Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

NEWSOM NOTCHES A HOUSING VICTORY

Via Maggie Angst…

Score one for Gov. Gavin Newsom in holding local leaders accountable for the state’s Housing and homeless crises.

Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that they had reached a settlement with the City of San Bernardino over allegations that it violated state housing laws. Under a threat of litigation, San Bernardino agreed to update its housing plan to meet state-mandated goals, which include 8,123 additional housing units by 2029.

“Cities that fail to follow the law and plan for their fair share of housing will be held accountable — the status quo will not be tolerated,” Newsom said in a statement.

State law requires local governments to adopt multi-year housing plans that then serve as a blueprint for future growth and development. Once adopted, the plan is implemented through zoning ordinances and other statutes.

San Bernardino failed to adopt a compliant housing plan for 2021-2029 before the state’s October 15, 2021 deadline. Under the settlement, the city has agreed to go back and adopt a plan by Feb. 7, 2024.

San Bernadino is not the only city to take heat over failing to adhere to stringent housing laws. The state also filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Huntington Beach for allegedly blocking housing production.

“Our state’s Housing Element Law is in place to ensure that all cities build their fair share of housing. No city is spared from that legal obligation,” Bonta said in a statement. “It is not a choice. It is the law.”

EQUALITY CALIFORNIA RALLIES FOR LGBTQ CAUSES

Via Grace Scullion…

Equality California, the LGBTQ advocacy group, partnered with legislators Tuesday for their annual day of lobbying at the Capitol.

It came less than 24 hours after Protect Kids California announced a campaign to get three measures on the November ballot that diametrically oppose Equality California’s agenda.

So what is the ‘gay agenda,’ as multiple legislators called it?

In healthcare:

• Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, seeks mandated health plan coverage of preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEp, a medication that protects against HIV in SB 339.
• Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando Valley, wants to update who qualifies as “infertile” in order to expand fertility treatment coverage to LGBTQ couples via SB 729.
• Asm. Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles, would see that out-of-state healthcare plans serving California patients would be required to comply with California law surrounding abortion and gender-affirming care coverage with the passage of AB 1432.

LGBTQ children:

• Court petitions by minors seeking to change their legal name and gender would be sealed from the public under AB 223 introduced by Asm. Mike Ward, D-San Diego.
• The state’s Department of Education would develop a one-hour training on supporting LGBTQ students to be taken annually by public school teachers under AB 5, introduced by Asm. Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles.
• The Department of Social Services would be required to ensure that foster parents met the needs of foster children regardless of their sexual orientations or gender identities under SB 407 introduced by Wiener.

Law enforcement:

• Agencies would be required to use a criminal suspect’s preferred name and pronouns when posting mugshots to social media, and prohibit the posting of mugshots for suspects of nonviolent crimes, under AB 994 introduced by Asm. Corey Jackson, D-Moreno Valley. It’s an effort to reduce deadnaming, the act of using a transgender or nonbinary individual’s name from before they transitioned.

Constitutional amendment:

• This November, California voters will be asked if they wish to remove language from the state’s constitution that says marriage is only between a male and female, enshrining the right to same-sex marriage.

The work at the local level may be more intrinsic to advancing LGBTQ rights, said David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association.

“We have 2,000 school board races coming up this year. This is where the fight is going to happen,” he said.

PPIC LOOKS AT CALIFORNIA VOTERS

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that the average likely Californian leans Democratic. But, as the Public Policy Institute of California revealed in its recent voter profile, while voters are more likely to be Democrat (49%) than Republican (26%), independent (21%) or with another party (4%), they are ideologically mixed.

A little more than a third (38%) describe themselves as liberal, while another third (32%) say they’re moderate and another third (30%) identify as conservative.

California independent voters are more likely to lean D (46%) than R (26%), while 28% say they have no major leaning.

As of February of this year, nearly 22 million Californians are registered to vote, out of the 26.7 million who are eligible. That’s an increase of three percentage points from February 2019, the year preceding the last presidential election.

Likely voters are disproportionately white (52%, while only 39% of the population is), and also tend to be older (50% are 55 and older), more educated and affluent (80% have at least some college education, while 54% make $80,000 a year or more), homeowners (69%) and U.S.-born (84%).

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I oppose banning the Gadsden flag in schools for the same reason I oppose conservative schools districts that ban LGBTQ flags in schools. Let kids be their authentic selves and give them a world of information — students can figure out what’s important to them.”

– Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Los Angeles, via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• Wendi Fisher flew from Illinois to be at her ex-husband’s bedside after he was transferred from Sacramento County Main Jail to the hospital. Norman Fisher was in a coma when she arrived. He died May 27 at age 47. The only reason The Sacramento Bee learned Norman Fisher’s name was because Wendi identified him, via Theresa Clift.

• Unlike homicides and suicides, medical deaths at the jail, including overdoses, typically lack any independent oversight, via Theresa Clift.

• Correctional officers in California’s state prisons are poised to earn more than $1 billion worth of raises, retention bonuses and other perks as part of a new deal bargained between their union and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. The high-cost proposal comes as California works to reduce its prison population and closes facilities in the name of lowering prison spending, via Maya Miller.

• A Northern California Democrat will become the new state Senate leader after making his move to succeed the body’s longtime president pro tempore just before the end of this year’s legislative session, via Lindsey Holden.

• A bill strengthening civil rights protections against caste discrimination earned approval from the California Assembly Monday, placing the measure one step closer to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature, via Shaanth Kodialam.

• The embattled California agency that provides employment services and unemployment insurance has been designated as a “high-risk” agency in a new report from the state auditor’s office, via Maya Miller.