican” category to the “leans Republican” category, signaling they think Democrats have a better chance of winning them.

See how The Times ranks how tough these races will be for the incumbents

Both the 39th and 45th districts picked Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and are among Democrats’ top targets in 2018. But Walters and Royce have been reelected by large margins in the past. Saboto’s Crystal Ball previously moved other Orange County Republicans to the toss-up category.

Crystal Ball managing editor Kyle Kondik said in his analysis that Royce and Walters are raising a lot of money in preparation for a tough race and “the ground underneath them shifted left last year and may continue to do so with Trump in the White House.”

Sabato made one rating change to a seat held by a Democrat, moving Rep. Jim Costa of Fresno’s Central Valley seat from “likely Democratic” to “safe Democratic.” His reliably Democratic seat isn’t on either party’s radar this year.

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House leaders consider keeping popular deductions to get California votes on tax bill

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, front left, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan talk with reporters about the GOP tax plan.
(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

House leaders are considering keeping a version of the state and local tax deductions used widely in California in order to get the state’s Republican members on board with the final GOP tax bill.

Three California Republicans voted against the House version of the tax bill in October, and several others said they voted to advance the bill with the hope that their concerns would be fixed in a final compromise with the Senate.

Chief Deputy Whip Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina told Roll Call on Tuesday that the potential deduction tweak would be made to appease lawmakers from California.

Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine), who was among those who voted for the bill in hopes of improvements in a deal with the Senate, said details of what that tweak will look like are still being negotiated.

“We’re running numbers right now just to make sure we can have enough of a fix where we know that everybody is going to have a tax deduction. Not sure what that number looks like right now,” Walters said.

One idea under consideration is to let taxpayers claim either a state and local income tax deduction or a property tax deduction up to $10,000, or perhaps a combination of both.

“The biggest concern, the biggest fix, for me is the [state and local tax] deduction and what we do about it. I’m confident we’re going to get a fix,” Walters said.

Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) also voted for the House bill, but said he would lay out his concerns about the Senate bill Thursday in a meeting with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield).

McCarthy is credited with keeping most of the California Republicans together in the vote on the House bill, with the promise of fixes when the House and Senate meet in what is known as a conference to find a compromise on the separate versions. The Senate could vote on its bill by the end of the week and a conference would be called soon after.

“There’s got to be something that California is going to have to get. We moved the vote forward, we moved it [out of] the House,” Knight said. “There are some things in the Senate bill that I absolutely don’t like and when it conferences together, if it doesn’t get there, it doesn’t get there for me.”

Knight said the state and local tax deduction has to continue in some form in order for him to support the final bill, and he echoed Walters’ idea of allowing taxpayers to use a combination of the deductions that were limited or cut in the House version. Knight also said he wanted a compromise on how much mortgage interest taxpayers can deduct. The House bill limits it to the first $500,000 spent on a mortgage, the Senate bill keeps the current $1-million limit.

“We’ve got to get a bill that we’re really, really happy with,” Knight said. “We’re a ways away.”

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), one of the three California Republicans who voted against the House bill, said he has heard that retaining the deductions is a possibility, but hasn’t talked with House leaders about it. He’s urged colleagues to keep the major deductions in place and lower tax rates, and said news that the state and local tax deduction is being reconsidered is “encouraging.”

“I believe that we should leave no taxpayer behind,” McClintock said.

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Victims denounce a failing system for reporting sexual harassment at the California Capitol

California Capitol lobbyists, staffers and lawyers on Tuesday urged lawmakers to overhaul how the state Assembly tracks and handles sexual harassment claims, saying current procedures are confusing, vaguely enforced and result in greater consequences for victims rather than their abusers.

Their calls for action came during a nearly six-hour committee hearing – the first of either legislative house — to review chamber policies and existing training against sexual misconduct. Leaders of the committee called the meeting a first step to combat a culture of sexism and fear that has created a hostile workplace environment for many women in politics.

“We know we are scratching the surface of what is clearly a problem across our country and across many industries and organizations,” said Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale). “But unlike a lot of those bodies we are committed to doing something transparently and expediently. Everyone who comes in contact with the Legislature — and that is employees, interns, lobbyists, activists and even other members — should be protected from abuse.”

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What happens if Congress doesn’t fund the health insurance used by almost 2 million kids and pregnant women in California?

Unless Congress comes to an agreement fast, federal funding for a program that provides health insurance to 2 million California children and pregnant women will run out around the end of the year.

After that, California could be on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars because the state is required to offer the insurance even if the federal funds don’t show up.

Despite decades of bipartisan support, Congress didn’t renew its authorization to spend money on the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program, which provides coverage for about 9 million poor children and pregnant women nationwide, before it expired at the end of September. Since then, states have relied on their reserves, or unspent money from previous years, as short-term fixes.

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Despite explanations, there’s still confusion about sexual abuse complaint process at the Capitol

Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Top staff members in the California Assembly sought to offer information Tuesday on how sexual harassment allegations are reported and investigated, but some key elements of the process seemed to leave lawmakers still confused about the process.

“This has to end,” said Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), the chair of the subcommittee that discussed the problem of sexual misconduct in the Capitol during the afternoon hearing. “It’s my commitment to you that we’re going to do our best to end that culture.”

Lawmakers asked the Assembly’s top staffers, the chief administrative officer and the human resources director, for information on how complaints are filed and how frequently complaints are made. The Los Angeles Times requested similar information last month. The records requests were only partially granted.

“We do not track complaints” filed, said Debra Gravert, the Assembly’s chief administrative officer. “We do track investigations.”

Several subcommittee members suggested that was a problem, as it would fail to capture an accurate snapshot of the issue and could expose the Legislature to legal action.

“If we’re not keeping track of complaints, we are all now liable, potentially,” said Assemblywoman Eloise Reyes (D-Grand Terrace).

After weeks of accusations about a “pervasive” culture of sexual misconduct, which included the resignation of Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima), lawmakers raised concerns about whether the existing policy of reporting abuse allegations is sufficient.

One particularly awkward moment came when Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) asked what seemed to be an obvious question.

“Does anyone here believe that the current policy is working?” Fong asked. There was a long silence before Assembly Rules Chairman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) answered on behalf of his top staff.

“I think it’s working,” he said, “but I don’t think it’s achieving its intended purpose.”

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Sen. Kamala Harris dons Astros gear to pay out World Series bet with Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Kamala Harris wore an Astros shirt under her suit jacket Tuesday afternoon and donned an Astros World Series hat as she took a deep breath and knocked on Sen. Ted Cruz’ office door.

“This is one of the most painful moments of my life,” she said with a laugh.

It was time to settle a bet over which state’s hometown team would win the 2017 World Series, which the Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in seven games. Los Angeles-area House members settled their own bets earlier this month.

Cruz’ winnings included bottles of red and white California wine, a box of See’s Candies, and a chance to needle California’s junior senator in front of reporters.

“Today we are all Astros,” Cruz declared.

Harris grimaced and choked out the team’s name.

“Today, and this very moment, I am an Astro,” she finally said.

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Some context on investigations into sexual harassment

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Watch live: Sexual harassment hearing in the California Assembly

Members of the California Assembly are meeting to review how the chamber handles reports and investigations of sexual harassment claims, the first hearing by either legislative house on reporting processes that some women in state politics say leaves victims with little recourse and fearful of retaliation.

The Subcommittee on Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention and Response is headed by Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), a former Hollywood producer. The vice chair is Marie Waldron (R-Escondido).

Other subcommittee members are Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace) and Assemblymen Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield), Timothy Grayson (D-Concord) and Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo).

Here is a list of speakers from the Capitol community offering their perspective:

  • Lobbyist Pamela Lopez
  • Capitol staffer Jennifer Kwart
  • California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus Chair Christine Pelosi
  • We Said Enough founder Samantha Corbin

  • We Said Enough member Alicia Lewis
  • Civil rights lawyer Jean Hyams
  • Employment and victim’s rights lawyer Genie Harrison

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California’s pension funds should demand corporate diversity, says Treasurer John Chiang

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First meeting to address sexual harassment at the California Capitol is today

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima). left, quit and Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) has lost his leadership posts amid harassment claims.
Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima). left, quit and Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) has lost his leadership posts amid harassment claims.
((Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) )

Members of the California Assembly will meet Tuesday to review how the chamber handles reports and investigations of sexual harassment claims, the first hearing by either legislative house on reporting processes that some women in state politics say leaves victims with little recourse and fearful of retaliation.

The public hearing comes a day after one Democratic legislator announced his immediate resignation and another was stripped of key posts by his colleagues.

The focus on sexual harassment was sparked by high-profile allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo social media movement. At the Capitol, it was propelled with an open letter from more than 140 women denouncing a “pervasive” culture of misbehavior in state government.

Scheduled to speak before the subcommittee on Tuesday are several lawmakers, staffers and members of the We Said Enough campaign, organized to bring attention to the problem.

Here is a list of speakers from the Capitol community offering their perspective:

  • Lobbyist Pamela Lopez
  • Capitol staffer Jennifer Kwart
  • California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus Chair Christine Pelosi
  • We Said Enough founder Samantha Corbin

  • We Said Enough member Alicia Lewis
  • Civil rights lawyer Jean Hyams
  • Employment and victim’s rights lawyer Genie Harrison

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Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for Capitol harassment settlements, assemblyman says

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), center, wants the Legislature to reexamine how it pays out harassment settlements.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

As the California Assembly prepares to have its first public hearing Tuesday afternoon on how it handles sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, one Democratic lawmaker says he wants to see changes in how settlements from Capitol complaints are paid.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) is urging his colleagues to examine how to decrease the burden of settlement payments on taxpayers.

“Why should taxpayers be on the hook for sexual harassment payouts, while wrongdoers walk away with no financial accountability? The State Assembly and the Joint Rules Committee should consider ways to recover financial damages from proven violators directly,” McCarty said in a statement.

Since 2006, the Legislature has made 15 personnel settlements that resulted in payouts of more than $1 million. That figure, provided to The Times after a public records request, does not specify how many of those settlements were from sexual harassment or abuse complaints.

McCarty said he also is backing “whistleblower protections, a whistleblower hotline and independent, third-party investigations” — policies that previously have been backed by We Said Enough, the nonprofit group formed to tackle harassment in California politics, as well as the legislative women’s caucus.

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Bay Area congresswoman wants to take over John Conyers’ House Judiciary position

Now that the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has agreed to step aside over sexual harassment allegations, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) is hoping to take his place on the committee that would play a major role in potential presidential impeachment hearings.

The current ranking Democrat, John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), agreed to step down Sunday after 23 years in the committee post, but he has not officially vacated his leadership position.

Lofgren, a former immigration lawyer serving her 12th term, is the third most-senior Democrat on the committee, but she’s long made it clear that she doesn’t intend to cede the gavel to the second most-senior Democrat, New York’s Rep. Jerrold Nadler. Politico reported that Lofgren warned Nadler over the summer that she’ll pursue the ranking seat, and her staff said Tuesday she remains interested.

Being the highest-ranking member of the minority party on a committee doesn’t itself hold much power. But if Democrats win back control of the House in 2018, the ranking Democrat would take over leadership of the committee, which has jurisdiction over topics from civil rights and gun control to immigration and abortion.

It’s also the committee that typically would be tasked with considering presidential impeachment if Democrats decided to pursue it against President Trump.

While a steering committee and the full Democratic caucus will vote on who will be the ranking Democrat, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Lofgren have a close relationship, and Pelosi could choose to weigh in.

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‘We’re here to raise the alarm on behalf of Californians everywhere:’ Democrats rail against GOP tax plan in Los Angeles

Democratic leaders spoke out against the GOP tax plan on Monday, arguing it would disproportionately harm Californians, benefit the wealthy and impact the state’s infrastructure and affordable housing.

“We’re here to raise the alarm on behalf of Californians everywhere that the Republican tax plan is a terrible deal for America,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles), noting the version of the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would raise taxes on all California families by $12.1 billion in 2027. “We see our state has the most to lose under this plan.”

Gomez, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and officials with the Los Angeles Metro and a real estate group pointed to several provisions they said would especially hurt the state’s residents, including the elimination of deductions for state and local taxes, and for earthquake and fire losses. They also warned about the plan’s cap on mortgage interest and property tax deductions, and other provisions that would impact affordable housing and transportation projects.

Garcetti called the bill “illogical” and “immoral” and said it undermines the four pillars of the American dream – home ownership, healthcare, education and employment.

“I urge Americans to speak up, I urge Californians to speak up, I urge Angelenos to speak up and defeat this scam,” he said.

The House has already passed a version of the plan, and the U.S. Senate is considering a separate bill this week. California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, like their fellow Democrats, oppose the proposal.

Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), House Democratic Caucus chairman, used the appearance to call out several California Republicans by name who voted for the measure in the House, including Reps. Mimi Walters of Irvine, Ed Royce of Fullerton, Steve Knight of Palmdale, Duncan Hunter of Alpine, David Valadao of Hanford and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.

“I don’t know what spell Kevin McCarthy has on the Republican delegation of the state of California, but it’s apparently a very powerful one,” Crowley said. “I think many of them voted against the interest of their constituents and that is not what we’re sent to Congress to do.”

Three California House Republicans, Reps. Darrell Issa, Dana Rohrabacher and Tom McClintock — voted against the plan.

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Sacramento mayor endorses Gavin Newsom for California governor

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, right, endorses Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for governor on Monday.
(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg on Monday endorsed Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom for governor, calling him a deep political thinker and praising his two terms as San Francisco’s “bold, innovative mayor.”

Steinberg, a former state Senate president, praised Newsom’s business background and commitment to helping California workers transition to the new economy, including his support for education and training programs.

“He will make us proud. He will be energetic. He will be unafraid,” Steinberg said at small news conference in Sacramento. “There is no one better qualified or better prepared to deal with the challenges of a modern economy.”

Before the event, Newsom and Steinberg toured a technical training program at Sacramento’s Luther Burbank High School, underlining Newsom’s theme of the day on job training.

During the news conference, Newsom also addressed what he called the “toxic masculinity” that has led to a flurry of disclosures about sexual harassment in Sacramento, Washington and Hollywood.

On Monday, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) announced he was immediately resigning a week after multiple women alleged he sexually harassed them. The Senate Rules Committee also voted to strip state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) of his leadership positions pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against him.

“We have a real challenge in our country and that challenge substantively is around the issue of toxic masculinity, hyper-masculinity,” Newsom said.

Newsom said, if elected as governor, he would be committed to addressing sexual harassment issues. Newsom noted that his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has made the issue one of the biggest priorities of her career. Siebel Newsom has explored the portrayal of women in the media and the culture of masculinity in her documentaries “Miss Representation” and “The Mask You Live In.”

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Kevin de León says state Senate must ‘stop sweeping workplace misconduct under the rug’

Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said Monday’s decision by the Senate Rules Committee to remove Democratic Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) from his leadership posts is just the first step toward an investigation of sexual harassment allegations against the lawmaker.

“Today, the Senate Rules Committee showed that no lawmaker is immune from our zero-tolerance harassment policies,” De León, who chairs the committee, said in a statement after the unanimous vote. ‘’This is only one important step — the next is a full, independent investigation led by outside experts, with publicly reported findings.”

De León, who shared a Sacramento house with Mendoza until the Senate leader moved out two weeks ago, has said he was unaware of complaints that Mendoza had invited a female Senate fellow to their house to go over her resume or that Mendoza had asked her to stay with him in a hotel room during a political fundraiser, which she did not do.

A former intern for Mendoza complained he provided her with alcohol, even though she was underage, during a visit to his hotel room in Anaheim. A third woman, a former aide, complained he invited her to one-on-one dinners and sent her after-hour text messages, the Sacramento Bee has reported. Mendoza has denied the accusations.

The complaints, and any future complaints involving lawmakers, will be investigated by an outside law firm, officials said.

“Our State Senate must lead by example, restore trust and transparency, stop sweeping workplace misconduct under the rug and do everything we can to protect women who work in and around the Capitol,” said De León, who is running for U.S. Senate against fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said she felt compelled to vote Monday to remove Mendoza as chairman of the Senate Insurance, Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and as a member of two other panels.

“Given the troubling nature of the allegations, this was a necessary action, pending completion of a full investigation. This was one step — and we have many more to take — to create safe working environments in the Capitol.”

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California regulators hope new rules will spur more bike lanes, housing near transit

A protected bike lane on Reseda Boulevard in Northridge.
(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Bike lanes, mixed-use residential and commercial construction near transit and other development projects might get easier to build in California after regulators on Monday released a long-awaited overhaul of the state’s environmental law.

Regulators say the proposed changes, which modify rules under the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA, will help the state meet its ambitious goals to combat climate change. That law requires developers to disclose and minimize a project’s impact on the environment.

One key section of the proposal modifies how developers analyze traffic.

Under the current interpretation of the law, developers have to measure their project’s effects on car congestion — something that often stymies the installation of bike lanes because the removal of car lanes could tie up vehicles.

The new effort would force projects to estimate the number of miles cars will travel on nearby roads. Since bike lanes won’t increase vehicle trips, and could reduce them, regulators hope the new rules could ease their development. The new proposal also would apply to residential construction in an effort to make it easier for developers to build pedestrian or bicycle friendly projects if they can show their projects will limit car travel.

California law requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The state will not meet that goal without a substantial decline in the number of cars on the road, regulators have said, requiring a boom in dense housing near existing jobs and transit.

“These rules make clear that reducing vehicle miles resulting from projects is a state goal and an environmental benefit,” said Ken Alex, director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, in a statement.

Modifications to CEQA are often politically fraught because numerous powerful interest groups, including builders, environmentalists and unions, have significant stakes in how the existing process works.

These rules changes have been no exception. State lawmakers passed a law in 2013 telling regulators to write the new proposal in the same bill that aimed to speed construction of a Sacramento Kings basketball arena. The Kings are now playing their second season in the new building, and the regulations still aren’t complete.

Regulators are opening public comment on the CEQA overhaul in the coming weeks and will hold at least one public hearing before the proposal becomes final, according to a spokeswoman for the California Natural Resources Agency. Regulators are hoping the new rules will go into effect sometime in 2018.

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Legislators react to Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra’s resignation following harassment allegations

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said the decision by his Democratic colleague, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, to resign Monday “underscores the seriousness of the allegations against him.”

Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) announced Monday morning he would resign effective immediately after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment.

Rendon said in a statement the resignation would not end the focus on misconduct that was sparked six weeks ago by an open letter signed by more than 140 women alleging a culture of widespread harassment in California politics.

“One resignation, however, does not solve the problem,” Rendon said. “With the hearings beginning [Tuesday] under the leadership of Assembly Member Laura Friedman, and with the ongoing guidance of the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the Assembly will keep working to change the climate in the Capitol to stop sexual harassment and abuse.”

The hearing, hosted by a subcommittee of the Assembly Rules panel, will focus on discrimination, harassment and retaliation prevention.

Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) said he would support state funding to cover the costs of a special election to fill Bocanegra’s seat.

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California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra speeds up his resignation to ‘immediately’ following harassment allegations

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra announced Monday he will resign “immediately,” one week after multiple women alleged he sexually harassed them.

Hours before The Times published a report last week in which six women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances, Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) announced he would resign on Sept. 1, 2018.

In a statement Monday, he said he decided to accelerate his resignation, which he said was his “original intention.”

“By doing so I hope the community will have a new representative sooner rather than later. Furthermore, it is my hope that in taking this action we can help clear the path so that women and men who have been truly victims of sexual assault and workplace harassment can step forward and get justice for any crimes committed against them. While I am not guilty of any such crimes, I am admittedly not perfect,” Bocanegra said in the statement.

He continued: “I sincerely hope that my decision to resign immediately does not embolden those who are using this serious problem in our society to advance their own personal political gain, rather it is my hope that this action can instead help to widen the doors for victims of sexual assault and workplace harassment to find justice and solace.”

He submitted a resignation letter, “effective immediately,” to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount).

His announcement comes the day before the Assembly will hold a public hearing on how to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation in the Capitol.

This post was updated to include a reference to an upcoming Assembly hearing on harassment.

It was originally published at 9:15 a.m.

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State Sen. Tony Mendoza booted from leadership posts pending sexual harassment investigation

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) was suspended Monday from leadership positions pending an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The Senate Rules Committee voted Monday to strip state Sen. Tony Mendoza of his leadership positions, including chairmanship of the banking committee, pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations by three women against the Democratic lawmaker from Artesia.

Holding an emergency meeting before the Senate resumes regular session in January, the bipartisan, five-member Rules Committee voted without comment to suspend Mendoza as chairman of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and as a member of the state Commission for Economic Development and the California Workforce Development Fund.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Rules Committee, said recently that the suspension, and plans to hire an independent, outside law firm to investigate complaints of sexual harassment, are necessary to increase the safety of employees and protect whistleblowers.

“Like many in our Caucus, I’m deeply troubled by the quantity and specificity of accusations against Senator Mendoza -- and have therefore determined that Senator Mendoza should be suspended from Chairmanships, boards and commissions until the independent investigation into his conduct is complete,” De León said.

Mendoza, who did not attend Monday’s meeting, has denied sexually harassing former employees and a young woman assigned to his office by the Senate Fellows program.

Mendoza said later in the day he appreciates the move to an outside counsel for the investigation. “I understand the Rules Committee’s decision to relieve me from the committee chairmanship to remove any perception of bias during its investigation of the unsubstantiated allegations against me,” the senator said in a statement.

Three former Mendoza employees allege they were fired after bringing concerns about the senator’s behavior with a 23-year-old fellow to the attention of supervisors. Senate leaders said the aides were dismissed for other reasons before they made any complaints.

One fired employee, according to her attorney, told supervisors that Mendoza had invited the fellow to his house on two occasions to work on her résumé as she looked for a new job, and that he also invited her to stay with him at his hotel during a political event. She said she refused his offer.

In addition, a 19-year-old intern told Senate officials that Mendoza provided her with alcohol in his hotel room in Anaheim during a political convention in 2008, according to the Sacramento Bee. The newspaper also reported that former Mendoza aide Haley Myers complained that the senator invited her to one-on-one meals and a weekend political event at Pebble Beach even though she was married. The Bee reported Mendoza also sent Myers after-hours text messages.

“Harassment of any kind should not be tolerated in the workplace and certainly not under the Capitol Dome, where we should be setting a higher standard,” Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres), the Rules Committee vice chair, said in a statement after the vote Monday.

Sen. Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) separately called for Mendoza to follow the lead of Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, who resigned Monday under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations.

“Now that Bocanegra has finally resigned, I believe Senator Mendoza should follow in his footsteps and step down,” Vidak said in a statement.

12:45 p.m.: This post was updated with comments from Cannella and Vidak.

4:00 pm: The post was updated to include comments from Mendoza.

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California’s Republican candidates for governor to debate in January

The two top GOP candidates for governor will meet for their first debate in the Inland Empire just after New Year’s Day.

Assemblyman Travis Allen and businessman John Cox will face off on Jan. 4 at a gathering of the Redlands Tea Party Patriots, said John Berry, a spokesman for the group.

The 90-minute debate will take place at the Mill Creek Cattle Company restaurant in Mentone and is open to the public. The candidates will make opening statements and field questions from local activists and audience members about issues such as the recent gas-tax increase and the state’s top-two primary system, Berry said.

