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"content": "\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1368\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California’s Natural Resources Secretary, Wade Crowfoot, speaks at a press conference opposing a Trump administration NOAA review of California’s coastline management authority on Aug. 10, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowfoot told the crowd of protesters on Monday that this review has no legal basis and that state leaders will go to court to keep President Donald Trump out of state matters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other speakers spoke about the predicted harms to the environment, the economy and the cultural norms that would come from opening more of California’s waters and beaches to the oil industry and other business interests. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California’s coasts are for the people, not for crony capitalism,” said Marcela Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, a board member of the California State Coastal Conservancy who founded the marine-conservation group Azul. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gutiérrez-Graudiņš said that California’s coasts are a place for people to come together as equals. She said the Trump administration’s plans go against California policies that have protected the state’s beaches from becoming a luxury commodity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of Trump’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in Trump’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Outside the NOAA’s meeting at Hilton Santa Monica on Monday, meanwhile, speakers emphasized the destructive economic and environmental impact of major oil spills along the coast since 1970. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Clean beaches, clean water and a coast that’s open for business — an offshore oil spill shuts all of that down,” said Grant Bixby, who helped found the group Business Alliance for Protecting the Coast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094731\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty-1536x1032.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Antonette “Toni” Cordero, board member of Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, speaks at a press conference opposing a Trump administration NOAA review of California’s coastline management authority on Aug. 10, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bixby said that the coastal economy generates over \u003ca href=\"https://www.coastal.ca.gov/coastalact50/\">$50 billion\u003c/a> in annual revenue, with offshore oil making up just 1% of that figure today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Should we put 99% of other employment at risk for the benefit of one dirty industry that can close and devastate all other businesses? I don’t think so,” Bixby said. “It’s pretty simple math.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Indigenous leaders said California’s waters are sacred and have been subject to enough harm. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The ocean provides for us as a mother provides for her children,” said Antonette Cordero, board member of the groups Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, Surfrider Foundation and Environmental Defense Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to stand up for our mother ocean and for all of her relatives, all of her inhabitants and all of those who call this coast home,” Cordero said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Clean beaches, clean water and a coast that’s open for business — an offshore oil spill shuts all of that down,” said Grant Bixby, who helped found the group Business Alliance for Protecting the Coast. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bixby said that the coastal economy generates over \u003ca href=\"https://www.coastal.ca.gov/coastalact50/\">$50 billion\u003c/a> in annual revenue, with offshore oil making up just 1% of that figure today. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Should we put 99% of other employment at risk for the benefit of one dirty industry that can close and devastate all other businesses? I don’t think so,” Bixby said. “It’s pretty simple math.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Indigenous leaders said California’s waters are sacred and have been subject to enough harm. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The ocean provides for us as a mother provides for her children,” said Antonette Cordero, board member of the groups Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, Surfrider Foundation and Environmental Defense Center.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We will continue to stand up for our mother ocean and for all of her relatives, all of her inhabitants and all of those who call this coast home,” Cordero said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Critics of a Trump review of the state’s coastal management policies say the consequences of deregulation and industrialization would be dire.",
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"title": "Californians Vow to Fight ‘Federal Takeover’ of Coastline for Oil Drilling | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>State lawmakers, Indigenous leaders, advocates and business groups gathered in Santa Monica on Monday to challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to open the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california-coast\">California coast\u003c/a> for oil drilling and other industrial projects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The stakeholders rallied ahead of an in-person meeting held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reviewing California’s Coastal Management Program, which speakers at the press conference considered to be an attack on California’s right to protect its coastline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This federal administration is bent on industrializing our coast,” California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said, addressing a crowd of dozens, many of whom brandished protest signs or wore oceanic blue T-shirts with the slogan “No Federal Takeover.