By Jeremy B. White

FAMILY FEUD —  A legal brawl over Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s finances just took an explosive new turn.

Elder abuse, breached fiduciary duties, failure to communicate: A lawsuit filed by Feinstein’s daughter, Katherine Feinstein, on the senator’s behalf alleges widespread wrongdoing by the managers of the trust left behind by Feinstein’s late husband Richard Blum. The senator is asking the courts to suspend and penalize the trustees.

The lawsuit, first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, escalates a standoff that has divided the Feinstein-Blum clan, with Blum’s surviving relatives feuding over who gets what. Katherine Feinstein had repeatedly gone to court, seeking to sell a Stinson Beach property and have the trust disburse more money to cover medical expenses her mother incurred as she was hospitalized after a bout with shingles earlier this year.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) takes part in a Senate Appropriations Committee markup on Capitol Hill on June 22, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Katherine Feinstein wants to strip the Blum trustees of their power to oversee the fund, asserting they shirked an obligation to channel $5 million into a marital trust benefiting her mother while offering gifts and debt relief to Blum’s three daughters from another marriage. The goal, the lawsuit argues, is to “decrease the yearly distributions to Senator Feinstein and increase Blum’s daughters’ inheritance at Senator Feinstein’s death.”

The lawsuit argues the trustees should be denied compensation and held liable for at least $1.5 million due to Feinstein so far, accusing the trustees of committing elder abuse by “wrongfully and in bad faith depriving (Feinstein) of property rights.”

A Feinstein representative declined to comment on a “private legal matter.” An attorney representing the trustees had more to say: Steven P. Braccini blasted the filing as “unconscionable” and driven by Katherine Feinstein’s “avarice” rather than her mother’s needs.

“The trustees have acted ethically and appropriately at all times; the same cannot be said for Katherine Feinstein,” Braccini said in a statement.

HAPPY TUESDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to [email protected] or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

Pass a $15B Climate Bond for People and Nature

From drought to megafires, Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of catastrophic events in California. While nature can achieve one-third of the greenhouse gas reductions needed to make our climate safer, nature-based solutions are significantly underfunded. But if we take steps now to ensure nature thrives, we can change our state’s trajectory. A well-funded $15 billion climate bond is California’s best path to resilience.

FRANCHISE EXPANSION — California voters have mixed views on who gets to be a California voter.

Noncitizens are worthier than adolescents, voters told UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies pollsters. A slim 51 percent majority said parents who haven’t earned citizenship should still be allowed to vote in local school board elections. Extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds was less popular: 52 percent opposed letting the youngsters weigh in on school board members.

It’s not a hypothetical exercise. San Francisco and Oakland have both passed ballot measures letting noncitizens vote in school board elections, with a state appeals court ruling last week that SF’s measure was constitutional. Voters statewide had a chance in 2020 to open primary and special elections to 17-year-olds who would be 18 at the time of the general election, but they rejected Proposition 18 by a 12-point margin.

SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes.

REAR-GUARD REPUBLICANS: Republicans hold no statewide offices in California and fewer than a quarter of the seats in the Legislature — but the party has been scoring a handful of policy wins at the school district level.

Boards with new conservative majorities in Chino and Murrieta have taken up causes involving wedge issues and have adopted rules requiring that parents be notified if their child adopts a gender identity that differs from the sex at birth. Now the district in the city of Orange is poised to join their ranks.

The conservative majority on the Orange Board of Education will next week consider copying what’s been called a “forced outing” policy just as Chino Valley Unified is being investigated by the California Department of Justice for doing the same thing.

GOP-backed candidates narrowly took a 4-3 majority on the board in Orange County in the fall. They’ve since fired the district superintendent. They are following the lead of Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli, who’s been pushing schools to copy the Chino gender identity policy after he failed to get a hearing for a statewide version in the Democratic-controlled Capitol. The Legislature’s LGBTQ caucus is developing a legislative response. — Blake Jones

END OF THE ROAD: A fight over funding for fueling stations could mark the beginning of the end for costly and energy-intensive hydrogen-powered passenger cars in California.

Oil companies and environmentalists are in a tug-of-war over Assembly Bill 241, which would reduce dedicated funding for hydrogen passenger vehicle fueling stations and open up more support for electric vehicle infrastructure.

Assemblymember Eloise Reyes (D-Colton) and Senator Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) are proposing to halve the Energy Commission’s roughly $20 million annual earmark for light-duty hydrogen vehicle infrastructure, which the industry has relied on to establish the country’s largest network of fueling stations.

Environmental groups, as well as some automotive industry representatives, say California has propped up hydrogen long enough and should declare electric vehicles the winner for light-duty use — or at least open up state funding so hydrogen projects have to compete directly against electric ones. — Blanca Begert

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

— “Lacking political power in California, conservatives turn focus to local school boards,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Laurel Rosenhall, Hannah Wiley and Mackenzie Mays: Parents who first mobilized during the COVID-19 pandemic to push for reopening schools and to fight vaccine and mask mandates are pivoting to clashes over race and gender issues in education. And while Republicans can’t get traction in Sacramento, they are finding some success on school boards in conservative pockets of California — and are hoping the education-based culture wars will help the GOP build power in the coming election year.

— “‘Tidal wave of fentanyl’: Data shows S.F. drug overdoses in 2023 could surpass deadly 2020,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Catherine Ho and Aldo Toledo: The latest figures show that San Francisco continues to be on track to see more overdose deaths this year than in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, when a record-high 712 people died from overdoses.

— "Ex-Chapman Law dean John Eastman, who advised former President Donald Trump, indicted on 9 counts," by The Orange County Register’s Todd Harmonson and Teri Sforza: He even acknowledged that the Southern California News Group put it all together in a post on his fundraising page for his legal defense.

GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.

— “Fifty years later, hip-hop is still influencing California politics,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Queenie Wong.

— “Filthy pets. An amputated leg. Inside alleged ‘absolute neglect’ at Wag Hotels,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Melissa Newcomb.

— “California judge pleads not guilty to murder in wife’s death,” by The Associated Press’s Amy Taxin.

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

Nature’s Future Is Our Future

Without intervention, the cost of climate change to California is estimated to reach $113 billion annually by 2050 (CNRA’s Fourth Climate Assessment). By harnessing the climate change fighting power of nature, we can curb these costs. But in order for this to happen, we must invest in nature.

With the reality of state budget cuts, California needs to lock down a stable, long-term source of funding for nature-based climate solutions to protect our planet before it’s too late. In order to make this happen, California needs a climate bond. If we fail to invest in nature, we will lose one of the most important allies in our battle with climate change.

California Legislature: A $15 billion climate bond is essential to funding the nature-based solutions needed to protect our planet.

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