Polling shows that they have little support from California voters. Allen was backed by 15% of voters who plan to cast ballots in the June primary, while Cox received the support of more than 11%, behind the top Democrats running for the seat, according to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

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Why conservative headliners are teaming up to challenge Maxine Waters in Los Angeles

Republican Omar Navarro is trying again to unseat Rep. Maxine Waters, but this time, he has a new set of high-profile friends. Trump confidant Roger Stone is a campaign advisor, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio calls weekly, and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones hosted him on his popular show.

Now a group of major GOP donors that spent millions on ads to elect President Trump also plans to take on the Los Angeles congresswoman in next year’s midterm election.

Either Trump supporters see a path to victory in a southern Los Angeles district where 60% of voters are registered Democrats, or they just want to punish one of the president’s most vocal detractors, a longtime legislator who is a darling of anti-Trump liberals.

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California Gov. Jerry Brown pardons man who wrongly served nearly 40 years in prison

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California attorney general bashes idea to raise entry fees for Yosemite and other national parks

Yosemite National Park visitors gather at a viewing spot for Half Dome, shrouded by smoke from nearby fires, in July.
( (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) )

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and almost a dozen of his counterparts have denounced a National Parks Service proposal to increase entrance fees at 17 popular parks, including some in the state.

“We cannot let the most popular and awe-inspiring national parks become places only for the wealthy,” the attorneys wrote in a letter on Wednesday to the acting director of the National Parks Service. “As Americans, we are all public landowners.”

Federal parks officials announced the proposed fee hikes in late October as part of a proposal to raise money to fix roads, bridges, campgrounds and bathrooms. But in their letter, Becerra and fellow attorneys say facility and infrastructure improvements should not come at the expense of parkgoers.

The agency proposed a $70 fee for each private, noncommercial vehicle, up from the current fares of $25 to $30. The fee for a motorcycle would more than double to $50 from $15 to $25. Visitors on foot or bicycle would pay $30, up from the $10 to $15.

The parks affected by new fees would include Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Yellowstone, Zion, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Officials have extended the public comment period on the fee raise until Dec. 22.

Becerra and his counterparts, including those in New York, Oregon and Arizona, argue the plan could reduce revenue by lowering visits and comes as the Trump administration is proposing far greater cuts to the park agency’s budget than the revenues the plan is expected to bring in. The plan is expected to generate an extra $70 million a year on top of the $200 million already collected every year from entrance fees.

“For every dollar the punitive fee increase raises from families, the Trump administration intends to cut more than 4 dollars from the National Park Service’s budget — almost $300 million,” Becerra said in a statement. “That backdoor math simply does not add up. It’s a cruel deception for millions of hardworking families.”

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California Legislature denies another L.A. Times request for harassment records

The California Assembly in session.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The California Legislature has refused to release additional information on sexual harassment complaints requested by the Los Angeles Times in the wake of widespread scrutiny on how the Capitol handles such matters.

Officials representing the Senate and Assembly each said late Tuesday that they were denying a request by The Times, submitted on Nov. 3, for data beginning in 2006 for “all cases involving current and former employees of the [Legislature], current or former members, or any other person who was the subject of an inquiry by the [Legislature] where the charges were found to be true, discipline was imposed or the complaints were judged to be well-founded.”

Daniel Alvarez, the secretary of the Senate, and Debra Gravert, the chief administrative officer of the Assembly, cited the Legislative Open Records Act in denying the request. The act says certain records are exempt from mandatory disclosure, including personnel files and records of complaints to or investigations conducted by the Legislature.

The Times has sent three requests to each chamber seeking aggregate data and other information about sexual harassment complaints. The officials responded earlier this month with “summary data” on the number of investigations conducted, but left other parts of the request unanswered.

The Assembly also denied a request for records specific to Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima), who has announced he will resign in September 2018 after facing sexual harassment allegations from six women spanning his career in state government.

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Here’s how Antonio Villaraigosa made millions since leaving the mayor’s office

Since leaving the Los Angeles mayor’s office in 2013, Antonio Villaraigosa has made more than $4 million by advising companies such as Herbalife, Banc of California and natural resources company Cadiz, teaching at the University of Southern California and earning speaking fees, according to tax returns his gubernatorial campaign released on Tuesday.

In addition, Villaraigosa earns an annual pension payment worth around $100,000 from his years serving in local government.

Villaraigosa is the final Democratic candidate running for governor to release his tax returns. He allowed reporters to review six years of returns Tuesday morning at the San Francisco office of his campaign consultants.

A key question once Villaraigosa ended his mayoral tenure in 2013 was how he would replicate the high-flying lifestyle to which he became accustomed while serving as a state and city leader. When his term ended in July of that year, he told reporters that he left office “with no job, no house, no car” because, he said, he “was focused on the city of Los Angeles.”

His income increased dramatically after he left office. In 2012, the final full year of his mayoral tenure, Villaraigosa reported $155,775 in adjusted gross income. In 2014, his first full year out of the mayor’s office, Villaraigosa reported $1.38 million in adjusted gross income.

Villaraigosa was paid by nearly two dozen clients in the years since he left office — his longest working relationships are with Herbalife and Banc of California. It’s unclear exactly how much he was paid by the companies. Aside from a brief window in 2013, he was compensated through a multi-member limited liability company, and did not disclose how much each client paid for his services.

Nutrition supplements company Herbalife has been called a “pyramid scheme” by its critics, who allege the multi-level marketing company preys on the poor and minorities. In a 2016 settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Herbalife agreed to pay $200 million to its sellers and to change its business practices, though the company said it was settling to avoid the cost of protracted litigation.

Villaraigosa said he was proud to work for the company in a recent interview.

“They were an L.A. company, an L.A. company whose product and their whole platform is about health and nutrition, they give people a shot at building, if not a small business, at least a little extra income on a monthly basis,” Villaraigosa told La Opinion earlier this month. “My mother sold Tupperware and Avon, I know why Latinos and blacks do it, they need a few extra bucks. It´s called a multiple level marketing company. That’s what Tupperware is, what Avon is — they’ve been around for 30 years. Pyramid schemes aren’t around for 30 years.”

As Villaraigosa’s income rose, so did his tax bill. By 2016, he paid $471,292 in federal taxes and $121,480 in state taxes.

Villaraigosa did not contribute to charity in 2011, 2012 or 2013. He gave a total of nearly $30,000 to charities over the following three years, including to Los Angeles schools he attended, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, a nonprofit he created to raise money for the public schools he took over as mayor.

The returns also provided a glimpse at Villaraigosa’s personal life.

Between 2011 and 2016, he paid ex-wife Corina Villaraigosa $198,387 in alimony payments. He filed as a single person until 2016, when he married Patricia Govea. That year he claimed her son Sebastian as a dependent.

Villaraigosa also deducted $57,432 in mortgage interest payments after buying a $2.5-million home in the Hollywood Hills in 2015.

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California Democratic Party pushing Tom Steyer’s impeachment petition

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U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas calls for ‘expeditious’ investigation into allegations against Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra

U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas said Tuesday that allegations of sexual harassment made against Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra “describe behavior that’s unacceptable under any circumstance” and called for holding people “accountable.”

Cardenas and Bocanegra are both Democrats hailing from the northeast San Fernando Valley and have long been political allies.

Bocanegra announced Monday he would not be seeking reelection and instead would resign on Sept. 1, 2018. The announcement came shortly before The Times reported that six women have accused Bocanegra of unwanted sexual advances.

In a statement, Cardenas said the Assembly “must thoroughly and expeditiously investigate the allegations made against [Bocanegra] and he should resign immediately if he is found to be guilty.”

Bocanegra indicated in a statement that he would fully cooperate with a legislative investigation, saying he believed “rather than adjudicate these allegations in media reports, there should be a formal investigation into these matters.”

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) has said he would move to expel Bocanegra from the Assembly should the allegations be affirmed in an investigation.

Cardenas also urged a rejection of “a status quo where women, in particular, are preyed upon at work, in our schools and on our streets.”

“We must do more than listen; we must hold people accountable,” he said.

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California’s most recent cap-and-trade permit auction raises more than $800 million

Gov. Jerry Brown, flanked by lawmakers, appears at a news conference after the Legislature approved extending California's cap-and-trade program.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California’s cap-and-trade program received another boost Tuesday, with its most recent permit auction reaching record-high sales, according to details released by regulators Tuesday.

The regular auctions are a key feature of the program, which requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Cap and trade is one of the state’s main strategies to combat climate change.

In November’s auction, every permit offered by the state was sold, and prices reached their highest-level in the program’s five-year history.

The auction results released Tuesday were the second straight strong showing since state lawmakers extended the cap-and-trade program through 2030.

“That really shows the continued certainty and long-term confidence of the market that was established with the extension of the cap-and-trade program in July,” said Erica Morehouse, a senior attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund, who monitors the results.

During each auction, the state sets a minimum price per permit, which was $13.57 in the latest round. Bidding led to a final price of $15.06, the highest above the minimum since 2013.

Analysts estimated the auction would bring in $862 million in revenue for the state’s greenhouse gas reduction fund. Money from that program pays for low-income housing projects, electric car rebates, the proposed bullet train and other programs.

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California business leaders urge Congress to reauthorize DACA without a government shutdown

Young immigrants demand Congress act to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during a protest on Capitol Hill on Nov. 9.
Young immigrants demand Congress act to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program during a protest on Capitol Hill on Nov. 9.
(Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

California business leaders on Tuesday said they want to send a resounding message to federal lawmakers: Reauthorize DACA.

On a conference call with reporters, members of the Regional Economic Assn. Leaders Coalition of California said the termination of the Obama-era program would be a devastating blow to the nation’s economy — one hard felt across the state.

DACA provides temporary legal status and work protections for some 700,000 young immigrants known as “Dreamers.” California has the highest number of recipients, roughly 222,800, who live, work or attend schools in the state.

“Are we nervous? Yes,” said Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. “We don’t want to see our Dreamers left on the side of the road because of the lack of action in Congress.”

Guardino and other leaders with the coalition, which includes 20 organizations and nearly 15,000 employers, have been active in rallying support for bipartisan legislation to bring back the program or similar protections. They have met with state and national legislators and penned a letter to congressional leaders in an attempt to have their concerns heard.

DACA negotiations have stalled as President Trump and Republican lawmakers demand that any new law also include tougher measures on legal and illegal immigration. Failure to reach agreement by a Dec. 8 deadline could risk a government shutdown on a separate funding bill.

But business leaders said lawmakers should be able to come to an agreement without closing the government. Nearly 60,000 DACA-eligible immigrants live in Los Angeles, with 40,000 others in San Diego and 23,000 residing in Santa Clara, the heart of Silicon Valley, they said, pointing to statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Roughly 96% of all DACA recipients are working or going to school, according to one survey from the National Immigration Law Center, the Center for American Progress and the University of California.

Alicia Berhow, vice president of the Orange County Business Council, said business leaders “can’t stomach a shutdown — we have enough challenges.”

“This is incumbent upon our legislators to stand up and to stand up for our Dreamers here in California,” she said.

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Essential Politics: Swift fallout from Raul Bocanegra’s planned resignation

As we previewed yesterday, sexual harassment stories involving the powerful in and around government are plaguing the political world.

California’s capital was stunned Monday when Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra abruptly announced he would be resigning effective next September — a statement sent as The Times was preparing a report on six women accusing him of sexual harassment over a number of years.

Melanie Mason and Dakota Smith have a special report about allegations against Bocanegra, a Democrat, which span the length of his career in state government as a chief of staff, a candidate for office and a legislator. The claims range from emails soliciting dates with a subordinate to uninvited physical contact with women he did not know.

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Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher calls on Bocanegra to ‘resign now’

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L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson endorses Antonio Villaraigosa for governor

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson, left, toured Homeboy Industries in downtown Los Angeles with Antonio Villaraigosa, center.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson endorsed Antonio Villaraigosa for governor on Monday, telling a group of underprivileged and minority youths that it was critical to elect a man who understood their struggles and would take their values to Sacramento.

“Rarely do we have an opportunity to get behind somebody that’s walked the streets that we walked, that has faced the challenges we have faced, somebody that can relate to us, somebody that understands us,” Wesson said, speaking at Homeboy Industries in downtown Los Angeles. “And that’s my dear friend, my dear buddy for almost 30 years – Antonio Villaraigosa.”

Wesson is the fourth former state Assembly speaker to back Villaraigosa, who also served in that role.

Homeboy Industries is a program that aims to turn around the lives of former gang members, recently released prison inmates and other high-risk youths through programs such as tattoo removal, as well as opportunities to learn job skills, including work in the nonprofit’s cafés and bakery.

Speaking to members of the program, Villaraigosa recounted his troubled childhood in nearby Boyle Heights— he talked about seeing his alcoholic father beat his mother, getting his first tattoo when he was 10, getting kicked out of one high school and dropping out of another — as he spoke about the importance of opportunities for redemption.

“We’ve got to give our young people second chances,” he said.

If he was elected governor, Villaraigosa said a top priority would be addressing the inequity in the state’s economic recovery.

“It’s not good enough to be the state with the fifth largest economy in the world with the highest poverty rates in the United States of America,” he said, before noting the disparities in high school and college completion rates between the state’s students overall and minority students.

Winning the votes of Los Angeles County residents and people of color will be key to Villaraigosa’s campaign efforts. Wesson alluded to both in his remarks.

“If we can come together as a people, especially down here in Los Angeles, if we can come together and turn out big, then we’re going to elect somebody who has a history of leadership,” he said, adding that Villaraigosa was not a poll-driven politician who only told voters what they wanted to hear. “Let’s elect somebody else that looks like us, that feels like us and somebody that’s going to fight for the things that are important to us.”

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Congresswoman accuses former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment

A sitting member of Congress said former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner made unwelcome sexual advances when they served together in the House of Representatives, the latest accusation against the disgraced politician.

Filner stepped down as mayor in 2013 amid numerous allegations of sexual harassment.

“Some years ago, I was in an elevator and then-Congressman Bob Filner tried to pin me to a door of the elevator and kiss me. And I pushed him away,” Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colorado, said in an interview with MSNBC.

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L.A. City Councilwoman Nury Martinez calls on Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra to resign immediately

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez
( Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez said Monday that she was “saddened, disappointed, and angered” by allegations that Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra sexually harassed multiple women and called for his immediate resignation.

Martinez called on the Democratic assemblyman from Pacoima, whom she called a “friend and ally,” to step down earlier than his announced resignation date of Sept. 1, 2018. Bocanegra’s decision not to seek reelection came just before The Times published a story in which six women accused him of making unwanted sexual advances.

“For too long, women and men have been subjected to sexual harassment and assault by people in power, and they have felt powerless to stop it. That has to end,” Martinez said in a statement. “Once and for all, it’s time to say this behavior is unacceptable. We cannot allow people in public office to repeatedly abuse their positions to sexually harass and assault others. That’s why I am calling on Assemblyman Bocanegra to immediately resign his office.”

Martinez and Bocanegra are a part of a tight-knit political alliance of Democrats from the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Her husband, Gerardo Guzman, works as Bocanegra’s district director.

Several of the incidents reported by The Times were alleged to have happened at Guzman and Martinez’s home. Guzman said in the email to he was “completely unaware that an incident allegedly occurred in my house.” He said he “was not present in the setting where it allegedly occurred, and was never told about it.”

Martinez had said she confronted Bocanegra after learning last month that he had been disciplined after a groping allegation when he was a legislative staffer in 2009.

“I asked him to his face if there are any other of these types of allegations,” Martinez said in an interview two weeks ago.

The councilwoman, whose northeast San Fernando Valley district overlaps with Bocanegra’s Assembly District 39, said Bocanegra told her he did not know of any.

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Opponents of California gas-tax increase get green light to launch petition drive for repeal initiative

Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Sacramento two days before the state gas tax was increased by 12 cents a gallon.
Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron station in Sacramento two days before the state gas tax was increased by 12 cents a gallon.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Republican activists were given the green light Monday to launch a petition drive aimed at qualifying a measure for the November 2018 ballot that would repeal recently enacted gas taxes and vehicle fees meant for road repairs and mass transit improvement.

The proposed state constitutional amendment, which would also require future gas taxes to be approved by the voters, was given a title and summary Monday by the state attorney general’s office, allowing opponents of the fuel levies to begin a drive that needs to collect 587,407 signatures of registered voters.

Republicans hope to make the gas tax increases a hot-button issue in the 2018 election for the Democrat-controlled Legislature that approved the hikes.

The main part of the title says the ballot measure “eliminates recently enacted road repair and transportation funding by repealing revenues dedicated for those purposes.” Republicans said a similar title on a separate initiative hid the fact that tax increases were being repealed by calling them “revenues.”

The title issued Monday was denounced as misleading by campaign representative Carl DeMaio, a conservative radio talk show host and former San Diego City Council member.

“Politicians think that a deceptive title and summary will fool voters,” DeMaio said. “We’ve got news for the Sacramento politicians: Californians are smarter than that.”

Despite objections to the title and summary, the campaign will start signature collection “immediately” while reserving the right to go to court later to get a better title and summary for the actual ballot measure, DeMaio said.

Two committees set up to qualify a repeal measure have already raised $675,000, including $250,000 from Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox, $100,000 from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and $50,000 from other Republican members of Congress.

The funding will pay for a $500,000 public awareness campaign on television, radio and print to persuade people during the next few weeks to sign petitions, as well as an email blast of petitions to nearly 300,000 voters who have already said they want to sign, DeMaio said.

“We’re not taking any chances. We’re getting our signatures quick,” he said. “We’re getting them in during holiday season and were going full throttle on public awareness so people know the petition’s out there.”

Supporters of the gas-tax increase say they are prepared to spend up to $40 million to defeat any ballot measure because decades of neglect have left California with a crumbling, potholed road system and inadequate mass transit.

The campaign against repeal is being led by the Fix Our Roads coalition of business and civic groups, including the League of California Cities and the California Chamber of Commerce. Gov. Jerry Brown, who is termed out of office in 2018 and sits on $15 million in surplus campaign funds, has already begun to fight the repeal.

In April, Brown signed legislation that will provide $5.2 billion annually for the first 10 years and more in later years to attack a $130-billion backlog of needed road and bridge repairs.

The money will come from a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in the state excise tax on gasoline and a 20-cents-per-gallon boost to the diesel tax that took effect Nov. 1.

The repeal would also affect a new annual vehicle fee, starting Jan. 1, ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000 to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. Electric car owners who don’t pay gas taxes will be billed a $100 annual fee starting in 2020.

Meanwhile, a second initiative drive that has less funding and support ran into an obstacle when an appeals court overruled a lower court decision that said Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s title and summary were biased and failed to emphasize that the measure would repeal tax hikes.

Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen, the primary proponent of the second initiative, plans to appeal the latest ruling to the state Supreme Court, his attorney said.

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California man accused of making death threats in racist voicemail to Rep. Maxine Waters

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

A San Pedro man threatened to kill Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) in a voicemail filled with racist and anti-gay slurs after he became angered over her criticisms of President Trump, according to court documents.

Anthony Scott Lloyd, 44, was indicted late last week on a charge of threatening to kill Waters in a voicemail left at her Washington, D.C., office last month, prosecutors said. Lloyd, who was arrested Nov. 9, remains free in lieu of $20,000 bail.

According to an arrest affidavit, Lloyd became angered while listening to talk radio on Oct. 22 when he heard a report involving Waters making disparaging comments about Trump.

“If you continue to make threats toward the president, you’re going to wind up dead, Maxine, ‘cause we’ll kill you,” Lloyd said in the voicemail.

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As sexual harassment in politics investigations widen, California Assemblyman accused by six new women

Late one August night in 2010 at a bar, Sylvia Castillo slid into a booth next to Raul Bocanegra, who was then the chief of staff to California Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes. Bocanegra was a familiar face to Castillo, who worked as a coordinator for a student mentorship program in Sacramento.

She asked if he had seen a friend she was looking for and made small talk. Suddenly, “he pounced,” she said.

“He grabbed me with one hand, grabbed my head and shoved his tongue into my mouth,” Castillo said in an interview this month. “With his other hand, he put it up my dress. I put my hand down to stop him from trying to grab at my crotch.”

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Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon says he will ‘immediately expel’ Bocanegra if investigation affirms allegations

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Essential Politics: Sexual harassment issue clouds meeting of California Democrats

There are a lot of serious policy debates going on right now and important campaigns underway.

But claims of sexual harassment and misconduct in government have continued to expand, and it’s clear the issue is going to dominate the conversation for the foreseeable future in Sacramento and Washington.

California politicians have reacted swiftly, and eight days from now the state Assembly is holding hearings about what women have called a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment.

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Democratic donor Tom Steyer will run Trump impeachment ads in Times Square

Top Democratic donor Tom Steyer is taking his effort to impeach President Trump to New York City’s Times Square with billboard ads that will run until New Year’s Day.

The ads, which will run for 10 minutes every hour, invite people to sign a petition at needtoimpeach.com that urges Congress to impeach Trump. The ads will include a tally of signatures. According to a news release, 2.5 million people have signed the petition.

Steyer has laid out $20 million for impeachment ads that have been running on TV across the country.

The billionaire from San Francisco has long flirted with running for public office, most recently floating a potential challenge to fellow Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

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Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra announces he will resign next year as Times prepares report on new sexual harassment allegations

Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra announced he will not seek reelection Monday, citing “persistent rumors and speculation” regarding sexual harassment claims.

“I spent my life advocating for the Northeast Valley, fighting for a fair share for our communities and residents,” Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) said in a statement. “It is because of my deep commitment to you, residents of the 39th Assembly District, that I have made the decision to resign from the State Assembly, effective September 1, 2018, and immediately resign my leadership position. I am also suspending my campaign and will not run for re-election.”

SPECIAL REPORT: As sexual harassment in politics investigations widen, California Assemblyman accused by six new women

The statement came as The Times was preparing a story reporting that six women had accused him of sexual harassment. The paper presented its findings to Bocanegra’s office Friday afternoon.

The Times reported last month that in 2009, Bocanegra was disciplined in a human resources investigation. A female Capitol staffer accused Bocanegra, then a chief of staff, of “inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact.”

“It was a moment that I truly regret, that I am very sorry for, and for which I have accepted responsibility for my actions,” Bocanegra said Monday of the 2009 incident. “These news reports have since fueled persistent rumors and speculation, and I do not believe that this is in the best interest of my constituents to continue to serve next term.”

Bocanegra said he decided to resign at the end of the legislative term in order to avoid a “another costly special election in Los Angeles and ensure our community is not left without any representation in the State Assembly.”

Regarding the allegations brought to Bocanegra by The Times, the assemblyman said he was “requesting that the Assembly Rules Committee investigate the allegations that have recently been brought to my attention.”

“I believe rather than adjudicate these allegations in media reports, there should be a formal investigation into these matters,” he wrote. “I am committed to full cooperation.”

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New Democratic challenger for Rep. Steve Knight says the ‘political climate is more dangerous now’

Saying she needs to respond to Republican attacks on women’s rights, immigration and the social safety net, Diedra Greenaway is challenging Rep. Steve Knight in the Antelope Valley’s 25th Congressional District.

“The current political climate is more dangerous now than it has been in my entire life,” she said.

Greenaway of Lancaster said she’s also running because she doesn’t think the Republican Knight of Palmdale has been responsive to voters.

“In my opinion he is not a great fit for the people of the community,” she said. “He needs to be open to all sides, but it just appears he has his own political agenda.”