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For the first time in over four decades, through Republican and Democratic presidential administrations, this is the first administration moving aggressively to expand new offshore oil drilling,” Crowfoot said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1368\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094728\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/WadeCrowfootGetty-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California’s Natural Resources Secretary, Wade Crowfoot, speaks at a press conference opposing a Trump administration NOAA review of California’s coastline management authority on Aug. 10, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The rally and meeting come just over a month after NOAA \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089085/trump-administration-takes-aim-at-california-coastal-protections\">began the regulatory process\u003c/a> with a notice in the Federal Register about its plans to study California’s Coastal Management Program. Following Monday’s in-person meeting, there will be opportunities for public comment at \u003ca href=\"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/aug26/czma-public-meetings.html\">virtual meetings\u003c/a> on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowfoot told the crowd of protesters on Monday that this review has no legal basis and that state leaders will go to court to keep President Donald Trump out of state matters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other speakers spoke about the predicted harms to the environment, the economy and the cultural norms that would come from opening more of California’s waters and beaches to the oil industry and other business interests. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California’s coasts are for the people, not for crony capitalism,” said Marcela Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, a board member of the California State Coastal Conservancy who founded the marine-conservation group Azul. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Gutiérrez-Graudiņš said that California’s coasts are a place for people to come together as equals. She said the Trump administration’s plans go against California policies that have protected the state’s beaches from becoming a luxury commodity. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While critics see the move as part of Trump’s broader goals to increase oil and gas production, those in Trump’s cabinet say there are economic costs to coastal-protection schemes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“America must continue to lead in innovation, space exploration, and economic strength,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in May. “Obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism are unacceptable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Outside the NOAA’s meeting at Hilton Santa Monica on Monday, meanwhile, speakers emphasized the destructive economic and environmental impact of major oil spills along the coast since 1970. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Clean beaches, clean water and a coast that’s open for business — an offshore oil spill shuts all of that down,” said Grant Bixby, who helped found the group Business Alliance for Protecting the Coast. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1344\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12094731\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/AntoinetteCorderoGetty-1536x1032.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Antonette “Toni” Cordero, board member of Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, speaks at a press conference opposing a Trump administration NOAA review of California’s coastline management authority on Aug. 10, 2026, in Santa Monica, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bixby said that the coastal economy generates over \u003ca href=\"https://www.coastal.ca.gov/coastalact50/\">$50 billion\u003c/a> in annual revenue, with offshore oil making up just 1% of that figure today. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Should we put 99% of other employment at risk for the benefit of one dirty industry that can close and devastate all other businesses? I don’t think so,” Bixby said. “It’s pretty simple math.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Indigenous leaders said California’s waters are sacred and have been subject to enough harm. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The ocean provides for us as a mother provides for her children,” said Antonette Cordero, board member of the groups Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples, Surfrider Foundation and Environmental Defense Center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue to stand up for our mother ocean and for all of her relatives, all of her inhabitants and all of those who call this coast home,” Cordero said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-strike-vote-this-week-could-set-up-a-major-work-stoppage",
"title": "San José Strike Vote This Week Could Set Up a Major Work Stoppage",
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"content": "\u003cp>Thousands of San José municipal workers will vote this week on whether to authorize a strike, hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089834/san-jose-at-a-stalemate-with-its-largest-city-employee-union\">break a monthslong stalemate\u003c/a> in contract talks with the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While a “yes” vote would not immediately launch a strike, it would give union leaders the go-ahead, moving the city closer to its largest work stoppage in 45 years. The two unions — the Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101 (MEF) and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21 — represent workers in city libraries, parks, housing and code enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members will begin voting Tuesday, the same day the City Council returns from summer recess, and they will continue through Friday. The vote comes after a mediation process last month failed to yield a deal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093645\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A San José City employee holds a sign reading “ready to strike for our services” at Strike School in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has offered the two unions wage increases of 3% in each of the next three fiscal years. The unions are asking for a 4% raise in 2026-27, followed by a 4.5% increase in 2027-28 and a 5.5% hike in 2028-29.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot riding on this; we have a lot of members that are hurting and not being able to just sustain their livelihoods here within the city,” said Kyle Wong, a Department of Transportation worker and IFPTE member. “We want to be able to maintain our services at the level that they are and with the institutional knowledge that is so important to us.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has long had one of the region’s most thinly staffed municipal workforces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The unions have argued that without meaningful raises, workers will continue to leave for nearby cities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As a resident here, I really enjoy living near where I work,” Wong said. “But it is very hard to do so.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders contend that San José’s budget outlook constrains their ability to offer wage hikes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan said the 3% annual raise offer is “as far as we can go at this moment in time without unacceptable cuts to city services.