California politics news feed

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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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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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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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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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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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(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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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 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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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 (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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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.

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.

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.

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.

(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)

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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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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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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.

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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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.”

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.

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:

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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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.