Greenaway began her career with the Department of Defense and owned an in-home healthcare company in Los Angeles before being elected to the city of Los Angeles’ Northridge East Neighborhood Council last year. She is one of the council’s city budget advocates, working with various departments to modify the budget.

She said her work with government means she wouldn’t need much time to learn the ins and outs of Congress.

“I think that I could start as soon as my feet hit the floor,” she said.

The 53-year-old Democrat has a bachelor of arts in sociology and a post-graduate certificate in gerontology from California State University, Northridge. She also has a masters degree in healthcare administration and is finishing a masters of business administration, both from the University of Maryland.

The 25th District is a frequent target for Democrats. More than half a dozen Democrats have jumped in the race to challenge Knight since Hillary Clinton carried the district over President Trump last year.

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California Politics Podcast: Questions and criticism for Janet Napolitano

Few presidents of the University of California have ever had the political resume of Janet Napolitano. In the coming weeks and months, she may need those skills more than ever.

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we discuss the new report that concluded there was “interference” by Napolitano’s staff during a state audit into her office’s finances.

We also take a look at the changes announced by the leader of the state Senate in how sexual harassment allegations will be investigated, as well as proposed sanctions against one senator from Los Angeles County.

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California Democrats vote to make it harder for incumbents to obtain party endorsement

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California
(Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

California Democratic leaders voted Sunday to make it harder for incumbents to win the state party’s endorsement, a move that will present an early test in next year’s U.S. Senate race.

The proposal, written by members of the party’s liberal wing, was approved on a voice vote on the final day of the state party’s executive board meeting in Millbrae. Incumbents will now need 60% of party delegates’ votes to win an endorsement, the same amount challengers need. Until now, incumbents needed a simple majority.

Proponents said the move levels the playing field between incumbents and challengers.

Endorsement votes on 2018 races will take place at the party convention in February in San Diego.

The most notable race that will be affected by the rule change is between Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, a fellow Democrat.

Feinstein has angered some liberal Democrats with her calls for “patience” with President Trump’s presidency, and her statement that he could be a “good president” if he learned and changed.

A super PAC supporting De León’s bid called A Progressive California has already started reaching out to delegates to try to deny Feinstein the party endorsement.

However, even if Feinstein failed to secure the state party endorsement, it’s unclear how much of an effect that would have on her reelection bid. She has previously used disagreements with the state party to display moderation to California voters.

And Feinstein is an overwhelming favorite in the race, winning the support of more than 58% of registered voters who say they plan to vote, compared with De León’s 31%, according to a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

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Immigration attorney who hopes to impeach Trump will challenge Rep. Steve Knight in Antelope Valley

A desire to impeach President Trump inspired Santa Clarita immigration attorney Scott McVarish to run for the Antelope Valley seat held by Republican Rep. Steve Knight.

McVarish, 48, said the most important question that should be asked of congressional candidates in 2018 is “whether to impeach Donald Trump or not, and I am firmly in the camp that he must be impeached.”

McVarish, who lives in Santa Clarita and got his law degree at UCLA, in August left the immigration law firm he founded to start the nonprofit organization Common Sense Democracy. The organization pushes Democrats to campaign on impeaching the president and end gerrymandering, among other causes.

Ads from Democratic billionaire donor Tom Steyer calling for Trump’s impeachment persuaded McVarish he needed to run for Knight’s seat in the 25th District, especially because he thinks other Democrats aren’t taking the call seriously.

“That to me was a sign that this was the right thing to do,” McVarish said. “I call myself a Tom Steyer Democrat; I deeply believe in his message, I believe in his leadership. I believe he is setting the right course for the Democratic Party.”

McVarish’s opposition to Trump is highlighted on his campaign website, which states “A Vote for Scott McVarish for Congress is a Vote to Impeach Trump.”

The candidate also ran for the Culver City Unified School District in 2015, and said he would want to work on immigration policy and free preschool education if elected to Congress.

McVarish grew up in Porter Ranch and bought a house in Santa Clarita last year.

The 25th District is a frequent target of Democrats. At least half a dozen Democrats have jumped in the race to challenge Knight since Hillary Clinton carried the district over Trump last year.

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California Democratic Party members start petition seeking resignations of legislators accused of harassment

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California Democratic Party delegates are circulating a petition to seek the resignations of two state lawmakers who have been accused of sexual misconduct in recent weeks.

“When we remain silent in the face of sexual assault or harassment, we contribute to a culture of impunity for those that use their power to oppress, we send a message to survivors that they do not matter, and we normalize abhorrent behavior, allowing perpetrators to believe that they can act without consequences,” the petition reads. “We must now speak out in support of survivors.”

The petition asks for the resignation of Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) and Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). Bocanegra was disciplined eight years ago after a female Capitol staffer accused him of “inappropriate and unwelcome physical contact” while he was also a staffer. Three women have accused Mendoza of inappropriate behavior in recent weeks, something he’s denied.

The petition also requests that Bocanegra and Mendoza be barred from party events.

Amar Shergill, an attorney and Democratic Party Executive Board member from Elk Grove who is organizing the effort, said advocates had collected 60 signatures since the party’s Executive Board meeting began in Millbrae on Friday night. He said he anticipated having several hundred by the end of the weekend.

Shergill said he hoped the petition effort would communicate to party and legislative leadership that rank-and-file members don’t want those who have committed sexual harassment to be elected officials.

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State Senate leader Kevin de León ‘shocked’ at sexual harassment allegations against colleague

State Sen. President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles)
(Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times)

California Senate Leader Kevin de León said he knew nothing about sexual harassment allegations against a Senate colleague until earlier this month.

“I’m as shocked as everybody else is because I never witnessed it,” De León said in an interview with The Times during California Democratic Party’s Executive Board meeting in Millbrae.

De León (D-Los Angeles) shared a home in Sacramento with Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), who in recent weeks has been accused of inappropriate behavior toward women, including an allegation that he invited a young female legislative fellow to review her résumé at his home after hours earlier this year.

De León moved out of the shared home last week and said he had never seen Mendoza act improperly toward women, or bring women to the house.

Mendoza has strongly denied the allegations. De León, who moved to strip Mendoza of his committee chairmanship pending the outcome of an independent investigation into his conduct, did not directly respond to The Times’ questions about whether he believed the complaints against Mendoza were politically motivated.

“I want to allow the independent process to work itself out,” De León said. “And then once they come to a conclusion, we can make an assessment.”

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State Senate leader Kevin De León: We can’t fail women who work in government

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) speaks Saturday at the state Democratic Party’s Executive Board meeting.
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) speaks Saturday at the state Democratic Party’s Executive Board meeting.
(Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times)

As weeks of sexual harassment allegations have engulfed the state Capitol, California Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) used his speech Saturday at the state Democratic Party’s Executive Board meeting to pledge that the state Senate would be a leader in protecting victims.

“If we fail the women who work in government, then government itself has failed to serve the public trust,” De León said.

De León, who is running to unseat longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said he originally planned to use his speech to extol the Legislature, which he called the most progressive and productive in the nation. But the outpouring of women who have called the culture of sexual harassment at the Capitol “pervasive” convinced him to instead lay out the steps the Senate has taken to change, he said.

“It’s time to restore trust and transparency to the process and put the protections of victims and whistle-blowers ahead of the powerful in California,” he said.

De León noted, for instance, that the Senate was handing over investigations of sexual harassment to an independent law firm. He also referenced actions he took Friday night to recommend stripping Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) of his chairmanship of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee pending an investigation into allegations from multiple women that Mendoza acted inappropriately toward them.

“We sent a strong message that no elected official was above the law,” De León said.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein: Next year could be another ‘Year of the Woman’

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) speaks to the Women’s Caucus at the California Democratic Party Executive Board meeting in Millbrae.
(Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times)

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein told party officials Saturday morning that the sexual harassment allegations that have rocked the federal government and state legislatures across the country could lead to a wave of new women lawmakers not seen in decades.

“I predict based on what I see out there that we are going to have another Year of the Woman,” Feinstein said, referencing the year she was first elected to Congress alongside many other women in 1992.

Feinstein, who seldom appears at state party functions, spoke Saturday morning to the Women’s Caucus at the California Democratic Party Executive Board meeting in Millbrae. She’s facing an intra-party fight for reelection next year against state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León of Los Angeles.

In her eight-minute speech, Feinstein, 84, emphasized the value of her experience and seniority in the Senate in fighting for legislation to protect those who have been sexually harassed or assaulted.

“What it means is that we have an opportunity to really turn this next year into a year of change affecting women,” she said.

Feinstein said she had been overwhelmed by the women who have spoken publicly about their experiences in the wake of the numerous accusations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

“I’ve watched mesmerized at the lack of fear of every woman that has come forward,” she said.

Crowds packed into a conference room for the two-hour discussion of sexual harassment in Sacramento. Women’s Caucus leaders are asking the party to endorse a series of policy changes to ensure harassment inquiries are led by independent investigators, among other changes.

De León also attended the Women’s Caucus meeting, and pledged during his brief remarks that the state Senate would follow through.

“This has been generational and systemic for so many decades,” De León said. “But we need to do better. There’s no question about it. You have my word, you have my personal commitment that we in the Senate will do everything within our power.”

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California Senate leader moves to suspend Sen. Tony Mendoza from committee posts after harassment allegations

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California’s Senate leader on Friday expanded an effort to transfer sexual harassment investigations to outside experts, while taking action to remove a Los Angeles lawmaker accused of inappropriate behavior from an influential committee chairmanship.

The decision by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) comes less than one day after the latest accusation against Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). Mendoza would be suspended from his chairmanship of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, as well as other “boards and commissions” pending the outcome of an investigation, according to a statement from De León’s office.

The Senate Rules Committee would be asked to formally approve that action later this month.

“Like many in our Caucus, I’m deeply troubled by the quantity and specificity of accusations against Senator Mendoza — and have therefore determined that Senator Mendoza should be suspended from Chairmanships, boards and commissions until the independent investigation into his conduct is complete,” the Senate leader said in a written statement.

The Senate Rules Committee will meet in emergency session later this month to consider the action against Mendoza, he said. The senator would not be removed from his position on other legislative committees, according to the Senate leader’s office.

Mendoza, who shared a Sacramento house with De León until last week, has denied sexually harassing former employees — including one who he allegedly invited to his home to work on her resume, and another who said he sent her texts after hours.

“I am hopeful that the recent unsubstantiated allegations in the media will be addressed fairly and transparently,” Mendoza said in a statement on Thursday. He also denounced a directive by the Senate Rules Committee preventing him from responding to allegations and not providing him with details of the allegations.

De León also announced on Friday more details about how the Senate will hand over sexual harassment investigations to an independent law firm, a decision he made on Sunday evening. Three lawmakers will sit on a panel tasked with picking the law firm, serving alongside the Legislature’s attorney, the Senate secretary and the leader of a trade association representing registered Capitol lobbyists.

Law firms will be interviewed the week after Thanksgiving, and a firm with a “prior existing professional or political relationship” with the Senate or senators will be disqualified, according to the statement from De León’s office.

Mendoza, who is also a member of the Senate’s budget, education, governmental organization and transportation committees, was elected to the Senate in 2014 after serving six years in the Assembly.

He said late Friday that he would continue to serve his constituents.

“I understand the decision to temporarily suspend me from certain Senate appointments until the investigation is complete serves to eliminate any perception of favoritism or bias,” Mendoza said in a statement. “I remain optimistic that the process will be fair, independent and transparent, and upon the conclusion of the investigation, I expect to be vindicated from these unsubstantiated accusations.”

9:24 p.m.: This article has been updated with a comment from Mendoza.

5:52 p.m.: This article has been updated to reflect that Mendoza would not be removed from his position on various Senate policy committees, but suspended only from the banking chairmanship.

This article was originally published at 5:45 p.m.

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Two California candidates spent big at Trump properties

The Washington Post crunched campaign numbers on the top spenders at President Trump’s properties and, surprise, two of his biggest fans from California are on the list.

GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a big Trump supporter who has been trying to bend the president’s ear on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has spent $12,545 at Trump International Hotel this year, most of it for a June fundraiser in the hotel’s Franklin Study.

Rohrabacher’s campaign was fourth in spending at Trump companies nationwide, according to the Post. Topping the list was the president himself, whose campaign spent $534,864 at his company’s properties.

Also among the big spenders, according to the Post, was Omar Navarro, a Republican who’s running against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) in a Democratic-dominated district. Navarro spent $7,833 this year at Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes, where he hosted a fundraiser with conservative lightning rod Joe Arpaio last month. He told the Los Angeles Daily News he had met Arpaio at a Trump fundraiser in Phoenix. Navarro spent an additional $618 at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

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Devin Nunes’ opponent puts congressman on a child leash in billboard ad

There’s a new billboard outside a bar named Jimbo’s in Clovis, Calif.

It depicts Russian President Vladimir Putin holding leashes attached to children’s bodies with the faces of local GOP Rep. Devin Nunes and President Trump.

The Nunes child is holding an ice cream cone.

“You have been a good boy Devin,” the billboard says.

One of Nunes’ Democratic opponents, Fresno County Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew Janz, paid for the billboard, and it directs passersby to Janz’s campaign website.

Janz has been highlighting Nunes’ national notoriety as chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, and his connection to Trump.

Nunes stepped away from leading the House investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election over accusations that he improperly disclosed classified information in order to help Trump. Those accusations came after Nunes revealed to reporters that conversations by Trump transition officials may have been inadvertently picked up by U.S. surveillance, and said he met with the source of the information at the White House.

The House Ethics Committee is looking into the allegations. As he stepped down from leading the investigation, Nunes blamed “left-wing activists” for causing a “distraction.”

While the district is a target for Democrats in 2018, they acknowledge defeating the incumbent Nunes will be a heavy lift in the conservative area.

The billboard is off Highway 168 and Herndon Avenue, about a mile from Nunes’ Clovis district office. Nunes’ campaign did not immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Janz’s campaign said it rented the billboard for a month but may extend its lease.

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In Orange County, fear and loathing for the GOP’s “Screw California” tax bill

Chris Keena feels obliged to explain: He really is a Republican — honest! — before launching his critique of the Republican tax bill that just passed the House.

“I don’t believe in trickle-down theory,” said the 70-year-old retired attorney from Irvine. “The money they save — I’ve seen it in business — the money they save at the top, they keep at the top. It doesn’t trickle down.

“I hate to sound like a radical,” he went on, “and I guess it doesn’t go with being a Republican, but it’s a reality. There are a lot of people struggling here. The image is everyone is fat and happy. They’re not. They’re not.”

The sweeping tax-cut package, which passed Thursday with overwhelming support from California’s GOP House members, seems almost singularly designed to punish the state and its Democratic legion of Trump tormentors.

Eliminating most of the deduction for state and local taxes would be a hefty blow to millions of Californians. The same for a proposed cap on deducting property taxes and mortgage interest — write-offs that make the purchase of that charming $750,000 “starter home” a bit more attainable, if no less insane.

It goes on.

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Most California GOP House members vote to pass tax bill, with some hoping the Senate will help fix it

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, left, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan in a celebratory mood after GOP tax plan passed.
(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

California’s House Republicans took another tough vote Thursday, with most opting to approve a tax overhaul expected to cost many Californians more in taxes. Several of the Republicans said they supported the bill because they think a compromise with the Senate will make it better.

“I don’t know if they’re going to make it better, but we’ll see,” said Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), who is among the Republicans considered vulnerable in next year’s election and voted in favor of the House bill. “There are some things in the Senate bill I like, there are some things in there that I don’t like.”

Supporting a bill in hopes that the Senate will improve it is similar to the tactic the Republicans tried in the spring when they attempted to push through a controversial effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. But the Senate never mustered enough support to pass a healthcare bill, leaving all 14 California Republicans with a “yes” vote on their record and nothing to show for it.

Three California Republicans — Reps. Darrell Issa of Vista, Tom McClintock of Elk Grove and Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa — joined every Democrat in opposing the tax plan, which passed 227 to 205. The GOP dissenters said they couldn’t vote for a bill that raised taxes on Californians. Issa and Rohrabacher are considered to be among the most vulnerable House members in the country.

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State Sen. Tony Mendoza criticizes process for reviewing harassment allegations

Sen. Tony Mendoza
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Facing an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior with women who worked in his legislative office, state Sen. Tony Mendoza on Thursday criticized the current system of review as “opaque and unjust” and said he supports reforms.

The Democratic lawmaker from Artesia also acknowledged in a statement that in 2010 he faced concerns about his behavior from a female aide. He did not provide details about those concerns.

The Sacramento Bee later reported that a former aide named Haley Myers brought forward concerns that year about what she considered sexual harassment, including late-night text messages and invitations to one-on-one dinners.

She said Mendoza stopped the behavior and acted more professionally after Assembly Rules Committee staff told him to avoid after-work contacts, according to the Bee.

The investigation Mendoza is now facing involves allegations by his former staffers that the senator engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior with a young female fellow, whom he allegedly invited to his home to discuss her resume and to a hotel room.

Mendoza has denied any wrongdoing but said the Senate Rules Committee has directed him in writing to refer all calls from the media to committee staff because it is a personnel matter.

The committee has not told him anything about the complaint involving the Senate fellow, he said.

“This is wrong as it has allowed innuendo, smears, and the settling of political scores in the media while I am constrained by the Rules Committee direction,” he said in the statement.

He said he is glad the Senate has proposed to make the process more transparent.

Mendoza volunteered that in 2010, while serving in the Assembly, he was approached by the Assembly Rules Committee staff regarding one of his employees.

The staff member was “uncomfortable with something he said or did,” said Saeed Ali, a spokesman for Mendoza. Ali said he believes the actions did not constitute sexual harassment, adding that the employee did not file a formal complaint.

“I discussed the matter and made a strong commitment to correct any misunderstanding and reinforce my commitment to ensuring a friendly and professional atmosphere,” Mendoza said. “The employee continued to successfully work in my office until I left the Assembly in 2012. The employee and I have had a friendly relationship since then where we have shared family, professional and personal matters in our subsequent, respective lives.”

He said that past experience of resolving the dispute without a formal charge “gives me confidence that the Senate could also create and use a fair, equitable and transparent process to immediately address such matters.”

6:32 p.m. This article was updated with information about a former aide to Mendoza.

This article was originally published at 6:05 p.m.

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Women in the California Legislature want a ‘cultural audit’ of sexual harassment in the state Capitol

(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

Insisting on a “unified course of action” on sexual harassment and abuse allegations in Sacramento, women in the California Legislature on Thursday suggested a broad investigation by outside experts and a town-hall style meeting to air the concerns in public.

“Our actions must be bold, transformative and unified,” said the statement issued by the Legislative Women’s Caucus. “Now is not the time to play politics.”

In the wake of last month’s open letter signed by dozens of women calling out a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment, legislative leaders have scrambled to understand the scope of the problem and the best solutions. On Sunday, the state Senate announced that all abuse complaints will be handed over to outside investigators. An Assembly committee will hold the first public hearing on the issue of statehouse sexual harassment on Nov. 28.

The caucus recommendations laid out Thursday include new services for victims of abuse, as well as transparent and fair investigations and a system for reporting complaints that ensures no retaliation against those who make the allegations.

The group of female lawmakers also asked both houses to hire professionals who could “conduct an independent cultural audit” of the work environment in the Legislature.

“We also believe part of this process must include a Capitol town-hall,” said the statement, which urged a bipartisan approach toward any proposed changes.

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Lawmakers blast UC President Napolitano after probe finds her office interfered with an audit

UC President Janet Napolitano
(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

State lawmakers reacted angrily on Thursday to an investigation that found University of California President Janet Napolitano approved a plan that led her top aides to interfere with a state audit into her office’s finances.

The audit of the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) had been requested by legislators including Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance).

“The action of UCOP in interfering with the Legislature’s attempt to provide greater financial transparency is not only deeply disappointing but also undermines the Legislature’s trust in the University of California’s leadership,” he said.

Muratsuchi and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) called for greater accountability measures by the UC Board of Regents.

“Today’s action by the UC Regents to admonish President Napolitano for her poor judgment and for her office’s interference with the audit is welcome and necessary, as is the Board’s consideration of structural changes to improve accountability, which will be voted on in January,” Rendon said.

Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), chairman of the Assembly’s budget committee, said major reforms are needed.

“The UCOP knowingly colluded with various campus leaders across the state to evade and mislead the State Auditor, Legislature and public as we provided oversight over its ballooning administrative budget,” Ting said.

Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-Dublin) went further than her colleagues, calling on Napolitano to resign and saying it was unacceptable that the surveys were tampered with by her office.

“She made it worse when she was not forthright with lawmakers about her role,” Baker said. “I think it’s time for a clean break to rebuild trust and credibility within the office of the president.”

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New rules with hefty fees set for growing and selling marijuana in California

California officials proposed new rules Thursday for the growing, transporting and sale of marijuana when the state begins issuing licenses in January, and industry officials said the regulations and hefty fees are a mixed bag.

The regulations, which are subject to public hearings before they are finalized, do not limit the size of cannabis farms, but require every plant to be traced from farm to sale. Security will be required at farms, trucks and pot shops, and cannabis cannot be marketed toward minors.

The license application fee for sellers and others will be $1,000 annually, but there are additional license fees of $4,000 to $72,000 charged to retailers based on how much they sell.

Also, an additional fee for testing firms will range from $20,000 to $90,000, while an added charge for distribution licenses will go from $1,200 to $125,000 depending on the amount of product moved.

While those planning small pot farms worry about the rules allowing large corporate growing operations, others see restrictions as burdensome for an industry that has thrived for decades without regulation.

“The industry is diverse,” said Hezekiah Allen, president of the California Growers Assn. “No matter what is decided, there will be problems. These regulations will disrupt a mature and robust marketplace. We are hopeful the disruption will be minimized and that the existing business community will have the time they need to transition their operations and businesses.”

With work behind schedule for setting up a permanent licensing system, the new regulations allow the Bureau of Cannabis Control to issue temporary, 120-day licenses to sellers and growers who have permission from their city or county. Eventually, annual licenses will be issued to those who pass background checks.

A seller of marijuana for medical use must get an M-license, and a seller of pot for recreational use must get an A-license. Sellers of both can get both licenses and operate in the same facility.

The rules require child-resistant packaging, prohibit marketing to minors and require marijuana to meet limits on THC content.

However, a transition period will be set from Jan. 1 to July 1, 2018, during which pot can be transported without meeting labeling requirements and marijuana already in a seller’s inventory can be sold without child-resistant packaging. Cannabis products that do not meet the THC limits per package also can be sold during that window.

For growers, the California Department of Food and Agriculture will charge a one-time fee ranging from $135 to $8,655 to review an annual cultivation license application.

Growers also will be required to get an annual license fee based on annual production, ranging from $1,205 for small plots to $77,905 for big farms.

Manufacturers of cannabis products including edibles will be charged a $1,000 application processing fee and a license fee, depending on size of operation, from $2,000 to $75,000.

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Actor Scott Baio endorses Republican John Cox for California governor

Scott Baio gives two thumbs up during his speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016, in Cleveland.
(Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Actor Scott Baio endorsed Republican John Cox for governor on Thursday, saying Democratic rule of California is destroying the state.

Baio, best known for playing Chachi on the TV show “Happy Days,” made his endorsement in a 13-minute Facebook video.

“Google him. He’s a good guy. He’s a businessman; he’s not a politician. He wants to fix this stuff,” Baio said. “We gotta fix stuff in California, folks. It’s like communism here.”

Baio also spoke about his support for President Trump — he was a speaker at the Republican National Convention last year — and his unhappiness with congressional Republicans, whom he blames for blocking the president’s agenda on issues such as repealing Obamacare and building a border wall.

And he castigated Gov. Jerry Brown and Sacramento Democrats, saying their policies on issues including taxes, crime and illegal immigration were destroying the state.

“The state is bankrupt. There’s illegal immigrants running all over the place. It’s a sanctuary state; the rule of law means nothing,” Baio said, before urging Democratic voters to reconsider their allegiances. “You gotta try something else because the state is out of control.”

Cox is one of two top Republicans running for governor next year. He has contributed $3 million of his own money to his campaign, but remains widely unknown. He came in fifth place, receiving the support of more than 11% of voters who plan to cast ballots in the June primary, in a recent USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

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Antonio Villaraigosa says he hopes to increase voter turnout in the Latino community

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa joined former Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and Mickey Ibarra, former director of intergovernmental affairs for former President Bill Clinton, at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Wednesday evening to read excerpts from the book “Latino Leaders Speak: Stories of Struggle and Triumph.”

Villaraigosa and Molina are contributors to the book co-edited by Ibarra, which includes 33 keynote addresses delivered as part of the Latino Leaders Luncheon Series.

In his speech, Villaraigosa reflected on losing the Los Angeles mayoral race in 2001 and said he was told he couldn’t win because the support for him wouldn’t be there. He later was elected mayor in 2005 and reelected in 2009.

Hector Rocha, 39, of Hollywood, said he admires Villaraigosa, adding that the former mayor has “represented [the Latino community] in a good way,” and has encouraged him to help others register to vote. Rocha did not say whether he would vote for Villaraigosa in the governor’s race.

After the event, Villaraigosa said that his campaign will seek to increase Latino voter turnout for the upcoming governor’s race.

“When I ran in 2001 and 2005, I said, ‘I want to be the mayor for all of us,’ ” he said. “I’d like to see turnout increase dramatically among all demographics. But clearly, one of them is the group who votes the least, and that’s the Latino community.

“A big part of our campaign is going to be to energize and organize that part of the electorate,” he added.

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See how every California House member voted on the GOP tax bill

Most California Republicans joined House colleagues Thursday to approve a GOP tax overhaul. Several said they supported the bill because they think the Senate will make it better.

Republican Reps. Darrell Issa of Vista, Tom McClintock of Elk Grove and Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa joined Democrats in opposing the bill.

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Most of California’s House Republicans vote to pass GOP tax bill; three vote against it

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield)
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Eleven California Republicans joined their House colleagues Thursday to approve a tax overhaul expected to have broad negative effects on Californians’ taxes. Several said they supported the bill because they think the Senate will make it better.

Three Republicans — Reps. Darrell Issa of Vista, Tom McClintock of Elk Grove and Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa — joined California’s Democrats in opposing the bill.

After a closed-door meeting with President Trump, the House voted 227 to 205 to approve the tax bill. The Senate is considering a different plan, and the two would need to be reconciled before a bill is sent to the president’s desk.

The House bill tightens the mortgage interest and state and local tax breaks, which are used widely in California, and the state’s Republican members got heavy pressure from constituents, Democratic officials and the real estate industry to oppose it.

“I made a pledge not to raise taxes. This bill raises taxes on a significant number of my constituents and Californians disproportionate to the population,” McClintock said before the vote.

Though the California Republicans stayed largely united on the bill in public in the early stages of negotiations, several of them were undecided on how to vote as late as Thursday morning.

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Three California Republicans vote ‘no’ on GOP tax bill: Issa, McClintock and Rohrabacher

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Obama administration alum joins list of Democrats running against Rep. Darrell Issa

Democrat Doug Applegate came within 1,621 votes of defeating Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) in last year’s general election. Now, Applegate will have to battle at least three other Democrats for a shot at trying again.

Sara Jacobs, 28, became the newest Democrat to challenge Issa on Thursday. Jacobs, granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, grew up in Del Mar and worked in the State Department under President Obama. She also served as a policy advisor on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and most recently as chief executive officer of Project Connect, a New York-based educational nonprofit organization founded in January.

In a statement announcing her run, Jacobs said that while “regular people are falling behind faster and faster,” Issa and President Trump are “enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else.”

Also in the race are Democrats Mike Levin, who has been picking up endorsements from congressional Democrats, and Paul Kerr, who has contributed more than $260,000 to his own campaign.

Issa is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in California, a key state in Democrats’ quest to regain control of the House next year. On Thursday, he voted against the House GOP tax reform plan, saying it would raise taxes on his constituents.

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Rep. Tom McClintock says he’ll vote against GOP tax bill

McClintock (R-Elk Grove) was undecided on Wednesday night, and Knight (R-Palmdale) had said he was leaning toward yes. Several other California Republicans remain undecided as the tax bill is expected to pass on Thursday.

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House tax bill vote could hinge on the undecided California Republicans

Failure or success for the House GOP tax bill in Thursday’s expected vote could hinge on a handful of undecided California Republicans.

Eight of the state’s Republicans plan to vote for the bill, and one is leaning toward voting yes. Four others are undecided, and only Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) has said he will oppose the bill. About a dozen Republican lawmakers from across the country have expressed reservations, and about a dozen others plan to vote no, meaning the vote could be close.

The bill tightens state, local and mortgage interest tax breaks, which are popular with Californians, and the state delegation has been bombarded with pressure from all sides: fellow Republicans desperate for a legislative win, constituents, real estate lobbyists and Democratic officials in California, including Gov. Jerry Brown.

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California’s state budget could soon be flush with $7.5 billion in unexpected cash, analysts say

Gov. Jerry Brown unveils his 2017 state budget plan.
Gov. Jerry Brown unveils his 2017 state budget plan.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers could have a net budget windfall of some $7.5 billion by the summer of 2019 under a new analysis that attributes most of the cash to capital gains income earned by California’s most wealthy taxpayers.

The analysis released Wednesday by the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office also projects unexpected revenues will significantly boost public school spending over the next two academic years, some $3.2 billion above projections used in the most recent state budget.

But it’s the broader windfall that, if it materializes, is likely to be the focus of intense debate next year in the state Capitol. While some may argue for boosting spending on state services, other will no doubt insist the money should be used to pay down existing debt or be placed into rainy-day reserves.

Brown signed a $183.2-billion budget in June that continued the recent trend toward restoring cuts made during the depths of the recession and boosting cash reserves. The governor has routinely insisted that California’s economy is overdue for either a slowing down of tax revenue growth or a sharp decline that could throw the budget back into deficit territory.

The analyst’s report attempted to model two different scenarios — one a continued expansion, the other a modest recession — over the next five years. Under the growth scenario, unrestricted budget surpluses could grow to $5 billion a year in 2019-20. Those dollar amounts could shrink if lawmakers choose to direct a portion of that windfall toward spending on Medi-Cal, the state’s healthcare program for the poor.

But even under the model of a recession beginning in the summer of 2019, the report concludes operating deficits through the middle of 2021 could be covered if lawmakers forgo spending unexpected revenues in the immediate future.

“If spending were higher than we assume in 2018‑19 or later for whatever reason, the state would face more difficult choices — such as reducing spending or increasing taxes — to balance the state budget in a recession scenario,” the analysts wrote.

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Director of state Senate fellows program is placed on indefinite leave after harassment allegations against lawmaker

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia)
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The director of a program that assigns fellows to work in the state Senate has been placed on indefinite leave just days after allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a young woman in the program were leveled against state Sen. Tony Mendoza by Capitol staffers.

“David Pacheco, director of Sacramento State’s Senior Fellows Progam, has been placed on indefinite leave,” the university said in a statement. “Because this is a personnel issue, the university has no further comment.”

Former employees of Mendoza’s office complained to Senate officials that Mendoza inappropriately invited a young woman in the program to his house after hours with an offer to help her work on her résumé. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, said he offered to help the fellow find a job, but did not do anything inappropriate.

Micha Star Liberty, an attorney for one of Mendoza’s former employees, said concerns about the senator’s behavior were reported to Sacramento State’s Senior Fellows Program, but they were not initially documented or investigated by the program.

The program announced last week that an investigation is now underway.

“We were just recently made aware of the allegations of sexual harassment of one of our Fellows,” the earlier statement said. “The University takes its obligations to protect its students and employees seriously, and we are in the process of investigating any violations of University policies. All individuals have the right to participate fully in University programs and activities free from discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. We require all University faculty and staff to conduct themselves in accordance with federal and state regulations as well as California State University policy.”

Sacramento Councilman Steve Hansen said he and other alumni of the fellows program were circulating a letter calling for Pacheco to be put on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into whether he gave serious attention to the allegations against Mendoza.

“I was furious as a former fellow because the duty of the director is to protect the fellows,” Hansen said.

Pam Chueh, director of the Assembly fellowship program, will take over Pacheco’s responsibilities “in the interim to ensure program continuity,” Wednesday’s statement said.

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This California Republican has been begging his colleagues to change the tax bill. He’s still undecided

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) stood up at a closed-door meeting of House Republicans this week and urged colleagues to “leave no taxpayer behind” as they weigh the tax bill scheduled to come before them Thursday.

His concerns drew the attention of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who later spoke privately with him. McClintock remains unconvinced.

“I’m still awaiting a satisfactory assurance that the end product will not do harm to American families,” he said.

McClintock is among the handful of California Republicans who haven’t made up their minds on how to vote. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) huddled with him Wednesday evening on the House floor before debate began on the bill. The vote is scheduled for Thursday after a meeting between President Trump and House Republicans.

See our whip count >>

McClintock is known as a solid conservative vote, but he hasn’t been shy about needling leadership when he thinks it’s necessary. He argued with his colleagues all week to consider only a business tax code overhaul in the bill, and leave the individual tax code changes for another day.

He attempted to strip away the individual sections from the bill through an amendment in a committee meeting Tuesday night, saying the end-of-the-year deadline Republicans have set for themselves to pass the bill is making them move too quickly.

“Tax simplification is a worthy and important goal, but given the complexities of the tax code and the timetable we’re operating under, this bill is yielding a number of unintended and undesirable consequences that are entirely unnecessary and avoidable,” McClintock said. His amendment was rejected.

He’s spoken up at other meetings and in published columns, and has voiced his concerns on the House floor.

“Considering the looming deadlines to enact the bill, the hyper-partisan political environment and the complexities of the tax code itself, personal income tax simplification should wait for another day,” McClintock wrote on his website.

Democrats recently added him to their list of vulnerable Republicans in 2018. He was reelected to his Northern California district in 2016 with 62.7% of the vote.

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How California’s GOP House members plan to vote on the tax bill

California’s 14 House Republicans are under intense pressure: Failure or success of the GOP tax bill in Thursday’s scheduled vote may depend on them.

The bill tightens the mortgage interest and the state and local tax deductions, both of which are used widely in California and other high tax states. So far, eight of the California Republicans are solid yes votes. Only Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) has said he will oppose the bill, while four are still undecided and one is leaning toward voting yes.

Rep. Mimi Walters, whose Irvine district is considered vulnerable to flipping in next year’s midterm election, said Wednesday that House leaders have assured her they will address concerns about the mortgage interest and state and local tax deductions when a final bill is negotiated between the House and Senate.

“California is a very liberal state, we have very liberal policies, he have very high taxes, we have very high cost of housing, and we want to make sure that our middle-income Americans have more money in their pocket at the end of the day when this bill is complete and put on the president’s desk,” Walters said. “They have given us assurance that they will help provide some more relief for Californians.”

At this point, no more changes are expected to the House bill, and no amendments will be allowed on the floor Thursday.

Republicans can only lose 22 votes and pass the bill. They are not expected to get help from Democrats, who have lambasted vulnerable GOP incumbents over the bill.

Here’s where California’s Republicans stand:

UPDATES:

3:18 p.m.: This article was updated with Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s decision to vote yes.

This article was originally published at 1:37 p.m.

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California’s effort to prevent racial profiling by police is ready to go

The Los Angeles Police Department, L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and other large law enforcement agencies across California will soon begin collecting racial and other demographic data when they stop drivers and pedestrians. The new program will begin in July, as outlined by Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra’s final regulations released Wednesday.

The data collection is an effort to identify and prevent police racial profiling, and Becerra said it would improve relations between peace officers and the people they serve.

“Trust is the glue that makes the relationship between law enforcement and the community work,” Becerra said in a statement. “This new data collection and reporting process is meant to strengthen, and in some cases repair, that trust.”

The Racial and Identity Profiling Act, passed at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2015, requires all California law enforcement agencies to collect the data, and directs the attorney general’s office to determine how departments would do it.

The final regulations released Wednesday are largely unchanged from a version Becerra detailed in August. Under the regulations, police officers will have to collect data on nearly every stop they make, including interactions with pedestrians and bicyclists. They’ll also have to note a person’s gender, English proficiency and any disabilities. But in emergencies, such as mass evacuations during bomb threats or earthquakes, the rules wouldn’t apply.

Both law enforcement and civil liberties groups lobbied Becerra over the regulations, with police officials concerned about the rules being too burdensome for patrol officers to comply with. In announcing the final regulations, Becerra released supportive statements from Gardena Police Chief Edward Medrano and Bay Area community activist Rev. Ben McBride, who co-chair a board designed to review the regulations.

“The Racial and Identity Profiling Act and the recently approved regulations is another tool to ensure our officers continue to provide fair and impartial policing to the communities we serve,” Medrano said in a statement.

Nine police agencies, including the LAPD and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, will begin collecting the information next summer and will release their first annual reports on the data in April 2019. Every year, more departments will be required to start collecting data. By 2022, all police agencies in California will be obligated to do so.

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State inquiry finds widespread nepotism in California tax agency

The California Capitol in Sacramento.
The California Capitol in Sacramento.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

California’s tax collection agency is plagued by widespread nepotism, with 835 employees, or 17.5% of the office’s workforce, related by blood, adoption, marriage or cohabitation, according to a state investigation released Wednesday.

The investigation by the state Personnel Board found that before its recent reorganization, the state Board of Equalization had 4,767 employees, several of whom were related and working in the same departments or divisions.

“There was no process for identifying and tracking employees who were related to each other by blood, adoption, marriage, and/or cohabitation,” personnel officials concluded.

It found the Board of Equalization’s anti-nepotism policy did not meet state standards and some job applicants were “pre-selected for civil service appointments in violation of the civil service rules.”

Allegations from anonymous employees triggered the inquiry as well as a decision by the state Legislature and governor in June to break up the agency, transferring most of the employees from the Board of Equalization to a new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The state attorney general is also investigating issues involving the transferring of employees to do work to help elected Board of Equalization members.

The investigation released Wednesday is based on a survey of employees, leaving open the possibility for underreporting, so the numbers may be higher.

Nicolas Maduros, who was later hired as director of the new agency, recently announced new, tougher rules to prevent nepotism, including a ban on employees seeking to exert any influence on the hiring and promotion of workers.

“We need to ensure that all of our personnel decisions are based solely on merit,” Maduros said.

Employees complained to investigators that there was favoritism toward relatives in hiring and promotion decisions.

Board member Fiona Ma asked for the review.

“This investigation demonstrates the mismanagement, flagrant nepotism, and abuse of authority I discovered upon my election and have spent my tenure on the board trying to uproot,” she said.

The report recommends that three people hired under questionable circumstances have their hiring voided because the board failed to follow proper procedure.

In one case a tax consultant “used his position of influence to encourage the hiring of his son,” the investigation said. The tax consultant worked in the office of board member George Runner. Investigators said the hiring was “the result of pre-selection and hence unlawful.”

The investigation also found that board member Jerome Horton called someone in charge of hiring to recommend a woman for a job as a program analyst. Horton’s chief of staff also recommended her, and the hiring official knew the woman was the daughter of a state Assembly member.

The woman was hired even though her application was turned in after a deadline, and she was chosen over another applicant interviewed in a process with no rating criteria.

Investigators said the hiring “was unlawful and made in bad faith.”

Horton denied that he and his chief aide recommended her for a job.

“We simply notified the agency of our concerns of discrimination and inequity in the process and were not privy to the selection criteria/process or test results and learned of the hire after the fact,” he said.

The investigative report included examples in which nepotism created conflicts in the agency.

In one case, the board’s Administration Department employed two program analysts, a father and daughter, who reported to the same supervisor.

The External Affairs Department has two software specialists who are cousins related by marriage who report to the same administrator.

The investigators also recommended that four recent personnel decisions be voided because they failed to follow proper procedures.

2:50 pm: This article was updated to include comment from board member Fiona Ma and examples of hiring that investigators say should be voided.

This article was originally published at 12:46 p.m.

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Rep. Darrell Issa says women should ‘name names’ in Capitol Hill sexual harassment accusations

(Olamikan Gbemiga / Associated Press)

Rep. Darrell Issa encouraged female members of Congress to “name names” of members who have sexually harassed Capitol Hill staff.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) this week testified that staffers have told her of two sitting members of Congress who sexually harassed them. Speier has refused to name the members, saying she is protecting the victims.

“If she has an ethics complaint, then she has an obligation to take that ethics complaint to the appropriate committee of Congress, and if it’s ... necessary to go public, she should go fully public. And I don’t know why she hasn’t as of this moment. Perhaps she’s hoping they will become public on their own; I don’t know,” Issa (R-Vista) said.

Speier announced Wednesday she plans to introduce legislation that would overhaul the process used to report and resolve sexual harassment claims on Capitol Hill.

CNN reported this week that women on Capitol Hill warn each other to stay away from certain male members of Congress, and that one of them is a Californian.

“I’m comfortable that I will not be one of the names,” Issa said Wednesday.

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Essential Politics: The Roy Moore rebuke, the Obamacare repeal

There are two major cliffhangers in Republican politics as the week hits the midway mark. And both seem to focus squarely on Capitol Hill.

One is the fate of a tax overhaul that has quickly shifted back to the fight over healthcare. The other is the electoral fate of the embattled GOP nominee from Alabama for the U.S. Senate.

Both seem to be measured right now in hours, not days.

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Women share graphic sexual harassment stories on Capitol Hill as Congress considers changes

After California’s Rep. Jackie Speier spoke out about being forcibly kissed by a senior staff member when she worked on Capitol Hill in the 1970s, dozens of staffers called the lawmaker to tell their stories.

One woman told Speier she was grabbed by her genitals on the House floor. Some said lawmakers had inappropriately touched them or exposed themselves.

Others said they had been harassed by two sitting members of Congress. Speier (D-Hillsborough) declined to identify those members, saying only that one is a Republican and one is a Democrat.

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Democrats rename Capitol cloakroom for slain California congressman

The private space that House Democrats use during votes to have conversations, do interviews or relax is now the Gabrielle Giffords-Leo J. Ryan Cloakroom. It was renamed Wednesday for two Democrats shot while serving constituents.

Ryan, a Democrat who represented a San Francisco-area district, was shot to death by members of the Rev. Jim Jones’ People’s Temple cult in 1978 while on a fact-finding mission to investigate the cult in Guyana. Later the same day, hundreds of People’s Temple members committed mass suicide in what is known as the Jonestown Massacre.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), an intern and staffer for Ryan, was also shot and left for dead when Ryan was killed.

“Thirty-nine years ago this week, Congressman Ryan lost his life while trying to rescue Americans, including children, from a delusional madman,” Speier said at a ceremony Wednesday morning. He knew the risk of visiting Jonestown, but insisted on going anyway, telling staff “we have to help these people,” Speier said.

She said she hopes seeing his name on the cloakroom door will be a daily reminder to members of why they are serving.

Giffords, a Democrat from Arizona, was critically injured when she was shot at a public event with constituents in 2011. She survived and has become a vocal gun rights advocate.

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Women share graphic sexual harassment stories on Capitol Hill as Congress considers changes

After California’s Rep. Jackie Speier spoke out about being forcibly kissed by a senior staff member when she was a Capitol Hill staff member in the 1970s, dozens of staffers called the lawmaker to tell their stories.

One woman told Speier she was grabbed by her genitals on the House floor. Some said lawmakers had inappropriately touched them or exposed themselves.

Others said they had been harassed by two sitting members of Congress. Speier (D-Hillsborough) declined to identify those members, saying only that one is a Republican and one is a Democrat.

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Rohrabacher, Royce undecided on GOP tax bill

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher
(Misha Japaridze / Associated Press)

Orange County Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce aren’t ready to take a position on the House GOP tax bill they are scheduled to vote on Thursday.

Both Republicans represent constituents who could take big financial hits under the House tax bill. They also represent districts the Democrats are attempting to flip in the 2018 midterm.

Rohrabacher, of Costa Mesa, said Tuesday he’s still weighing the decision.

“I don’t know. I’m looking at all the numbers that are being bandied around, and the numbers as to whether or not a significant number of my constituents are going to be facing a tax increase, and if that is the case, I’m not going to vote for it,” Rohrabacher said.

But, he said he could also vote for it in hopes the compromise bill that the House and Senate eventually agree on might be better. He said he’s hoping something will stand out that helps him decide. He’s also previously questioned the number of homeowners who could be hurt by the plan.

“I’m just really intensely looking at it,” Rohrabacher said. “This is not a clear-cut decision because there are many different factors at play.”

Royce, of Fullerton, has made no public statements about how he’s leaning on the tax bill. Spokesman Steven Smith said the congressman “is still reviewing the bill and has not taken a position yet.”

For the most part, California’s 14 Republican members have stuck together in support of the bill.

Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale, who had voiced concerns early on, said Tuesday he’s leaning toward voting “Yes.”

“There’s a lot of great things that stand out about the tax bill. We’re getting it to a place where if we can just work out a couple of these smaller issues, we know the economy is going to boom with this,” Knight said. “We’re still talking, we’re still chatting.”

So far, Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista is the only California Republican member to say he will vote against the plan.

“This is a pretty good bill from a business standpoint and a poorly thought-out bill on the non-business side,” Issa said Tuesday. “I know it’s not going to change, and I’m just going to have to make a vote of conscience.”

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Gabrielle Giffords’ gun control group endorses Gil Cisneros in race against Rep. Ed Royce

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California clears the way for testing of fully driverless cars. Local, federal interests have concerns

At the beginning of the year, efforts to put driverless cars on California’s streets looked like they were careening.

Uber had defied state officials by failing to get permits to test its technology and then the company shipped its cars to Arizona to test them there. After four years of trying, regulators were still trying to write rules for testing cars without anyone in the driver’s seat. Lawmakers and tech industry representatives worried that California was losing its grip on innovation in a sector primed for growth.

Now, after this year’s release of guidelines from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the mood has changed. Californians should expect to see driverless cars tested on the state’s roads early next year.

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California sheriffs will play vital role in implementing the ‘sanctuary state’ law they fiercely opposed

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is one of many county sheriffs opposed Senate Bill 54.
Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims is one of many county sheriffs opposed Senate Bill 54.
(Gary Kazanjian / For The Times)

In California, at least 40 of 58 county sheriffs opposed the “sanctuary state” law designed to limit the people that law enforcement officers can detain, question or investigate at the request of federal immigration officials. Soon, they will be on the front line in implementing it.

As keepers of jails across the state, sheriffs will retain control over who has access to the citizenship status of hundreds of thousands of people booked into their facilities every day. As elected officials, many represent conservative or rural areas, where voters might be more likely to oppose the new state law.

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GOP groups pushing California Republicans to back House tax bill

California Republicans have been largely united on the House tax bill, but with pressure building through ads by a host of concerned groups, two conservative political action committees went up Monday with new ads encouraging them to back the plan.

The $1.5 million in television and online ads from American Action Network, a super PAC connected with House Speaker Paul Ryan, target 23 Republicans in California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The California members are Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock, David Valadao of Hanford, Steve Knight of Palmdale, Mimi Walters of Irvine and Darrell Issa of Vista.

The ads target some Republicans in high tax states who have said they have concerns about ending certain deductions, like the mortgage interest deduction and the state and local tax deduction. Issa is the only California Republican who has said he cannot back the bill unless changes are made.

Half a dozen Democratic groups are running ads of their own pressuring the GOP members not to back the bill, but these are some of the first efforts by Republicans to shore up support through ads in the Golden State.

A similar ad urging four House Republicans to “keep your promise and vote yes on tax reform” will air on cable and radio. The ads by pro-Trump PAC 45Committee will target Issa, Denham and Knight.

The House is scheduled to vote on the tax bill Thursday before members leave for Thanksgiving.

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Watch how ‘SNL’ poked fun at Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein

“Saturday Night Live” over the weekend teased the “fresh new faces” of the Democratic Party: longtime California members of Congress Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, making fun of the party leaders’ reactions after Democrats won in elections across the country last week.

“You love our fresh new ideas delivered by fresh new faces, like me, Nancy Pelosi,” the Pelosi character says in a skit billed as a commercial for the Democratic National Committee. “And me, Dianne Feinstein,” the Feinstein character says.

The skit, which also pokes fun at Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others, capitalizes on complaints from within the party that older members have stayed in power too long, blocking ideas from a new generation of Democrats.

Pelosi’s office wouldn’t comment on the skit and Feinstein hasn’t responded to requests for comment. Both have emphasized their lengthy experience as a benefit to the party during the Trump administration.

The skit goes on to point out that Democrats may have learned from the last election.

“We can’t just appeal to coastal elites,” Kate McKinnon as Nancy Pelosi says. “We need mouth breathers from Wisconsin.”

“And window-lickers from Ohio as well,” Cecily Strong, playing Feinstein, says.

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Emily’s List makes makes its picks for three statewide races in California

State Controller Betty Yee
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Emily’s List, an influential Democratic organization that promotes women running for office, on Monday endorsed three candidates running for statewide office in California.

The group backed Eleni Kounalakis for lieutenant governor, Fiona Ma for state treasurer and Betty Yee, who is running for reelection as state controller.

Kounalakis of San Francisco, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary and fundraiser for former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, is in a race for lieutenant governor that is shaping up to be one of 2018’s most competitive down-ballot contests in California.

Among her Democratic rivals are state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), the favorite of many establishment California Democrats; Los Angeles physician Asif Mahmood, who also helped raise money for Clinton’s presidential campaign; and San Francisco Bay Area attorney Jeff Bleich, a former U.S. ambassador to Australia and special counsel to President Obama.

Neither Ma — who currently serves on the state Board of Equalization — nor Yee face a serious challenge so far.

“With women’s health care access, the environment, immigrant rights and middle-class economic opportunity all under attack by Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers in Washington, California families and communities need tough leaders in top statewide elected positions to fight for them,” Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List, said in a written statement.

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More political groups pressure California Republicans on tax bill

With a floor vote expected soon on the proposed GOP tax overhaul, California’s House Republicans are the target of several ad campaigns highlighting the changes that could hit Californians hardest.

Red to Blue California, a PAC seeking to unseat seven vulnerable GOP lawmakers, began running digital ads Monday casting the tax bill as “billionaire tax cuts” and urging voters to on call their members of Congress to oppose the plan.

The group said the ads will reach about 250,000 people in each of the seven GOP-held districts where Hillary Clinton won last year.

Those seats are currently held by Reps. Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Steve Knight, Ed Royce, Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher and Darrell Issa.

A separate group, Americans Against Double Taxation, launched a nationwide radio ad campaign Friday targeting several Republicans in California, calling the tax bill “a scam that double-taxes the middle class and explodes the deficit.”

The ad calls out the proposed elimination of or cuts to the home mortgage tax deduction and deductions for state and local taxes.

A third PAC, Fight Back California, has been running digital ads over the last week, targeting about 30,000 voters in each of the seven districts and focusing primarily on homeowners.

Unlike their counterparts in states such as New York and New Jersey, California Republicans haven’t put up much of a fight against the tax bill and the possible elimination of these popular tax deductions. So far, Issa (R-Vista) is the only Republican of the California delegation to come out against the House bill.

The changes to the mortgage interest deduction would especially affect California homeowners.

------------

UPDATES

Nov. 14, 1:56 p.m.: This article has been updated to clarify that Fight Back California is targeting 30,000 voters in each of the seven districts.

This article was originally published at 3 a.m. Nov. 13

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California’s Senate to hand over all sexual abuse complaints to outside investigators

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles)
(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

In the wake of new allegations against a California state senator and criticism of a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment, the leader of California’s Senate said Sunday that all abuse complaints will now be handled by independent investigators and more information will be released to the public.

“The people who work here and the public we serve must have complete confidence that no public official is above the law or our strict zero-tolerance harassment policies,” said Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles). “Those who violate these policies will be held to account — swiftly and justly.”

De León announced on Sunday that the state Senate Rules Committee, the governing body that also handles human resources for the upper house’s employees, will transfer “any and all allegations” of sexual harassment to an independent legal team with the power to discipline those who are found responsible.

The change in policy comes after new allegations of inappropriate behavior with a former employee have come to light against state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). The woman told her story on Saturday to the Sacramento Bee. The newspaper reported that a spokesman for Mendoza called the woman’s allegations “completely false.” Her current supervisor, Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), posted on Facebook on Saturday that he trusts “her completely” in telling the story.

The decision to hand over sexual harassment investigations from senators and staff to an outside law firm, which has yet to be hired, was made in consultation with Democratic women in the Senate.

“These reforms are about trust, about justice and about time,” De León said in a statement, “and I thank my colleagues, especially our women’s caucus, for making them an urgent priority.”

The announcement came as De León opted to move out of a Sacramento suburban home he shared with Mendoza. A spokesman said Sunday night that De León is looking for new housing options in the capital city.

Last week, allegations surfaced that Mendoza had invited a legislative fellow to the house. A joint statement from members of the Senate Rules Committee on Sunday called the allegations against Mendoza “troubling.”

De León also announced what appeared to be a change in policy regarding Senate disclosure of abuse allegations, following reporting by The Times last week that officials were denying public access to some of the broad data covering allegations made over the past decade. The new policy, according to the news release, is that “general findings” will be made public. It did not appear, however, that the Senate would apply the new guidelines to records from past complaints — only noting that data would be made available on “current complaints, allegations and open investigations.”

One of the leaders of the effort to highlight sexual harassment issues, Adama Iwu, applauded the decision in a post on Twitter but also said that there needs to be “ONE process for the entire Capitol community.”

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Majority of Californians disagree with President Trump’s handling of NFL protests

Californians remain deeply split over NFL players’ protests against racial inequality and police brutality during the national anthem at games, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll has found.

More Californians seemed to oppose the protests than support them, and certain racial and partisan groups have fervent opposing beliefs about whether players should kneel while the anthem is playing, according to the poll. It found 38% opposed and 33% supported, just within the margin of error.

The online survey of 1,504 eligible voters in California was conducted from Oct. 27 through Nov. 6 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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California’s GOP members of Congress targeted in new ads over Republican tax plan

Five of the state’s GOP members of Congress are being targeted in television advertisements that began airing Saturday about the Republican tax reform plan that would disproportionately impact residents of high-tax states such as California.

The ads, which urge constituents to order their representatives in Congress to oppose the plan, are airing on cable and network stations in districts represented by Darrell Issa of Vista, Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Ed Royce of Fullerton and Mimi Walters of Irvine.

“The Republican tax plan will raise taxes on California families by eliminating middle-class tax deductions to pay for a massive tax break for the super wealthy and big corporations,” a narrator says during the 30-second ad. “Tell your member of Congress to vote ‘no’ on the Republican tax plan. California families can’t afford it.”

The ads are being aired in a six-figure purchase by “Not One Penny,” a coalition of liberal and labor groups. The five members of Congress who are targeted all represent districts that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 presidential campaign. Flipping those districts is critical to the Democrats’ effort to retake the House of Representatives next year.

Republican members of Congress from states with high taxes and high housing costs are facing competing pressures — a desire to accomplish a major legislative achievement before the midterm elections, and a reluctance to support a bill that could disproportionately affect their constituents.

The House version of the tax proposal would eliminate the deduction for state and local income and sales taxes, limit the property tax deduction to $10,000 and cap the mortgage interest deduction on loans up to $500,000, rather than the current $1 million. The Senate version preserves the current mortgage deduction but eliminates the property tax deduction.

Issa has said he opposes the House version of the bill, joining GOP lawmakers from New Jersey and New York.

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California Republicans give big to gas tax repeal initiative

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Former software engineer will challenge Democratic Rep. Scott Peters

Freeman Michaels says he’s never paid much attention to party labels. A registered Democrat at the moment, he said he’s previously been a Green Party member and an independent.

He’s running for Congress in 2018 as an independent, challenging three-term Democratic Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego.

“I feel like it’s my race to lose. I don’t think he’s doing anything special,” Michaels said of Peters, who has built a reputation as moderate and business-minded. “He’s just kind of a middle-of-the-road guy, exactly what the Democrats want. I feel like the divide is so strong in this country.”

Michaels, 43, is a former software engineer who said he’s running in part to promote his idea of a new “cooperative economy” that would blend the open-source philosophy from technology circles with small business and entrepreneurship. The result, he said, would be a “direct transfer of power to the people.”

He faces at least four Republican opponents who also are seeking to unseat Peters next year.

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FBI’s Russia investigation is looking into Rohrabacher meeting with former Trump advisor

As part of his investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign, FBI special counsel Robert Mueller is questioning witnesses about a meeting that allegedly took place shortly before the election between Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and former Trump advisor Michael Flynn, NBC is reporting.

Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has long advocated for a friendlier relationship between the United States and Russia. His name has tangentially come up in relation to the investigation, but this is the first direct mention that the FBI is looking at a meeting in which Rohrabacher participated.

The congressman’s staff did not immediately return a request for comment Friday, a federal holiday.

The meeting in question took place in Washington on Sept. 20, 2016, and was arranged by Flynn’s lobbying firm, the Flynn Intel Group. Flynn’s business partners and son, Michael G. Flynn, also attended, according to the NBC report. The unnamed sources cited in the report could not say if the men discussed U.S. policy toward Russia.

Flynn was working as an advisor to Trump’s presidential campaign at the time.

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California asks judge to block Trump administration rule change for birth control coverage

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra.
( (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) )

Attorneys for California have asked a federal judge to block a Trump administration rule change that restricts access to birth control for some women.

State Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a petition late Thursday for a nationwide preliminary injunction to halt the new rule that allows employers to deny women birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“A woman’s birth control and health decisions should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctor – not by her employer and not by politicians,” Becerra said in a statement.

The request for an injunction follows action by Becerra in October, when he filed a lawsuit alleging the contraception rules are discriminatory.

The latest action alleges that new rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act by not disclosing the process for changing policy, and the 1st Amendment by allowing employers to use religious beliefs to discriminate against employees by denying them a federally entitled health benefit.

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Californians strongly oppose Trump — and 53% say state’s members of Congress should ‘never’ work with him

A year after his election, President Trump remains wildly unpopular in California, and the state’s voters are split over whether members of Congress should work with him when possible, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll has found.

The percentage of voters seeking cooperation overall — 47% — dropped somewhat when it came to Trump’s immigration policies, which the state’s Democratic officeholders have fought with legislation and lawsuits.

Most California voters praised immigrants and rejected negative characterizations of them that have come from the president and some of his supporters. Eight in 10 said immigrants here without proper documentation were seeking work, not “a handout,” and that they improve the communities in which they live.

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‘My Democratic friends are mad at me’: Donna Brazile explains herself in deep-left San Francisco

After publishing an unfettered memoir critiquing Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, former Democratic Party leader Donna Brazile on Thursday doubled down on her criticism of the nominee before a receptive audience in deepest-left California.

Brazile’s tell-all book has revived sour Election Day memories for Democrats, including her claim that the party gamed the nomination process in Clinton’s favor.

In one of the most jarring bombshells, Brazile wrote that she found the Clinton campaign so inept, and the former secretary of State’s health so concerning after she fainted, that she considered having then-Vice President Joe Biden take over as the White House nominee.

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Most California voters already want to overturn gas tax increase, poll finds

Eric Henry buys gas in Sacramento in March 2014.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Most California voters would scrap the higher gas tax and vehicle fees recently approved by the Legislature to provide money to repair the state’s roads and bridges and improve mass transit, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll.

When asked their preference if the matter were put to a vote today, 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would cancel the tax and fee hikes, and 45.8% said they would vote to keep the increases in place.

The question is timely because two groups are working to put initiatives on the November 2018 ballot that would allow voters to repeal the 12-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase that took effect this month and motor vehicle fee increases that start next year.

“Put to a popular vote, the gas tax for infrastructure is in trouble,” said Robert Shrum, the director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. “I certainly would not want to start out at 47% support if I was in favor of this and there was a ballot measure.

“This is a socially liberal state tinged with fiscal conservatism and a certain level of frustration with taxes,” he added.

Opposition is strongest among Republicans — 74.6% wanted to cancel the tax increase and fees, according to Jill Darling, survey director at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.

The gas tax increase is supported by 55% of Democrats, the poll found, which Darling said is “pretty lukewarm” given that the party is responsible for the legislation.

There also were strong regional differences. Voters in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area — California’s most traffic-clogged regions — favored preserving the gas tax increase, the poll found. L.A. voters surveyed backed it by 52.8%, and Bay Area voters by 57.9%. In all other regions, majorities of respondents said they favored canceling it.

The poll was conducted online among 1,504 eligible voters in California from Oct. 27 through Nov. 6 — right as the gas tax increase was taking effect. The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The poll results were not surprising to opponents of the gas tax legislation, including Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego city councilman who is heading an initiative drive to repeal the tax.

“No amount of spin and deception will fool California voters because they know the gas tax adds to their cost of living without fixing our roads,” DeMaio said.

However, the poll was not a significant concern to supporters of the gas tax, including Michael Quigley, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs.

“While no one likes to pay more for anything, we’re confident that when voters see the benefits and accountability provisions in SB 1 — driving on better roads, safer bridges and less traffic congestion - they’ll oppose any repeal,” Quigley said. “Our polling shows voters strongly oppose repealing funds for transportation improvements.”

10 a.m.: This post was updated to include reactions from opponents and supporters of the gas tax.

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Following allegations, Orange County Democrats grapple with sexual harassment in politics

A panel discussion hosted by the Orange County Young Democrats about sexual harassment within politics.
(Christine Mai-Duc / Los Angeles Times)

As Orange County Democrats grapple with sexual harassment allegations that have hit several local leaders, young Democrats in the region gathered this week to discuss how to move forward.

The Orange County Young Democrats, which sponsored a discussion on Wednesday, ignited a firestorm last month after it amplified and commented on allegations local activists had made about Orange County politicos.

The issue is coming into focus as Democrats are gearing up for big electoral fights in the midterm elections, and as scrutiny of alleged sexual misconduct in Hollywood and political circles intensifies.

“My job is to get Democrats elected from city council on up,” county party chair Fran Sdao said in an interview. “We will deal with it but I’m very forward thinking.”

Last month, Erik Taylor, a former Democratic Party of Orange County chair, resigned as campaign manager to congressional candidate Phil Janowicz after media reports about allegations made against him. Sdao, who took over as party chair in January, did not elaborate on the progress of the internal investigation the party promised after the allegations came to light.

“I don’t have details,” Sdao said. “I have rumors, I have second, third-hand information.” Sdao added that the party will “take our time and look into these things.”

Another man who resigned from an advocacy group earlier this year following harassment allegations still sits on the county party’s central committee, Sdao confirmed. There are no rules that allow his removal, something she said party leaders are examining.

Jennifer Muir Beuthin, who sits on the Orange County Labor Federation’s executive board, said the group has hired a law firm to conduct an internal investigation into the actions of a third man, a prominent local labor leader.

“We’re responding in a very serious and measured way,” Beuthin said. “We are just asking everybody to respect the fact that we are going through it in a very measured way and to allow the space for us to be able to do that.”

Sdao said the county party is also in the process of developing a code of conduct that will cover sexual harassment, and designing required trainings for employees and volunteers. She noted the prevalence of young people among the ranks of volunteers and campaign staffers in local politics.

“There’s lots of young people and they’re very enthusiastic, they want to work hard ... and they’re not sure of where the boundaries are,” Sdao said.

Kelsey Brewer, a panelist who is also an Orange County Young Democrats member, took issue with that characterization. To paint the allegations that have circulated as cases of confused boundaries was “disingenuous,” Brewer said. “I think these people know what they did was wrong.”

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Investigations underway as state Sen. Tony Mendoza denies improper conduct with female legislative fellow

State Sen. Tony Mendoza
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The state Senate Rules Committee said Thursday that an investigation is underway into complaints from former aides to state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) who have alleged that the lawmaker invited home a female legislative fellow who asked for a job.

In addition, Cal State Sacramento, which runs the legislative fellows program, said Thursday it is investigating whether one of its female fellows assigned to the Legislature was sexually harassed.

The Sacramento Bee cited multiple anonymous sources Thursday in reporting that Mendoza had invited the unidentified fellow from his office to review résumés at his home after she asked for a permanent job. The newspaper reported that two Mendoza aides met with Senate Rules Committee staff and detailed allegations that Mendoza engaged in a pattern of inappropriate behavior with the fellow.

Mendoza denied acting improperly.

“I would never knowingly abuse my authority nor intentionally put an employee into an awkward or uncomfortable position,” he said in a statement Thursday.

The senator “recalls an offer of assistance to review the fellow’s resume and help with the fellow’s job search, which he would offer any employee,” said spokesman Saeed Ali.

Ali said that the unidentified fellow never went to the senator’s home and that the senator did not invite her to a party or to stay at his hotel room for a golf tournament, as was outlined in the Bee’s story.

“If I ever communicated or miscommunicated anything that made an employee feel uncomfortable, I apologize,” Mendoza said Thursday.

Senate Secretary Daniel Alvarez said he could not comment on details of any complaint.

“What we can say is that Senate Rules takes any allegation of inappropriate workplace behavior extremely seriously — and this is no different,” Alvarez said. “These allegations are being rigorously reviewed and investigated consistent with our legal process, employment standards and privacy protections — and has been for months.”

Alvarez said the Mendoza aides were already terminated before any complaint was made.

“There was no connection between their termination and the subsequent complaint,” Alvarez said.

In September, Mendoza fired chief of staff Eusevio Padilla, legislative director Adriana Ruelas and scheduler Stacey Brown. Ali, the senator’s spokesman, told The Times then that the firings had to do with Mendoza getting new committee assignments and needing staffers with more expertise in those areas.

A statement from Cal State Sacramento said: “We were just recently made aware of the allegations of sexual harassment of one of our Fellows. The University takes its obligations to protect its students and employees seriously, and we are in the process of investigating any violations of University policies.”

Padilla and Brown now are assigned to the staff of Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) and did not respond to requests for comment. Padilla deferred calls earlier this week to the Senate human resources office.

Stern said he hired the two aides because of their talent as part of an open recruitment process. He said Thursday that he is upset by the daily news stories alleging inappropriate behavior by state officials.

“I’m kind of frustrated here,” he said. “There are too many secrets in the Capitol right now. It’s got to end. Every day it seems like some new revelation emerges, and I want our employees to feel safe, and our lobbyists to feel safe, and interns and fellows.”

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California Senate Democrats ask Congress to preserve low-income housing funding

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) addresses the Senate in Sacramento last year.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) and 18 other Democratic state senators are urging congressional leaders to preserve low-income housing funding in any attempt to overhaul the nation’s tax system.

“While Californians struggle to make rent and cover basic necessities like food and medical care, we cannot afford to lose the largest program providing affordable housing,” said the letter, dated Thursday, to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco.

The House GOP plan would effectively eliminate part of a tax credit program that reduces what companies owe in taxes in exchange for investing in low-income housing projects. In addition, it would do away with a federal bond program that also funds housing developments. The letter asks Congress to maintain those programs.

The letter follows similar ones from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and Assembly Democrats and State Treasurer John Chiang.

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Silicon Valley congressman endorses Kevin de León over Dianne Feinstein for Senate

Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna has endorsed Senate leader Kevin de León’s bid for Senate over Sen. Dianne Feinstein, according to De León’s campaign.

His endorsement of the challenger isn’t unexpected. Khanna had encouraged a challenge to Feinstien as she seeks a fifth full term in the Senate, but it hadn’t been clear whether Khanna would support de León or Alison Hartson, who is backed by the progressive group Justice Democrats. Khanna is a member of the group.

Khanna won his seat in 2016 by challenging an incumbent Democrat and has urged others to do the same, saying “I just think that renewal is good for democracy.”

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Tom Steyer adds $10 million to his Trump impeachment campaign, remains undecided about running for office

Billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer said Thursday that he planned to double his spending on his impeachment campaign against President Trump to $20 million.

“The American people have responded beyond our expectations to this message, and it’s clear we’re giving voice to the deep concerns about this president,” Steyer told reporters on a conference call.

He said that in addition to millions of viewers of the “Need to Impeach” group’s television ad, 1.3 million people have watched the spot on YouTube and 1.9 million have signed a petition calling for the president’s removal from office.

Steyer said the group plans to unveil two new TV ads in coming weeks.

Asked about the concerns among some Democrats, notably House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, that the impeachment message distracts from their efforts in Washington and the goal of retaking the House of Representatives in 2018, Steyer said that his effort was not about campaign tactics.

“I think what we’re trying to do is give a forum and a voice to the American people to register their concerns and fears about what this president is doing,” he said. “We think what we’re doing is the morally right thing to do.”

Steyer has long flirted with running for office, most recently in a challenge to a fellow Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein. The impeachment campaign, which features the former hedge fund manager speaking directly to the camera and soberly laying out why he believes the president should be removed from office, has spurred speculation that he was trying to increase his name recognition among voters. Feinstein has faced criticism from California liberals for refusing to publicly back the idea of impeaching Trump.

Steyer said he had not ruled out running for office.

“What’s we’re doing on the ground around the United States and on this campaign right now, that is taking up all my time,” he said. “I’m evaluating [running], but I don’t feel like I have to make a decision right now.”

A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released Thursday showed that Steyer has a long way to go if he does decide to challenge Feinstein.

About three-quarters of registered voters surveyed do not know enough about Steyer to form an opinion about him, the poll found. In a three-way race, it said, Feinstein won the support of half of registered voters who plan to cast a ballot in the primary, state Senate leader Kevin de León won the backing of nearly a quarter and Steyer trailed at 17%.

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Pelosi stops short of vowing to block spending bill without a DACA fix by the end of the year

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday that Democrats want legislation to address the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children before the end of the year, but stopped short of saying she’d block a spending bill to keep the government open if it doesn’t happen.

“I’ll have to see what the spending bill is,” Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said. “But I fully intend that we will not leave here without the Dream Act passing, with a DACA fix, and I’ve made that very clear.”

President Trump announced in September he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for recipients. The Dream Act is the Democrats’ preferred fix, and it has multiple Republican co-sponsors.

“We’re not kicking the can down to March,” Pelosi said.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested in a separate news conference Thursday that Republicans don’t feel the need to rush.

“I don’t think there’s really any need to have artificial deadlines within the one we already have,” Ryan said.

He said Republicans would rather see the fix pass “on its own merits” rather than as part of a spending bill.

Senate Republicans have said that Trump doesn’t want the DACA fix in the spending bill either.

But House Republicans may need Democratic support to pass the spending bill, especially if the more conservative wing of the party refuses to vote for it, as it has repeatedly in recent years. That potentially gives Pelosi leverage to demand the inclusion of a DACA fix, which some in her caucus, including several Californians, support.

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California voters could decide on $1.5 billion in children’s hospital improvements next year

The neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

Californians could vote on a $1.5-billion bond measure to expand and renovate children’s hospitals across the state under a proposed 2018 ballot measure submitted Thursday.

The measure, authored by the California Children’s Hospital Assn., would create a fund for children’s hospitals in the University of California system or nonprofit hospitals that specialize in children’s services to receive grants.

If proponents collect enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot, it would join a number of other bonds to be decided next year. Voters in June will decide on a $4-billion bond for water and parks improvements, and in November on a $4-billion bond to fund low-income housing construction. Other groups may consider sponsoring additional bond measures for improvements to water infrastructure.

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California Assembly Democrats ask McCarthy, Pelosi for tax overhaul that is ‘fair’ to the state

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount)
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Calling out a series of provisions they argue will unfairly target Californians, Assembly Democrats asked the state’s congressional leaders Thursday not to “rush to pass legislation” overhauling federal tax policy.

“Better to give Californians legislation they can be thankful for than to rush to pass legislation by Thanksgiving,” said the letter signed by Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and the entire Democratic caucus.

The letter to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Sacramento and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco comes as lawmakers on Capitol Hill consider moving the current proposal forward for a vote before the end of the month.

The state lawmakers highlighted six specific concerns with the bill now making its way through the House of Representatives. Those include eliminating the deduction for paying state and local taxes, capping deductions for property taxes and canceling the deduction for student loan debt.

“While we often disagree on tax-related issues, we do agree that if Californians are going to be taxed, they deserve to benefit, not Texas or other states,” wrote Rendon and his caucus. “And California has already been a ‘donor state’ — paying more in federal taxes than we get back — for far too long.”

Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown said the House Republican proposal “transfers income from individuals and families to large and powerful corporate structures.” On Wednesday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) broke ranks with other Republicans in the state delegation by saying he didn’t support the plan.

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Senate tax bill would end popular tax break used by 1 in 3 Californians

California’s Republican members may have hoped the Senate tax bill unveiled Thursday would revive the popular deductions for all state income and property taxes, but it doesn’t.

Getting rid of state and local tax deductions is a blow to residents of high tax states, including California, where 1 in 3 people claim the deduction.

California’s 14 Republicans weren’t part of a recent compromise between House leaders and New York and New Jersey lawmakers to preserve the property tax portion of the deduction, capped at $10,000 per household. That deal helped East Coast states with high property taxes, but didn’t do much for Californians, where property taxes are lower.

As Democrats in a Republican-held Senate, California’s U.S. senators won’t have much power to push back against the elimination of the deduction.

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Democrats add California’s Rep. Tom McClintock to list of vulnerable Republicans for 2018

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove) talks with voters after speaking to a tea party group.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Thursday that it’s adding Northern California’s Rep. Tom McClintock, a conservative Republican, to its list of targets in next year’s midterm elections.

The announcement is a sign of increasing confidence after Democrats won sweeping victories in Virginia and New Jersey earlier this week. The party is hoping for a wave of support that could return the House to Democratic control.

“In response to the incredible outpouring of enthusiasm and grassroots support we are seeing across the country, Democrats are building an unprecedented battlefield in California ahead of the 2018 elections,” said a statement from Drew Godinich, spokesman for the DCCC.

Beating McClintock could prove difficult, whether or not there’s a wave: He’s faced little Democratic opposition since winning his seat in 2008. His 4th Congressional District includes some Sacramento suburbs, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Republicans have a 15-point voter-registration advantage in the district, which President Trump won by 16 points.

“To suggest the district is vulnerable is fanciful,” said Jon Huey, McClintock’s campaign manager.

There are three Democrats — Regina Bateson, Roza Calderon and Jessica Morse — running to replace McClintock. Morse raised more money than McClintock in the third quarter of the year.

Democrats were already going after nine other Republican-held districts in California before Thursday’s announcement. They need to flip at least a few of them in order to take back control of the House.

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Proposed tax overhaul hurts affordable housing in GOP districts, California treasurer says

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield).
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Low-income housing programs on the chopping block in the House GOP’s proposed tax ovehaul created nearly 10,000 new homes in the 14 Republican-held congressional districts in California over the last four years, according to new data released by state Treasurer John Chiang.

Chiang, who has been advocating for the preservation of the programs, argued that California cannot afford to lose any low-income housing funding as the state continues to face a housing affordability crisis.

“As the list of projects shows, this is not an abstract issue, or one that impacts only one region or a small number of Californians,” Chiang wrote in a Thursday letter to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield). “It is broad-based and affects constituents like yours and those in congressional districts across the state. We all have seen the tangible benefits of these vital programs; now we must come together to save them.”

The House GOP plan would effectively eliminate part of a tax credit program that reduces what companies owe in taxes in exchange for investing in low-income housing projects. In addition, it would do away with a federal bond program that also funds housing developments.

The two programs have helped subsidize the production of two-thirds of all the affordable housing built or preserved in the state.

With the corporate tax rate cut from 35% to 20% under the GOP plan, businesses also will have less incentive to invest in the surviving tax credit program, reducing their value and the amount of housing those credits could subsidize.

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It’s a tightening race for governor and Sen. Dianne Feinstein holds strong lead for reelection

Californians overwhelmingly support Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s reelection bid, and she is far better known than her top rival, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Voters are more divided in the governor’s race, creating a closer contest between Democrats Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Newsom leads Villaraigosa by more than 10 percentage points in an election that is shaping up to be competitive, the USC/Times poll found. Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor, has dominated early polls and fundraising.

“It has all the potential to be a real race,” said Bob Shrum, the director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC. “Maybe in California we’re going to have an election that’s not foreordained.” He added that the poll results suggest a repeat of the 2016 Senate contest that featured two Democrats on the fall ballot since no Republicans made it past the top-two primary. The odds of the GOP being shut out in both races are “very high,” Shrum said.

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Darrell Issa among Republicans now pushing for quick DACA fix

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) joined about a dozen Republican House members from across the country on Thursday to urge House leaders to find a fast solution for the hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally as children.

“It is time for people to come to the middle ... in a way that hasn’t always been the case,” Issa told reporters.

Democrats and Republicans are working behind the scenes on a replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and a variety of ideas are being discussed. Other Senate Republicans have said they don’t plan to address the legal status of DACA recipients before the end of the year.

An estimated 200,000 of the nearly 800,000 DACA recipients live in California, giving the Golden State an outsized stake in resolving their legal status. President Trump announced in September he would end the program and gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for DACA recipients.

On Wednesday, several California Democrats joined colleagues in saying they will not help Republicans pass the spending bill to keep the government open, which has to pass by Dec. 8, if a legislative fix for DACA recipients is not in the offing.

Issa said people should question members of Congress who say they won’t support a bill without an increase in border enforcement or have other demands.

“Ask the question of 435 members of the House: Where are you? Are you willing to get off of the enforcement first? And are you willing to get off of the all-or-nothing? Because both are signs of people who are not willing to stand with the rest of us here today and make a difference in these young people’s lives, a difference that has been overdue for at least the 17 years that I have been here,” he said.

Issa voted against a legislative fix for DACA recipients, called the Dream Act, when it passed the House in 2010. The bill’s failure to pass the Senate was part of what prompted President Obama to create the DACA program in 2014.

Issa, who is considered one of the most vulnerable House Republicans in the 2018 midterm election, is the third California Republican who has urged House leadership to find a DACA fix. Vulnerable Central Valley Reps. David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock have signed on as co-sponsors of a new version of the Dream Act, the Democrats’ preferred DACA replacement.

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Villaraigosa: ‘There’s not enough concern about the environmental impacts of climate change on the poor’

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday that Democratic wins in Virginia and New Jersey are clear signs that voters across the United States want to elect leaders who have a vision of uniting the nation.

That vision, Villaraigosa said, should include a focus on creating clean energy jobs and job training, especially for low-income residents.

“I think what [the election] portends is that Democrats need to keep on working,” Villaraigosa said. “I believe we need to focus a lot more on the economy and moving people into the middle class — that’s what I’m doing as governor.”

Villaraigosa was in Los Angeles to discuss climate change, energy and water issues at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, a nonprofit organization that houses entrepreneurs and laboratories focused on creating new green technologies.

In conversation with David Nahai, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Villaraigosa said he wants to see environmental strategies implemented that are evidence-based and cost-effective — and to ensure that there are no disparities in who benefits from the state’s environmental policies.

“We can’t just subsidize Teslas and not [help] people who drive a Toyota or ride a bus like my mama did,” Villaraigosa said. “And that’s why, in terms of our environmental agenda, carbon emissions is important, but so is pollution. … There’s not enough concern about the environmental impacts of climate change on the poor and working people.”

Villaraigosa was also pressed at the event about the release of his tax returns — he is the only Democratic candidate for governor who hasn’t released them — after Delaine Eastin provided her returns to reporters Tuesday. He said he will release his tax returns “probably sometime in the next couple of weeks.”

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Emissions fall under California’s cap-and-trade program

(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Industries regulated under California’s cap-and-trade program reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 5% in 2016, according to new data released by state officials.

Richard Corey, executive director of the California Air Resources Board, said the numbers show the state is on track to meet its emission-reduction targets in 2020 and 2030.

“This is also further proof that cap-and-trade is now part of the fabric of the California economy,” he said in a statement.

The cap-and-trade program requires oil refineries, food processors and other industries to purchase permits to release emissions into the atmosphere, a system intended to create a financial incentive to cut pollution. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation this summer to extend the program until 2030.

The nearly 5% reduction outpaces the state’s progress in previous years, which ranged from 0.7% to almost 2%.

Chris Busch, research director at Energy Innovation, a San Francisco think tank, said the results were “definitely better than expected.”

However, he reiterated concerns that there are too many permits available in the cap-and-trade market, something that could make it more difficult for the state to achieve its emission-reduction goals.

“That could eventually weigh down the effectiveness of the system,” Busch said.

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Mimi Walters says she’ll support tax bill ‘because middle income Americans need tax relief’

As long as the middle-income Americans in my district are going to have more money in their pocket, then I’m going to support the bill. That is my No. 1 concern, because middle-income Americans need tax relief.

— Rep. Mimi Walters (R-Irvine), on the GOP tax bill

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein reintroduces assault weapons ban legislation

(Cliff Owen / Associated Press)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation Wednesday to ban the sale and possession of military style assault weapons. The push comes after two mass shootings in six weeks, including a shooting at a church in Texas on Sunday that killed 26 people.

Feinstein indicated she knows the bill has little chance of moving in the Republican-controlled Senate. It is co-sponsored by 22 Democrats, including Feinstein’s fellow California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Feinstein said in a statement that she introduced the bill so “the American people will know that a tool to reduce these massacres is sitting in the Senate, ready for debate and a vote.”

Feinstein authored the original assault weapons ban that was passed in 1994, but Congress did not reauthorize it and the ban ended in 2004.

“After each shooting, we’re told it’s not the right time to act. We’re told to respect the victims by sitting on our hands,” Feinstein said. “To those who say now isn’t the time, they’re right — we should have extended the original ban 13 years ago, before hundreds more Americans were murdered with these weapons of war. To my colleagues in Congress, I say do your job.”

The bill would ban the sale, manufacture and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons, including the AR-15 used in several recent mass shootings.

It also bans any assault weapon with a detachable ammunition magazine and military characteristics. It exempts certain guns typically used for hunting or recreation, and would allow people to keep banned weapons they already have.

The bill also bans bump-fire stocks and other devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire at fully automatic rates, something Feinstein spoke out for after 59 people were killed and more than 500 were injured in the recent Las Vegas shooting.

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East Coast Republicans pushed back against Trump’s tax plan. Why didn’t California’s GOP?

When the House GOP released a plan last month that eliminated a popular tax break, some Republican representatives from high tax states like New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania were outraged.

Republicans from California quietly voiced concerns about the end of a tax break that 1 in 3 Californians use.

The East Coast Republicans voted against a bill to pave the way for the tax overhaul, while the California members went along with House leadership and voted to move ahead.

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More California Democrats say they won’t vote to keep government open without fix for DACA

Half a dozen California Democrats joined House colleagues Wednesday to say they won’t back a bill that allows the federal government to spend money unless Congress passes the Dream Act to address the legal status of hundreds of thousands of people who were brought to the country illegally as children.

“It’s a priority. Whenever you have a priority you want it done; it needs to be done because these young people deserve to live their lives without fear of being deported,” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said.

The 25 Democrats explained their position in a piece published in the Hill on Wednesday.

An estimated 200,000 of the nearly 800,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program live in California, giving the Golden State an outsized stake in resolving their legal status. President Trump announced in September he would end the program and gave Congress until March to come up with a legislative fix for DACA recipients.

The bill to fund the government needs just a simple majority of House members to pass the chamber. But if conservative hard-liners balk on the spending bill, as they have in the past, Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) may need to court Democrats to pass it and keep the government open. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) hasn’t ruled out demanding a fix for so-called Dreamers.

Ryan has said no decision has been made on when the Dream Act might be considered, including whether it will be added to the spending bill. But several Republican senators have said that Trump does not want to use the spending bill to fix DACA.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has made a similar pledge to vote against the spending bill in the Senate.

Just two California Republicans, Reps. David Valadao of Hanford and Jeff Denham of Turlock, have joined all the California Democrats as cosponsors of the Dream Act.

Three Southern California ACLU affiliates released an ad Wednesday urging Republican Reps. Paul Cook of Yucca Valley, Darrell Issa of Vista, Devin Nunes of Tulare, Ed Royce of Fullerton and Mimi Walters of Irvine to join them. The ad will appear online and will be followed by radio ads.

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Delaine Eastin’s tax returns show most of her income came from state pension, investments

Delaine Eastin, a Democratic candidate for California governor, greets people as she arrives to speak at a meeting of the East Area Progressive Democrats in Los Angeles in June.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Democratic candidate for governor Delaine Eastin, the former state schools chief, has mostly lived off her California state pension, a handful of investments and some small jobs as an education consultant over the past six years.

According to Eastin’s tax returns, which were made available to reporters Tuesday, her average income from 2011 to 2016 was just over $170,000 a year, with about $80,000 coming from her pension from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.

Before two terms as California’s superintendent of public schools, Eastin also served in the state Assembly representing Union City.

In 2016, Eastin’s income totaled $170,520, with $85,000 coming from her state pension, $28,580 in Social Security benefits, nearly $10,000 from consulting fees and the remainder from investments and personal retirement accounts.

Over the past six years, Eastin has consulted with a variety of educational organizations, including local school boards and county education agencies. She’s also consulted with nonprofits such as the California Emerging Technology Fund, which is run by telecommunications firms to bring internet access to underserved areas.

On average, Eastin has donated roughly $20,000 a year to charity and other causes since 2011, with some of the biggest donations going to UC Davis. She also paid an average of $28,800 in federal taxes and $10,200 in state taxes over those six years.

Eastin also reported rental income from a cabin in Timber Cove, a small coastal community in Sonoma County. She bought the land about 40 years ago with a friend from college for just $22,500, and they later built a small cabin on the property. They sold the place for $638,000 this year, dividing the proceeds between them, according to Eastin’s campaign spokeswoman.

Eastin’s annual income is far less than that of one of her Democratic rivals in the 2018 race for California governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who released his taxes in May. Newsom and his wife made an average of $1.4 million a year though their salaries, investments, wineries, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses between 2010 and 2015.

So far, Eastin, Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang are the only candidates who have released their state and federal tax returns. Like Newsom and Chiang, Eastin allowed reporters to review — but not photocopy — six years of returns on Tuesday.

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Rohrabacher says future homebuyers hurt by tax plan don’t represent a large number of voters

(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher downplayed the effect of the lower mortgage interest deduction in the GOP tax bill Tuesday, saying that people who buy homes in the future will make up a small number of voters.

The Costa Mesa Republican told The Times that because the change only affects future home purchases it “makes it pretty irrelevant as a political issue.”

The tax bill caps the mortgage interest deduction at $500,000 for new mortgages, half of the current $1 million cap. It’s supposed to have an outsized effect on California, where home prices frequently exceed half a million dollars.

Asked about the impact on people who will buy a home in the future, he said, “Those people do not represent a very high portion of the electorate.”

According to U.S. census data, 78.8% of homes in Rohrabacher’s district sold for more than $500,000. Rohrabacher’s neighboring GOP-held districts have similarly high percentages. All the Republican representatives of those districts are all being targeted by Democrats in the 2018 election.

Lobbyists for the real estate and home-building industry have tried to persuade the House to keep the deduction, saying scaling it back will keep people from buying homes. Rohrabacher pushed back on that as well.

“Very few people buy a home based on that; almost nobody buys a home based on that. I didn’t,” he said.

Rohrabacher said he is still weighing the overall tax bill, but won’t decide how to vote based on single deductions.

“If the whole bill is good for the country and good for my constituents, I’m going to vote for it. But it has to be as a whole, it can’t be taken one provision at a time,” he said.

California Republicans in Congress have largely stuck together on the tax bill, while Republicans from New York and New Jersey have threatened to tank the tax bill over provisions such as the lower mortgage interest deduction.

Rohrabacher said it’s because they have different personalities.

“Californians have a different personality than people in New York. I’m a Californian, I’m willing to not beat somebody up at first glance, and I’m going to wait and see how things work out and if I have to disagree, I have to disagree a little bit more gently because I know that we’re trying to work together to accomplish a higher goal here, not just a tax bill. But we’re trying to save our country, make it a better place and you do that by making sure you don’t burn down your bridges,” Rohrabacher said.

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Rep. Ted Lieu says he won’t participate in gun violence moments of silence any more

(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Rep. Ted Lieu walked out of the House chamber Monday night when Speaker Paul D. Ryan called for a moment of silence for the 26 victims of a shooting at a Texas church.

“It wasn’t something I planned. I just felt angry. I’ve been to so many of these, and then nothing happens. I just thought, I can’t do another one,” the Democrat from Torrance said Tuesday.

Lieu, who is Catholic, said he prayed for the victims Sunday after hearing about the shooting, but he couldn’t stomach another moment of silence that isn’t followed by congressional action. He called it a spectacle and said he doesn’t plan to stand for another one, joining other members of the California delegation who don’t participate in such moments of silence.

“All we choose to do is a 60-second moment of silence, and then that’s it and then we move on and I think that is very disrespectful,” Lieu said. “Until we get reasonable gun safety legislation, I’m just not going to do any more moments of silence.”

In a Facebook video shot outside the House chamber as the moment of silence took place, he explained why he walked out.

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Former GOP Rep. Doug Ose considering run for governor of California

Doug Ose attends a fundraiser in the Tahoe City area during an unsuccessful 2008 campaign for Congress.
(Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times)

Former Republican Rep. Doug Ose said Tuesday that he is considering running for governor of California because of grave concerns about state’s future.

“There’s no other way to describe it – we’ve gone backwards. I don’t care whether you’re talking about housing or quality of jobs that are available or road maintenance or the homeless question. There’s nobody in office today that’s doing anything about it,” Ose told the Times. “I’m tired of sitting on the sidelines watching these people take their salary and do nothing.”

Ose, a Sacramento-area resident and developer, served in Congress for six years and left in 2005 because of a self-imposed term limit pledge. He ran unsuccessfully to return to Congress in 2008 and 2014.

He said he does not have a timeline for when he expects to make a decision about the gubernatorial race, and said he is weighing several factors, including whether he wants to take a year off work to mount a campaign.

The 62-year-old said his wife and children are on board with him running.

“As my wife said, ‘You can be a real ... but you’re better than any of these donkeys,’ ” Ose said. “We’ve just got to work through this.”

If Ose decides to run, he would join a field of noteworthy candidates that includes four Democrats and two Republicans.

Ose demurred when asked about the GOP candidates in the race, Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach and businessman John Cox.

“My decision doesn’t have anything to do with what they’re doing,” he said.

But Ose could position himself as a hybrid of the two Republican candidates — he has experience in elected office like Allen and he is a wealthy businessman like Cox.

A critical question is whether GOP voters will consolidate behind a candidate to avoid a repeat of the 2016 U.S. Senate race, when Republican voters splintered behind multiple candidates, resulting in two Democrats competing in the general election.

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California House members pay up on World Series bets

Rep. Jimmy Gomez flew across the country on Monday with a suitcase full of the ingredients for French dip sandwiches from Phillipe’s packed in dry ice.

On Tuesday, the rabid Dodgers fan who represents downtown Los Angeles used a cart decked out in Dodgers gear to deliver the sandwiches to the office of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who represents the Houston area where the Astros’ stadium is located.

“My goodness, I am hungry. I am Astros hungry,” Jackson Lee said as Gomez dropped them off.

Friendly wagers on sports events are a time-honored tradition in Congress, but that doesn’t mean the losing side has to like it.

Members of Congress kept stopping Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Los Angeles) in the hallway after votes Tuesday to compliment him on the Astros jersey he had to wear to satisfy his own bet. Cárdenas grumbled under his breath, but smiled along with the ribbing.

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Darrell Issa says he’ll vote ‘No’ on current tax bill: ‘We can do better than this’

(Olamikan Gbemiga / Associated Press)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) said Tuesday he can’t vote for the current version of the GOP tax bill.

“I think that we can do better than this,” Issa said.

While some of the other 13 Republicans in the California delegation have said they are still reviewing the bill, Issa was the first to indicate he would vote no on the tax overhaul championed by leaders of his party unless changes are made.

He didn’t lay out what changes he’d demand. But he said that while he believes the bill’s business tax code changes will stimulate the economy, he doesn’t think the individual tax cuts will do the same, and they’ll hit some Americans unevenly.

“They say the average person is going to get a reduction, and yet many, many people in my district are going to see a tax increase because we have wanted to give tax reductions over and above those that stimulate the economy,” said Issa, who is considered one of the most vulnerable members in next year’s election. “I am concerned about making sure we don’t give away so much that isn’t economically necessary and then at the same time tell certain people that they have to pay tax increases.”

Issa pointed to the elimination of the deduction on state and local taxes as an example, saying that people shouldn’t be taxed twice on the same money. One in three Californians use the deduction, the loss of which has been a sticking point for members in other high-tax states.

“I don’t think paying your state income tax involuntarily is a loophole,” Issa said. “Very few people would say that state income tax is a loophole.”

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GOP candidate John Cox launches attack against Democrat Gavin Newsom in California governor’s race

Portrait of John H. Cox, Republican candidate for governor, at the the California Republican Party convention in Anaheim.
(Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox is attacking one of his rivals in the race – but not the candidate one would expect.

Rather than critiquing the record of the other main Republican in the race, Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, Cox is blasting Democratic front-runner Gavin Newsom in a fundraising plea.

Cox sent voters mailers urging them to send a “pink slip” to Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor, and tied Newsom to termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown.

“With your help, we can end Gavin Newsom’s employment with the State of California and change our terrible direction before it’s too late,” the letter says, before describing the “disastrous Jerry Brown/Gavin Newsom Record of Failure.”

The letter includes a pledge voters can sign that reads, “Gavin, You’re Fired!” and blames Brown and Newsom for the state’s high tax rates, high poverty rate, crumbling infrastructure and other woes before asking donors to contribute $25 or more.

Brown was reelected in 2014 with 60% of the vote and remains among the most popular politicians in the state, receiving a 62% approval rating in a poll earlier this year by the Public Policy Institute of California.

But Newsom acknowledges that there is a growing disparity between rich and poor in California that needs to be addressed, and says Democrats are to blame given their overwhelming control of the state government. The party has controlled every statewide office since 2011 and holds supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature.

“This happened on our watch. We own it,” Newsom said in an interview earlier this month in San Diego. He argued that elected leaders lacked focus, planning, strategic goals and accountability as they dealt with the recession and its aftermath. “The state has lacked any intentionality. It’s been very situational. We’ve responded to crisis this legislative session. We haven’t been focused on it for the last decade or two.”

He added that his criticism was not an indictment of Brown, whom he described as in triage mode when he took office, tackling a budget deficit and unemployment in the state.

Newsom said California’s leaders must confront income inequality.

“We can focus on a grand strategy and focus on how we can go on a journey together to address these problems,” he said.

Newsom is also the focus of an attack website by one of his Democratic rivals, state Treasurer John Chiang.

He is the front-runner in public polling and fundraising in the 2018 governor’s race, but is facing challenges from several Democrats: former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and Chiang, as well as GOP candidates Cox and Allen.

In a UC Berkeley poll in September, Newsom was favored by 26% of likely voters. Cox, Villaraigosa and Allen received less than half of Newsom’s support and were effectively tied for second place. Chiang and Eastin trailed in single digits.

The two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary will compete in the November general election.

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Gov. Jerry Brown says California could partner with EU, China to fight climate change

(Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

California and the European Union will begin discussions together with China about possibly creating a common carbon market to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Tuesday at a conference in Brussels focused on combating climate change.

“The European Union is definitely a leader, if not the leader, in coping with climate change. That’s why I’m here to link up with the European Union to encourage even greater efforts,” Brown said at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brown met leaders from EU institutions as part of a 10-day European tour that includes a United Nations climate conference in Bonn, Germany. On Saturday, he spoke at an event with scientists at the Vatican.

“The approach of Mr. Trump at a global level is not necessarily as helpful as it might be,” said Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament. “But we are delighted to have Gov. Brown here because it shows there is a strong commitment from the U.S.”

Brown did not refer to President Trump by name during his remarks in Brussels.

When asked if Trump’s announcement in June to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement pushed other politicians to engage more in lowering emissions, Brown said, “I don’t think it’s slowing the world down.”

Brown called climate change an “existential threat” that is harming human health and the environment. He said the recent wildfires in California are proof that politicians need to address climate change now, and not in the distant future.

Brown emphasized that countries must work together to cut carbon emissions.

“California used to have a fire season as we called it. Now we are fighting fires virtually the entire year. The climate is changing and it is changing in different places in different rates,” he said.

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Tom Steyer’s campaign to impeach Trump hits nerves

Billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer has pulled off a rarity in this hyper-charged partisan age: He raised the ire of both President Trump and the president’s Democratic nemesis, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

That unlikely pairing is thanks to the $10 million worth of nationwide TV ads calling for Trump’s impeachment that Steyer launched in late October.

The president lashed out at Steyer in a tweet, deriding him as “wacky & totally unhinged.” Pelosi expressed her displeasure behind closed doors, reportedly telling party leaders that Steyer’s campaign could distract from tangible Democratic efforts to stifle Trump’s Washington agenda.

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Orange County congressional candidates wade into Trump impeachment territory

Plenty of California congressional challengers have invoked the name and face of President Trump in their early ads, but not many have waded into the debate over whether the president should be impeached.

That’s starting to change.

A new ad released by Orange County Democrat Andy Thorburn says explicitly that Trump should be impeached “for obstruction of justice” and “repeatedly lying to the American people.” The 30-second ad, which will run online over the next few weeks, also criticizes “Silent Ed” Royce, the GOP congressman Thorburn is running to unseat, for not commenting on the issue.

Thorburn began asking Royce on social media last week whether he would support impeaching the president if he fires special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

Another Orange County candidate, Democrat Harley Rouda, recently sent out a fundraising appeal saying he “won’t keep calm until Trump is impeached.” Rouda is running against GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa.

While Rohrabacher and Royce both represent districts Hillary Clinton won over Trump last year, it’s still not clear whether backing impeachment will be a winning strategy for their challengers. Democratic voter registration still lags behind that of Republicans, and in recent national polls, only 40% of voters think Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against the President.

Democratic donor and activist Tom Steyer, who has said the public “deserves to know where every Democrat stands” on the issue, recently launched a $10-million ad campaign calling for Trump’s impeachment. Last week, Steyer said his online petition on the topic had reached 1 million signatures.

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California’s state flags will fly at half-staff to honor victims of Texas church shooting

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom applauds for Gov. Jerry Brown after a State of the State speech.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

State flags in California will be flown at half-staff Monday in remembrance of those who lost their lives in a shooting at a Texas church over the weekend.

“Jennifer and I offer our deepest condolences to the families, the Sutherland Springs community, and all those grieving following the horrific mass shooting at a house of worship in Texas, yesterday,” Acting Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement, referencing his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Newsom, who is running for governor, also called for broader federal action on gun control in the statement.

“Thoughts and prayers alone have not stemmed the tide of gun violence and our elected representatives in Washington, D.C. – especially the Congressional Republicans who have thus far allowed politics to trump public safety – must act,” he said.

As the state’s lieutenant governor, Newsom is acting governor while Gov. Jerry Brown is in Europe attending climate change talks.

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Former Rep. Loretta Sanchez endorses Democrat taking on Rep. Ed Royce

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It’s a year until the midterm elections. Here’s how Californians can get plugged in now

(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

One year from now, California voters will be deciding dozens of races in the 2018 midterm elections, and the stakes are high. Among the contests on the Nov. 6, 2018, California ballot are governor, U.S. Senate, 53 U.S. House races, plus seats in the state Assembly and Senate and policy-changing state propositions.

About a dozen of the House races will be particularly intense because Democrats can’t win back control of the House without taking back at least a few Republican districts here.

The statewide primary is June 5, when voters will pick the top two finishers to move on to the general election regardless of party.

Here’s some Times coverage you can be reading in the run-up to the election:

Which California members of Congress will have the toughest path back to the House? We ranked them >>

What you need to know about statewide races like treasurer and secretary of state >>

The money in the race to become California’s governor >>

To stay plugged in, listen to our California Politics Podcast and sign up for the Essential Politics newsletter. And don’t forget to register to vote.

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California Politics Podcast: The questions mount on sexual harassment accusations

Lawmakers and activists alike say they want to tackle the problem of sexual harassment in politics and government circles across California. But how to do so remains an open question

On this week’s California Politics Podcast, we discuss the allegations that came to light when The Times wrote about the complaint one statehouse staffer filed in 2009.

We also talk about big tax news from Capitol Hill and at gas pumps across California, as both efforts threaten to reshape some key 2018 races across the state.

And there’s a new feature on this week’s episode, a political “lightning round” on a range of topics including the first direct attack in the race for governor and a proposed ballot measure to expand the state’s definition of a violent crime.

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California could have almost 12,000 legislators as backers of a bold ballot measure submit signatures for 2018

Supporters of an effort to create a California Legislature with up to 12,000 representatives of individual neighborhoods submitted voter signatures on Friday for their dramatic proposal to reshape the state’s version of representative democracy.

The plan, which would appear on next November’s statewide ballot, would create new community political districts of between 5,000 and 10,000 Californians. Those microdistricts would choose representatives who, in turn, would meet to select the 120 members of the California Legislature who write laws in Sacramento. Because the small districts would be of a fixed size, the number of legislators will vary depending on the state’s population.

The “neighborhood Legislature” plan was submitted by John Cox, a Rancho Santa Fe Republican who is a candidate for governor. Cox bankrolled the signature drive, and state elections officials report the campaign has turned in 627,633 voter signatures for verification. A spokesperson says that more signatures will be turned in soon, with the total that were gathered closer to 800,000.

Local elections officials have until Dec. 20 to conduct an initial sample of those signatures. Cox needs 585,407 valid signatures for his proposal to earn a spot on next fall’s statewide ballot.

The GOP businessman told The Times in February that the creation of neighborhood legislators would help “take our government back from the funders, the cronies and the corrupt.” It is one of several ideas for overhauling California’s legislative branch of government that have been floated in recent years, though also one of the most ambitious in expanding the ranks of elected officials.

Cox tried to get the proposal on the ballot for more than five years, but those previous efforts failed to collect enough voter signatures.

The proposal would also shrink the budget of the Legislature and link the salary for legislators chosen to represent the regional districts in Sacramento to a formula based on California’s median household income.

If approved by voters, the new system would take effect in 2021 when the California Citizens Redistricting Commission draws new political boundaries for legislative and congressional districts.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that additional signatures will be submitted to elections officials in the coming days.

The original story was published at 5:45 p.m.

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State Senate steps up outreach for investigation into sexual harassment allegations

The state Senate is ramping up efforts to look into sexual harassment in politics by asking women who signed the open letter decrying the culture of the Capitol to speak with an independent investigator.

Secretary of the Senate Daniel Alvarez sent a letter Friday to women who signed the letter and were employed by the Senate within the last five years, urging them to voluntarily speak with Amy Oppenheimer, an employment attorney who specializes in workplace harassment investigations. Current and former staffers received the letter via email, several recipients told The Times.

When he announced the hiring of Oppenheimer in late October, Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said her firm would “request interviews with all relevant Senate staff and identify any actionable steps to properly address any and all allegations raised in this course of this investigation.”

“Thank you for coming forward and signing the We Said Enough letter,” Alvarez writes. “I admire the courage each of you has shown in bringing this serious issue to the forefront of what appears to be a national discussion.”

Alvarez also said in the letter that Oppenheimer will provide an “impartial fact finding report to the Senate on each complaint that comes to her.” He says women are welcome to bring their own attorneys or others to accompany them to the meetings.

“The law and Senate policy prohibit retaliation against individuals who come forward with complaints,” Alvarez writes. “We understand that coming forward with complaints can be difficult, but we very much need your cooperation to confront these important issues. Meeting with Ms. Oppenheimer or her staff is voluntary, but we hope that you will participate.”

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State Sen. Toni Atkins says housing package is just the start to dealing with state crisis

(Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

State Sen. Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) said Friday that the sweeping package of housing bills passed earlier this year is only the first step California must take to address its crisis.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed 15 bills into law in September, including a new fee on real estate transactions and a $4-billion bond on the 2018 ballot that together could raise close to $1 billion a year to help subsidize low-income housing.

“Those … bills are just a start. They won’t solve the housing affordability crisis,” she told a gathering of civic and economic leaders at the California Economic Summit in San Diego. “It took us decades to exacerbate this problem. It will take time and continued focus.”

More needs to be done at the state and local levels, Atkins said.

“In many ways we are prospering, but it’s not all good news,” she said. “For too many Californians, our thriving economy isn’t working for them. The biggest problem by far is our housing economy is completely out of whack.”

Atkins said she loved seeing cranes on the San Diego skyline, a visual representation of the high-end construction taking place in the city.

“But we’ve got to take care of the other levels of affordability,” she said. “We won’t have true economic equality until we get housing affordability under control. It is the foundation for everything else.”

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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti heads to Indiana next week to launch nonprofit

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GOP tax plan would decimate California’s low-income housing funding, Chiang says in letter to Congress

State Treasurer John Chiang
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

The tax plan authored by House GOP leaders would wipe out billions of dollars in funding for low-income housing in California, according to a Friday letter to Congress authored by State Treasurer John Chiang and lawmakers.

Under the GOP’s tax proposal unveiled yesterday, part of a tax credit program that reduces what companies owe in taxes in exchange for investing in low-income housing projects would effectively be eliminated, and so would a federal bond program that also funds housing developments.

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FOR THE RECORD, 4 p.m.: Based on incorrect information from from the state Treasurer’s Office, this post originally said that Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) had signed the letter.

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The two efforts generated billions of dollars to help build or preserve more than 19,000 low-income housing units in California last year — two-thirds of the state’s production, Chiang’s letter said.

“We cannot overstate the vital role these programs play in building and preserving affordable housing throughout the nation, but especially in California as we struggle with a housing crisis that is quickly metastasizing into a humanitarian and public health catastrophe,” the letter said.

The GOP tax plan also indirectly hurts other state low-income housing efforts. The package of housing legislation passed this year relies on the programs at risk to finance projects. Without them, the state won’t be able to build as many new homes using revenue generated by a new $75 real estate transaction fee or money from a $4-billion bond measure on the November 2018 statewide ballot.

With the corporate tax rate cut from 35% to 20% under the GOP plan, businesses will have less incentive to invest in the surviving tax credit program, reducing their value and the amount of housing those credits could subsidize.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and other lawmakers also signed Chiang’s letter.

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Antonio Villaraigosa warns of growing economic disparity in California

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday that California must take substantive action to address the disparities between the haves and have-nots in the state.

“My grandpa came from Mexico, a country of rich and poor, 100 years ago. That’s what we’re becoming today, a country of rich and poor,” the former Los Angeles mayor told a gathering of civic and business leaders at the California Economic Summit.

“If California is going to resist, as I hear so many people talk about, the best way to resist is to do a better job addressing the housing needs of the state, the healthcare needs of the state and the fact so many people don’t have good jobs to live a better life.”

Villaraigosa noted that the state has the sixth largest economy in the world, but also the highest poverty rate in the nation. Much of the economic growth has been concentrated along the coast and in technology, he said.

If elected governor, Villaraigosa said he would try to tackle a number of goals, including investing in early childhood education, working to increase the number of students who graduate from college and streamlining the state’s main environmental law that affects development.

Like his opponent in the race for governor, Treasurer John Chiang, Villaraigosa said he would bring back redevelopment agencies to create more affordable and workforce housing.

“If we are going to survive and thrive, we’re going to have to do better job at growing middle-class jobs,” he said.

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Assembly sets date for first hearing on harassment in the state Capitol

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Feinstein, Harris sign on to online sex trafficking bill after tech industry signals support

California’s senators announced support Friday for a bill to change a decades-old internet freedom law in order to give states more power to go after online sex traffickers.

In a joint statement, Sens. Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein of California and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said:

“Sex trafficking is a despicable crime that is too often facilitated by nefarious websites like Backpage. These companies knowingly profit off the pain of others and must be held accountable. This legislation ensures victims receive their day in court and empowers state attorneys general to seek justice. We applaud the hard work of the bill’s authors and are proud to join in support.”

Feinstein and Harris were not among the original co-sponsors of the bill, and in September indicated they were awaiting tweaks to the measure’s wording before supporting it. After some relatively minor changes, the Internet Assn., which represents Facebook, Google, Amazon and other major tech companies, also announced its support for the bill Friday.

The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act would allow states and victims to sue websites that “knowingly” assist or benefit from sex trafficking. The federal government currently can pursue criminal charges against sites. Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra testified in favor of the bill in September and argued that the Department of Justice doesn’t have the resources to pursue every incident.

For years, some in Silicon Valley have pushed against changing the 1996 Communications Decency Act to enable states and victims to hold websites liable if criminal material is posted on their sites. They said it would be a disaster for a free and open internet.

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California Senate leader Kevin de León touts the state’s climate policies at Vatican forum

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Pope Francis might support the fight against global warming, but he hasn’t been a fan of cap-and-trade programs like the one in California, which was extended in July by state lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown.

“It may simply become a ploy which permits maintaining the excessive consumption of some countries and sectors,” he wrote in 2015.

So while attending a forum on climate change at the Vatican on Friday, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León explained why he thinks the policy has worked. In particular, he highlighted how California has been funneling cap-and-trade revenue into low-income, polluted communities.

“We’re planting trees to break up the concrete jungle,” De León said. “We’re building public transportation and affordable housing.”

The state also is pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into financial incentives to replace diesel-powered vehicles.

“Equity and economic justice are now hardwired into all of our climate policies,” De León said

Brown arrived at the same forum Friday, and he’s scheduled to speak Saturday, the first part of a 10-day trip in Europe.

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John Chiang defends launch of website attacking rival gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom

(Christina House / For The Times)

Gubernatorial candidate John Chiang on Friday defended a website he launched attacking opponent Gavin Newson’s record, saying it was important for voters to learn the facts about the candidates in the race.

“I think it’s important that people have a good, strong perspective about everybody’s work and activities, so we thought we wanted to make sure people understood my background, my claims and what other candidates are also offering,” Chiang, who is state treasurer, told reporters.

The website, www.gavinfacts.com, features a San Francisco Weekly article critical of Newsom’s tenure as mayor of San Francisco and a link to Chiang’s campaign website page about his accomplishments.

Newsom’s campaign dismissed the attack as a “sign of desperation” driven by Chiang’s standing in the polls, fundraising and endorsements.

Chiang made the remarks after speaking at the California Economic Summit, a bipartisan gathering of civic and business leaders working to address the state’s affordable housing, trained workforce and water shortages.

He called for bringing back redevelopment agencies, which use a portion of property tax money to partner with developers to encourage development in blighted areas. The agencies were authorized by law in California in 1945 and shuttered in 2012. They helped transform areas such as San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, but in some instances they were criticized for subsidizing private developers with little public benefit.

Chiang said when he was state controller he reviewed redevelopment agencies and identified misdeeds and inappropriate uses of money.

“We would have greater safeguards in place,” he said.

Chiang said he would require 20% of new housing units created through such agencies to be set aside for moderate- and low-income housing, and would also focus on workforce housing that would allow teachers, police officers and others to live in the communities they serve.

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Current and former California members of Congress recount stories of sexual harassment

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Whittier)
(J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

One California congresswoman and three former members of the California congressional delegation have recounted stories of sexual harassment by other members of Congress.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Whittier) told the Associated Press about being propositioned by a male congressman. Former Sen. Barbara Boxer and former Reps. Mary Bono and Hilda Solis told similar stories. None named the members of Congress, though two are reportedly still serving.

Stories of sexual harassment have popped up in several industries in the weeks since a New York Times story detailed sexual harassment and assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

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California homeowners will get property tax relief after wildfires

Spencer Blackwell, left, and Danielle Tate stand outside Tate's father's Santa Rosa home.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

State law provides plenty of property tax protections for people who lose their home in a wildfire.

Under Proposition 13, tearing down your old house and building a new one would normally result in a full reassessment of your property and therefore a higher tax bill.

But after a disaster, those rules don’t apply. Instead, affected homeowners are able to delay paying their taxes, receive temporary lower tax rates while they rebuild and maintain their previous tax rate even if they move to a new home.

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Gov. Jerry Brown asks federal government for $7.4 billion to aid California wildfire relief

An aerial view shows the remains of the Coffey Park neighborhood destroyed by wildfire in Santa Rosa.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Jerry Brown has asked the federal government to provide $7.4 billion to help Northern California recover from recent devastating wildfires.

The fires, which ripped through the state’s wine country last month, killed 43 people and demolished 8,800 homes and commercial structures.

“The fires directly impacted eight counties and three Tribal Nations,” Brown wrote in a letter Friday to President Trump. “The full economic impact to the agricultural, tourism, hospitality and wine industries is still not known. Nine California wineries were destroyed and 21 were damaged in the nation’s most prominent winemaking region.”

Brown’s letter was co-signed by the state’s two U.S. senators, Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, and 39 members of California’s congressional delegation.

On Friday, Brown also directed more than $40 million in state funds to assist in immediate cleanup efforts.

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Climate change activists back Kevin de León in U.S. Senate race

State Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) announces his U.S. Senate campaign on Oct. 18.
State Senate leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) announces his U.S. Senate campaign on Oct. 18.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Climate Hawks Vote, an activist group focused on fighting global warming, on Friday announced its endorsement of Kevin de León in his intraparty challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein in next year’s election.

De León, a Los Angeles Democrat who serves as leader of the state Senate, has “used his powerful position atop the California legislature to push visionary climate policy,” said R.L. Miller, the organization’s president.

She cited his support for reducing oil consumption and increasing the use of renewable energy and electric vehicles. Meanwhile, Miller said, “climate hawks are not impressed with Dianne Feinstein’s record” because she hasn’t made the issue as much of a priority.

“This is more a case for Kevin de León than a case against Dianne Feinstein. He is much better than she is,” Miller said. “She doesn’t speak out.”

Endorsements like these could help De León solidify his progressive credentials as he tries to oust Feinstein, from the seat the San Francisco lawmaker has held for 25 years. Miller said the organization has a national mailing list of 200,000 people, with about 34,000 in California, and will suport De León with grass-roots fundraising and digital advertising.

De León has been critical of Feinstein’s environmental record, recently noting that she didn’t sign a letter from 19 other senators about rolling back federal regulations on power plant emissions. Feinstein’s campaign called the accusation a “preposterous lie” because she had sent an earlier letter.

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Another Republican is challenging Rep. Scott Peters, and he wants citizens to tell him how to vote

Democratic Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego is facing another GOP opponent in next year’s primary.

Michael Allman, an investor and former executive of Southern California Gas Co., announced this week that he’s running against Peters. Most recently, he was an executive at a software company called Bit Stew Systems before it was sold in 2016. Since then, Allman said, he’s been investing in technology companies. He lived for nearly 20 years in Rancho Santa Fe but recently moved to Solana Beach. Both cities are in GOP Rep. Darrell Issa’s district, not Peters’ 52nd Congressional District.

Allman, 57, said he considers himself a “Libertarian-leaning Republican” who trends left on social issues and more conservative on fiscal matters. But that won’t matter if voters elect him, he said.

“My platform is one of direct democracy,” Allman said in an intervew. “Rather than me telling the voters what I’m going to do, they’re going to tell me what I’m going to do.”

Allman said he’s designed a software program that will verify registered voters in the district and allow them to weigh in with their views on a myriad of issues, including tax policy, immigration, abortion rights and environmental law. According to Allman, the system would separately record responses from non-citizens and other constituents, but he won’t make any promises that he’ll consider their answers in his decisions.

Members of Congress should “vote the way their constituents want them to vote on an issue-by-issue basis and on the merits of that issue,” Allman said, adding that he believes his approach would help avoid the hyper-partisan politics that are stalling progress in Washington.

Peters is one of four Democratic congressmen in California that the National Republican Congressional Committee has in its sights for 2018. His other opponents include Republicans Omar Qudrat, James Veltmeyer and Daniel Casara, none of whom have raised more than $150,000. Peters, on the other hand, has raised more than $1.2 million so far this cycle and has nearly $2 million in the bank.

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House tax plan would hurt many California homeowners, but state GOP members look for the bright side

The GOP tax plan unveiled Thursday would be a blow to many California taxpayers. That’s not a deal breaker for California’s Republicans, who so far seem optimistic the bill is the best deal for their constituents.

Even as some Republicans from states that would also lose out under the plan threatened to vote no, Californians’ reactions ranged from merely skeptical to enthusiastic.

Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale was one of the few California GOP members who said he had concerns about the plan before the bill was released. Knight on Thursday said the bill has gotten better, but he’s still looking at it.

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Republican Ashley Swearengin says she won’t run for governor or U.S. Senate in 2018

Ashley Swearengin, the former mayor of Fresno who was once considered one of the most electable Republicans statewide, said Thursday she had no plans to run for governor or the U.S. Senate next year.

“There was never any real consideration from me,” she said after moderating a discussion with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom at the California Economic Summit in San Diego. “The things I care about, the work I am doing in the Central Valley, is probably best pursued in the work I am doing right now.”

Swearengin, 45, who served as mayor of Fresno for eight years until January and unsuccessfully ran for controller in 2014, is the president of the Central Valley Community Foundation. The philanthropic group focuses on improving the economic opportunities for 2 million people who live in six counties in the middle of the state.

Swearengin’s 2014 campaign for controller was widely considered the best opportunity for Republicans to elect a statewide officeholder for the first time since 2006 because of her record pulling Fresno from the brink of insolvency, bipartisan appeal and relationships with donors. She ultimately lost by 9 percentage points to her Democratic rival, a sizeable defeat but significantly smaller than the losses seen in other statewide races that year.

She said the campaign was instructive.

“It was really great to be on a statewide campaign and learn more about other parts of the state,” she said. “I learned a lot, and one of the things I learned is that the political climate is just really crazy right now. Certainly on the right, but people on the left are saying that too about their side of the aisle.”

Swearengin, who didn’t mark a choice for president on her ballot in the 2016 election, said she believed the pendulum in state and national politics would eventually swing back to the center.

“Our statewide political system is very near the point of breaking, in my opinion, and we’re going to have to have different types of people, different types of solutions than those who just come from a partisan perspective, whether right or left,” she said.

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Gavin Newsom dismisses fellow Democrat John Chiang’s attack in governor’s race

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed on Thursday an attack on his record as mayor of San Francisco from another Democrat in the race for California governor, state Treasurer John Chiang, saying it was indicative of the standings in the race.

“It gives you a sense of where they think they are right now. I think it’s unfortunate they have to go down this path at this stage,” Newsom said in an interview. “I’m not going to go down there with them. I’m going to elevate above it.”

Newsom, the front-runner in the race, made the remarks hours after Chiang launched www.gavinfacts.com, which the campaign says will “give California voters the facts about Gavin Newsom’s record, as Mayor and as Lieutenant Governor.”

Newsom said he was focused on attacking the problems facing the state, such as income inequality, rather than his opponents. He made the remarks shortly before he addressed the California Economic Summit, a bipartisan gathering of civic and business leaders working to address the state’s affordable housing, trained workforce and water shortages.

Newson is a co-chair of the group, whose goals are to train 1 million new skilled workers, build 1 million new homes, and capture and reuse 10 million acre-feet of water over the next decade.

He told the group their goals were not grand enough, saying the state needs nearly four times as much new housing.

“We are not prepared,” Newsom said. “If you want to play in the margins, tweaking this, tweaking that, you are missing the point.

“We need a version of the Marshall Plan here,” he said, referring to the U.S. initiative to help rebuild Western European economies after World War II.

Chiang and Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor who is the other top Democratic candidate in the governor’s race, will address the group Friday.

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Gubernatorial candidate John Cox calls for repeal of California’s Environmental Quality Act

(Silvia Flores / For The Times)

GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox on Thursday called for reducing regulations and repealing and replacing a longtime state environmental law to decrease income inequality in California.

“The inequality gap in this country is all about the crushing regulations, not least of which in California is CEQA,” or the California Environmental Quality Act, Cox said at the California Economic Summit in San Diego. The law “has basically crushed the ability of people to start their own business,” he said.

The 1970 law is the state’s primary environmental law governing development, which requires developers to disclose and minimize a project’s impact on the environment. It is blamed by many as overly onerous and partly responsible for the state’s housing crisis.

Cox said as governor he would campaign around the state urging residents to demand CEQA reform from their elected representatives.

“I think the people of California know that the jig is up, the game is rigged,” Cox said. “They’re sick of it. They want change and in 2018, we’re going to get change.”

In an interview with The Times, the businessman said he supported the GOP tax reform proposal released in Washington on Thursday, especially the reduction in corporate rates, which he said would spur investment and growth.

Proposals that would hammer residents of high-tax states such as California were “the price of compromise,” he said.

Cox added that he would lower tax rates if elected governor.

“The reason New York and California are screaming about this is because our taxes are too damn high,” he said.

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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer says bipartisan efforts only solution to state’s housing, water and workforce needs

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Thursday held up his city as an example of what can be accomplished when elected leaders put aside politics and focus on the housing, workforce and water needs facing their region.

“It shouldn’t matter if you’re Republican, Democrat or independent — what’s the right thing we need to be doing for our city? What’s the right thing we need to be doing for our state, for our economy?” Faulconer said at the opening session of the California Economic Summit.

The event is a gathering of state civic and business leaders whose goals are to train 1 million new skilled workers, build 1 million new homes, and to capture and reuse 10 million acre-feet of water over the next decade.

Gubernatorial candidates John Cox, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Treasurer John Chiang and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are also addressing the group during the two-day summit.

“Usually when you work together, you treat people with respect, dignity, try to come to consensus, you can usually get results,” Faulconer said at the event, pointing to recent efforts in his city to recycle wastewater and streamline the approval process for housing projects.

Faulconer is among the most high-profile Republicans in California, and his track record as mayor and ability to win support from outside his political party were among the reasons GOP leaders unsuccessfully urged him to run for governor or Senate next year.

He repeated that he did not plan to run, saying he remained committed to running San Diego.

“There is so much on our plates right now that I’m excited about. That’s my No. 1, 2 and 3 priority,” he said in an interview. “I love what we’re doing here in San Diego, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

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New progressive challenger to Sen. Dianne Feinstein says money in politics is central to her bid

The leader of a group aimed at getting big money out of politics will run for the U.S. Senate seat held by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and she has the backing of one of the most popular progressive online news networks in the world.

Alison Hartson, 37, of Fountain Valley announced she plans to challenge the long-serving California Democratic senator Thursday on The Young Turks media network.

“We as a progressive movement, we have got to take this fight to the doorstep of Congress,” Hartson told the Los Angeles Times in an interview before her announcement.

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Democratic State Sen. Josh Newman has raised $1.8 million to fight threatened recall campaign by GOP

State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) has raised $1.8 million to fight a threatened recall effort by Republicans.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

The California Republican Party has spent $822,000 on a petition drive for a recall election against State Sen. Josh Newman, while the Democratic lawmaker from Fullerton has raised $1.8 million to fight the effort to remove him from office, according to campaign finance reports.

The state party has submitted enough signatures to qualify a recall measure for the ballot, but the state is conducting a review of the cost of the recall before calling an election. Republicans say Newman should be recalled for voting to increase the state gas tax in April, but the party also sees the chance to deprive Democrats of a two-thirds majority in the Senate by removing Newman.

In addition to the petition costs borne by the state GOP, a separate committee sponsored by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. has so far raised $126,225 to campaign for Newman’s ouster.

Newman reported $610,909 left in the campaign account as of Sept. 30, according to a campaign finance statement filed this week. Contributions his campaign received include $100,000 each from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC and the Southern California Partnership for Jobs, which is funded by construction companies and health firms.

In addition, the Democrats have provided $171,101 worth of electronic mailers and political consulting to Newman’s campaign.

A separate campaign committee sponsored by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California has raised $675,000 to fight the recall.

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Gov. Jerry Brown calls the Republican tax plan bad for people, good for corporations

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John Chiang launches website blasting Gavin Newsom in California governor’s race

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.
(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

State Treasurer and candidate for governor John Chiang has launched a website attacking the record of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race.

Chiang’s political consultant, Parke Skelton, on Thursday tweeted out a link to www.gavinfacts.com, which the campaign says will “give California voters the facts about Gavin Newsom’s record, as Mayor and as Lieutenant Governor.” Chiang also tweeted a link to the site, then appeared to delete the tweet. After he was criticized by the Newsom campaign for deleting his tweet, Chiang sent out a new tweet highlighting the website.

The site highlights a 2009 San Francisco Weekly article critiquing Newsom’s tenure as mayor of the city. The headline: “Why was Mayor Gavin Newsom’s San Francisco Called ‘the Worst Run Big City’ in the U.S.?”

Along with summarizing the article, the website links to Chiang’s campaign website promoting his record as a “proven leader” on government accountability and transparency.

Newsom’s political consultant, Dan Newman, was quick to respond, tweeting that the website launched by the Chiang campaign was a “a sure sign of desperation re deficits in polls, $, endorsements, accomplishments, vision.”

In addition to Chiang and Newsom, the top Democrats in the race include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state schools chief Delaine Eastin. The top Republicans in the race are Rancho Santa Fe businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach.

3:58 p.m.: This story was updated to include information about Chiang’s tweets.

This post was originally published at 1:32 p.m.

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Oil industry spent millions on lobbying as California lawmakers debated cap-and-trade extension

Lobbyists and advocates watch the action on the Assembly floor on a monitor at the Capitol in Sacramento in 2014.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Corporations, unions and other interests spent $86.2 million on lobbying state government during the last quarter, with the oil industry leading the way as the Legislature approved an extension of California’s cap-and-trade program.

So far this year, $256 million has been spent lobbying state government, according to financial disclosure statements filed this week.

For the three-month period ending Sept. 30, the Western States Petroleum Assn. and Chevron were the top two spenders on lobbying, paying out $2.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively.

The period includes the July 17 vote by the Legislature on a bill to extend the cap-and-trade program, which requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, but on terms more favorable to oil companies than previous legislation.

The oil industry had opposed previous plans, but after heavy lobbying of lawmakers, the bill that emerged was “the best, most balanced way” for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the petroleum association.

The third-costliest lobbying effort during the quarter was by the California State Council of Service Employees, which spent $870,675 pushing its pro-worker positions on issues including the state’s budget and its response to threatened changes to the Affordable Care Act, conditions for home care workers and the standards for employees in a new state-sanctioned marijuana sales market.

The fourth-biggest spender was the California Chamber of Commerce, which spent $769,919 lobbying against 27 “job killer” bills it deemed unfriendly to business (only two survived), as well as on issues including the cap-and-trade bill that the chamber supported.

The next five top spenders on lobbying, in order, were Alameda County, the California Hospital Assn., NextGen Climate Action, Edison International and San Diego County. NextGen also supported the cap-and-trade plan.

The city of Los Angeles spent $616,207, making it the 11th-biggest spender on lobbying. City officials supported bills that included a measure requiring the state to cover deficit spending on Los Angeles hosting the 2028 Olympics.

Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog, said the millions spent by the oil industry paid them dividends because “they saved tens or hundreds of millions” by weakening the cap-and-trade system as it affects the oil industry. “The oil companies were the biggest winners in the Legislature this year,” Court said.

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San Fernando Valley activists call on Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra to resign

A group led by San Fernando Valley-area activists is calling for California Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra to resign following revelations that, as a top legislative aide eight years ago, he was disciplined after being accused of groping another staffer.

Pushing a stroller with her infant son, Tujunga resident Victoria Garcia marched into Bocanegra’s Arleta office Wednesday with about a dozen other local residents and told the Democrat’s staff their boss should resign.

“We’re all disappointed, we’re disgusted,” Garcia told two Bocanegra staffers who met the group. “We don’t feel that he’s fit to represent us anymore.”

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Pelosi calls out California Republican members as ‘lemmings’ for supporting tax bill

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said the state’s Republican members are lining up “like lemmings” to support a tax bill Democrats say will harm their constituents.

“For California it is devastating,” Pelosi said. “The Republicans from California have gone straight down the line like lemmings to the sea to vote against the interest of their constituents, against the interest of our state.”

With the midterm elections critical to the battle for control of the U.S. House, vulnerable California Republicans, especially those in Southern California where wealthy constituents save thousands on their taxes by deducting state and local tax taxes, are being closely watched.

A tax plan proposed by the GOP on Thursday would eliminate the deduction, known as SALT, which an estimated one in three Californians claim on their federal taxes.

Pelosi was joined by several Democrats from the California congressional delegation for a blistering news conference Thursday as Republicans announced details of their tax overhaul bill in a nearby building.

“It is so sad to see the betrayal perpetrated by our Republican colleagues on their constituents, on our sense of community and our great state,” Pelosi said.

California Democrats called out each of their Republican colleagues by name, laying out how many of their constituents take the state and local tax deduction in each of the state’s 14 GOP-held districts.

“We would hope our colleagues would use their numbers — 14 — to influence the Republican leadership to take this out of the bill. Short of that, we indict them for causing great harm to their constituents,” Pelosi said. “Are they so weak that 14 of them could not weigh in and say this is just not right for the future of our country?”

Pelosi’s political action committee, House Majority PAC, jumped to target vulnerable Republicans, including Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale, with political ads Thursday, saying they are “lining up behind Paul Ryan’s agenda.”

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As gas tax hike hits, California House Republicans talk up repeal

California’s gas tax went up by 12 cents a gallon overnight, and state Republicans who opposed the increase were determined not to let that go unnoticed.

Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Darrell Issa of Vista, both vulnerable Republican House members who represent districts in Orange County, reiterated their opposition to the tax hike in separate statements Wednesday.

Issa called the tax increase “misguided” and called for its repeal, and Rohrabacher predicted the “beginning of a new tax revolt.”

“The price we pay to fill our tanks is not so much the cost of gasoline itself — now in abundant supply,” Rohrabacher’s statement read, “but is calculated for the benefit of power-hungry politicians.”

Both of them signed on to a letter last month supporting the repeal of the gas tax increase, which Republicans across the state are hoping will galvanize GOP voters to turn out to the polls in 2018.

Issa and Rohrabacher weren’t the only Republicans marking the occasion. State Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates said California drivers “are being punished ... for a problem they didn’t create.” The California Republican Party and National Republican Congressional Committee both put out statements condemning the looming “Gastaxtrophe” from higher gas prices.

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California Democratic Party chief says lawmaker accused of groping must ‘come to terms’ over whether to resign

State Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte, left, KQED reporter Marisa Lagos and state Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman at the Sacramento Press Club on Wednesday.
(Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times)

The chairman of the California Democratic Party said a Pacoima Assemblyman accused of groping a woman must “come to terms” over whether he can continue serving.

Party leader Eric Bauman stopped short of indicating whether he thought the state lawmaker, Democrat Raul Bocanegra, should step down. Bauman added that Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) should help Bocanegra decide on “what his future is going to be.”

“I think Assemblyman Bocanegra needs to look into his own heart and decide what he’s going to do,” Bauman said.

Both Bauman and California Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte, who appeared together at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon Wednesday, said their parties have zero-tolerance policies on sexual harassment. Brulte said he supports an independent review process, free of partisanship, to review allegations of harassment in the Legislature.

“I think it’s very, very difficult for organizations to police themselves when it reaches a certain point,” Brulte said.

Veteran legislative staff member Elise Flynn Gyore, in an interview with The Times, said that Bocanegra in 2009 groped her during an after-work event attended by legislators, staff and lobbyists. Bocanegra was a legislative chief of staff at the time.

After a formal inquiry, the Assembly’s then-chief administrative officer barred Bocanegra from communicating with Gyore and promised “additional appropriate action to help ensure there are no recurring issues.”

Last week, Bocanegra apologized after being asked about the 2009 investigation.

That revelation came shortly after more than 140 women signed a letter calling out the “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment and mistreatment that plagues the Capitol. The women who signed the letter represented the all corners of Sacramento politics, including legislators, Capitol staff, political consultants and lobbyists.

The Assembly plans to hold hold hearings next month to address sexual harassment. The state Senate has hired lawyers and human resources consultants to investigate allegations of widespread harassment and evaluate Senate procedures.

On Wednesday, Bauman said both he and Rendon also would support a bill by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) to close the loophole exempting the Legislature from state government whistleblower laws as long as allegations of sexual harassment are explicitly added to the laws’ protections.

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California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra wants court to halt Trump’s plans to end DACA

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra is upping the pressure in the state’s lawsuit challenging President Trump’s plans to end a program that protects young immigrants from deportation.

Becerra on Wednesday filed a motion in federal court in San Francisco, seeking a preliminary injunction that aims to put a hold on Trump’s efforts to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

“Our Dreamers deserve to know that we respect their values and grit,” Becerra said in a news release. “And they deserve to know that we will fight at every turn for their rights and opportunities so they may continue to contribute to America.”

In September, Trump announced that he was ending the program, which prevents the deportation of around 800,000 people brought to the United States illegally as children. Trump has said he’s willing to spare the program as part of larger conversations about border security and funding for his long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Becerra filed his lawsuit shortly after Trump’s decision, saying that it violates the due process clause in the 5th Amendment to the Constitution by potentially using personal information that program recipients provided to the government in the deportation process.

A hearing on Becerra’s motion, which was joined by the attorneys general for Maine, Maryland and Minnesota as well as the University of California, is scheduled for Dec. 20.

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California’s teachers pension fund will consider divesting from gun retailers following mass shootings

(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California’s teachers pension fund will consider canceling its investments in national retail companies selling guns and ammunition banned in the state after Treasurer John Chiang argued for action following last month’s mass shooting in Las Vegas.

“Neither taxpayer funds, nor the pension contributions of any of the teachers we represent, including the three California teachers slain in Las Vegas, should be invested in the purveyors of banned military-style assault weapons,” Chiang said during an investment committee meeting of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, or CalSTRS, on Wednesday.

Chiang, who sits on the board of both of California’s major public pension funds, brought with him the brother of a woman killed during the Oct. 1 mass shooting at the outdoor concert in Las Vegas where 58 people were killed.

“I saw with my own eyes and felt with my hands the carnage these weapons inflict,” said Jason Irvine, the brother of 42-year-old Jennifer Topaz Irvine. Irvine spoke about having to identify his sister’s body for authorities.

CalSTRS staff was asked to review investments the board of directors may want to remove from the fund’s $215.3-billion portfolio. After the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in 2012, CalSTRS sold stock and security investments in gun manufacturers. Chiang’s request could spark a much larger divestment, as it focuses on retail companies that sell the weapons and ammunition.

Harry Keiley, the chairman of CalSTRS’ investment committee, endorsed the review of gun-retailer investments.

“This is an issue that we alone cannot solve,” he said. “At the same time, I don’t think we should sit by idly.”

Chiang, who is running for governor in 2018, told pension fund officials that selling off those kinds of assets would be consistent with CalSTRS’ efforts to minimize involvement with companies whose business efforts are a risk to public health and safety.

“It would be difficult to argue that battlefield assault weapons and aftermarket accessories designed to rain down bullets don’t fall into this category,” he said.

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Today’s newsletter: The Russia investigation, California’s gas tax goes up

Today’s Essential Politics newsletter takes a look at the dramatic developments in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election -- and where prosecutors might turn next.

We also highlight California’s new, higher gas tax, which kicked in at midnight. Republicans are ready to pounce on it as a major issue in congressional and legislative campaigns across the state in 2018.

The newsletter comes out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Are you a subscriber? Sign up below.

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California’s gas tax goes up today. Here’s what you need to know

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A state gas tax increase of 12 cents per gallon kicks in today, and while the immediate impact will mean less money in motorists’ wallets, the long-term political fallout could roll into next year, when the higher levies are expected to be an issue in elections across California.

The tax and a new vehicle fee are part of a transportation package approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in April. Republicans are rallying to try to attack the new law — two possible ballot initiatives aim to repeal the new tax.

Here are five things you should know about the tax increases taking effect today:

How much more in tax will I have to pay on gas?

The state excise tax on gasoline increases today by 12 cents per gallon, going from 29.7 cents per gallon to 41.7 cents per gallon. The state sales tax on gasoline will remain at 2.25%.

What about diesel fuel?

The state excise tax on diesel fuel increases by 20 cents, going from 16 cents per gallon to 36 cents per gallon. The sales tax rate on diesel will increase from 9% to 13%.

I drive an electric car. Will I have to pay?

In lieu of gas taxes, electric car owners will pay a $100 annual fee starting in 2020.

What else do I need to know?

The gas tax legislation also creates an annual vehicle fee. Starting Jan. 1, drivers will have to pay fees ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000 to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more.

Also happening today: Much of the state switches from a summer blend of fuel — aimed at reducing smog — to a less expensive winter blend. That typically drops fuel prices from 6 to 12 cents per gallon.

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Trump nominates U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California

President Trump has nominated McGregor W. Scott to return to the post of U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California
(Steve Yeater / Associated Press)

President Trump on Wednesday nominated McGregor W. Scott to be the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California.

Scott is currently a partner in the Sacramento office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where his focus is white collar criminal defense and corporate investigations.

If confirmed by the Senate, it would be Scott’s second stint in the position, which he previously held from 2003 to 2009.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the highest ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that his previous experience will serve him well.

“McGregor Scott was vetted by my bipartisan judicial selection committee and found to be a qualified choice for U.S. attorney. Committee members also spoke with attorneys and judges in the Eastern District and found him to be respected by his peers,” Feinstein said. “I believe he will serve the Eastern District well.”

Scott was also Shasta County district attorney from 1997 to 2003, and a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County from 1989 to 1997.

Scott retired in 2008 from the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel after 23 years of service. He earned a bachelor of arts from Santa Clara University in 1985 and his law degree from the UC Hastings College of Law in 1989.

The Eastern District encompasses California’s inland counties from the Oregon border in the north to Kern County in the south and has offices in Sacramento and Fresno.

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Kevin de León distorts Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s environmental record in fundraising plea

(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

U.S. Senate candidate Kevin de León mischaracterized Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s environmental record on Tuesday in a fundraising plea to supporters.

In the email, De León wrote that he was “so disappointed” that Feinstein was not among 19 senators who sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency last week opposing the repeal of a federal policy that sought to reduce power plant emissions.

“California needs two senators who will stand up to the Trump administration and protect our environment and values. Will you help make that happen?” he wrote.

De León failed to note that Feinstein sent the agency a blistering letter about the repeal two weeks ago.

“Your decision to begin repealing the Clean Power Plan not only endangers the lives of Americans, it also undermines America’s international credibility,” Feinstein wrote to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on Oct. 12.

Bill Carrick, Feinstein’s longtime political adviser, blasted the De León email as a “preposterous lie.”

“He has no idea what he’s talking about, not a thing,” Carrick said. “This proves how unprepared he is to be a U.S. senator.”

De León recently launched a campaign against Feinstein, arguing that the veteran incumbent is overly cautious and moderate.

A spokesman for De León stood by the fundraising plea, saying that while Feinstein expressed concern and urged Pruitt to reverse course in her letter, the missive from the 19 senators took specific action by requesting documentation.

“It should have been easy for her to sign on with her 19 other colleagues,” said Roger Salazar. “This thing is the perfect example of what’s wrong with Feinstein. She sends one letter, checks the box and moves on while the rest of her colleagues are fighting the fight. Fighting means continuing to resist.”

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