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086842/san-jose-city-budget-new-immigrant-funding-cuts-reserve-spending\">voted in June\u003c/a> to close a $50.3 million shortfall in the 2026-27 spending plan, but city staffers have projected a $26.8 million deficit in the fiscal year beginning next July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we’d all agree it wouldn’t be right for us to further cut library hours or have to shut down a fire station or some other impact like that to give an unsustainable raise,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two sides are also apart on the use of artificial intelligence in city departments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A strike by MEF and IFPTE, which collectively represent more than 3,000 workers, would be the largest municipal work stoppage in San José since 1981, when AFSCME workers struck for nine days to advocate for equal pay for female workers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093643\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.500418643594753;width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José City employees attend Strike School in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2023, Mahan was the lone vote against a contract for the two unions. The wage agreement reached at the time \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">narrowly avoided\u003c/a> a work stoppage that threatened to derail summer camps, permit processing and even flights at San José Mineta International Airport. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It remains to be seen whether the council members will ask the city manager to increase San José’s offer to the unions when they meet in a closed session on Tuesday morning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The unions are holding the strike authorization votes at large worksites, including City Hall, the airport and the central service yard. Results are expected to be tallied Aug. 17, with a potential strike date announced afterward. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, the unions held “strike schools” at San José First United Methodist Church, across the street from City Hall. Workers chanted, cheered and received a briefing from union leaders on what a work stoppage would entail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are doing this because we know, because of the way the city has behaved at the bargaining table, that we have to strike to get a deal,” said Charles Allen, union representative for MEF. “Painful, but we have to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While a “yes” vote would not immediately launch a strike, it would give union leaders the go-ahead, moving the city closer to its largest work stoppage in 45 years. The two unions — the Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101 (MEF) and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21 — represent workers in city libraries, parks, housing and code enforcement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city has offered the two unions wage increases of 3% in each of the next three fiscal years. The unions are asking for a 4% raise in 2026-27, followed by a 4.5% increase in 2027-28 and a 5.5% hike in 2028-29.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city has offered the two unions wage increases of 3% in each of the next three fiscal years. The unions are asking for a 4% raise in 2026-27, followed by a 4.5% increase in 2027-28 and a 5.5% hike in 2028-29.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot riding on this; we have a lot of members that are hurting and not being able to just sustain their livelihoods here within the city,” said Kyle Wong, a Department of Transportation worker and IFPTE member. “We want to be able to maintain our services at the level that they are and with the institutional knowledge that is so important to us.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot riding on this; we have a lot of members that are hurting and not being able to just sustain their livelihoods here within the city,” said Kyle Wong, a Department of Transportation worker and IFPTE member. “We want to be able to maintain our services at the level that they are and with the institutional knowledge that is so important to us.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San José has long had one of the region’s most thinly staffed municipal workforces. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The unions have argued that without meaningful raises, workers will continue to leave for nearby cities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As a resident here, I really enjoy living near where I work,” Wong said. “But it is very hard to do so.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City leaders contend that San José’s budget outlook constrains their ability to offer wage hikes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan said the 3% annual raise offer is “as far as we can go at this moment in time without unacceptable cuts to city services.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086842/san-jose-city-budget-new-immigrant-funding-cuts-reserve-spending\">voted in June\u003c/a> to close a $50.3 million shortfall in the 2026-27 spending plan, but city staffers have projected a $26.8 million deficit in the fiscal year beginning next July. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086842/san-jose-city-budget-new-immigrant-funding-cuts-reserve-spending\">voted in June\u003c/a> to close a $50.3 million shortfall in the 2026-27 spending plan, but city staffers have projected a $26.8 million deficit in the fiscal year beginning next July. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think we’d all agree it wouldn’t be right for us to further cut library hours or have to shut down a fire station or some other impact like that to give an unsustainable raise,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think we’d all agree it wouldn’t be right for us to further cut library hours or have to shut down a fire station or some other impact like that to give an unsustainable raise,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The two sides are also apart on the use of artificial intelligence in city departments. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A strike by MEF and IFPTE, which collectively represent more than 3,000 workers, would be the largest municipal work stoppage in San José since 1981, when AFSCME workers struck for nine days to advocate for equal pay for female workers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2023, Mahan was the lone vote against a contract for the two unions. The wage agreement reached at the time \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">narrowly avoided\u003c/a> a work stoppage that threatened to derail summer camps, permit processing and even flights at San José Mineta International Airport. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It remains to be seen whether the council members will ask the city manager to increase San José’s offer to the unions when they meet in a closed session on Tuesday morning. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The unions are holding the strike authorization votes at large worksites, including City Hall, the airport and the central service yard. Results are expected to be tallied Aug. 17, with a potential strike date announced afterward. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last month, the unions held “strike schools” at San José First United Methodist Church, across the street from City Hall. Workers chanted, cheered and received a briefing from union leaders on what a work stoppage would entail. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are doing this because we know, because of the way the city has behaved at the bargaining table, that we have to strike to get a deal,” said Charles Allen, union representative for MEF. “Painful, but we have to do it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We are doing this because we know, because of the way the city has behaved at the bargaining table, that we have to strike to get a deal,” said Charles Allen, union representative for MEF. “Painful, but we have to do it.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Two city worker unions will hold a strike authorization vote as contract talks remain deadlocked. San José Mayor Matt Mahan has said the city has offered all it can afford. ",
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"title": "San José Strike Vote This Week Could Set Up a Major Work Stoppage | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Thousands of San José municipal workers will vote this week on whether to authorize a strike, hoping to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12089834/san-jose-at-a-stalemate-with-its-largest-city-employee-union\">break a monthslong stalemate\u003c/a> in contract talks with the city. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While a “yes” vote would not immediately launch a strike, it would give union leaders the go-ahead, moving the city closer to its largest work stoppage in 45 years. The two unions — the Municipal Employees’ Federation, AFSCME Local 101 (MEF) and the City Association of Management Personnel, IFPTE Local 21 — represent workers in city libraries, parks, housing and code enforcement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Members will begin voting Tuesday, the same day the City Council returns from summer recess, and they will continue through Friday. The vote comes after a mediation process last month failed to yield a deal.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093645\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-8-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A San José City employee holds a sign reading “ready to strike for our services” at Strike School in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has offered the two unions wage increases of 3% in each of the next three fiscal years. The unions are asking for a 4% raise in 2026-27, followed by a 4.5% increase in 2027-28 and a 5.5% hike in 2028-29.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot riding on this; we have a lot of members that are hurting and not being able to just sustain their livelihoods here within the city,” said Kyle Wong, a Department of Transportation worker and IFPTE member. “We want to be able to maintain our services at the level that they are and with the institutional knowledge that is so important to us.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has long had one of the region’s most thinly staffed municipal workforces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The unions have argued that without meaningful raises, workers will continue to leave for nearby cities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As a resident here, I really enjoy living near where I work,” Wong said. “But it is very hard to do so.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders contend that San José’s budget outlook constrains their ability to offer wage hikes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan said the 3% annual raise offer is “as far as we can go at this moment in time without unacceptable cuts to city services.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The council \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086842/san-jose-city-budget-new-immigrant-funding-cuts-reserve-spending\">voted in June\u003c/a> to close a $50.3 million shortfall in the 2026-27 spending plan, but city staffers have projected a $26.8 million deficit in the fiscal year beginning next July. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think we’d all agree it wouldn’t be right for us to further cut library hours or have to shut down a fire station or some other impact like that to give an unsustainable raise,” Mahan said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The two sides are also apart on the use of artificial intelligence in city departments. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A strike by MEF and IFPTE, which collectively represent more than 3,000 workers, would be the largest municipal work stoppage in San José since 1981, when AFSCME workers struck for nine days to advocate for equal pay for female workers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093643\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.500418643594753;width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/20260729_SJCITYWORKERS_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">San José City employees attend Strike School in San José on July 29, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2023, Mahan was the lone vote against a contract for the two unions. The wage agreement reached at the time \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11958216/san-jose-city-worker-strike-on-hold-after-agreement\">narrowly avoided\u003c/a> a work stoppage that threatened to derail summer camps, permit processing and even flights at San José Mineta International Airport. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It remains to be seen whether the council members will ask the city manager to increase San José’s offer to the unions when they meet in a closed session on Tuesday morning. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The unions are holding the strike authorization votes at large worksites, including City Hall, the airport and the central service yard. Results are expected to be tallied Aug. 17, with a potential strike date announced afterward. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last month, the unions held “strike schools” at San José First United Methodist Church, across the street from City Hall. Workers chanted, cheered and received a briefing from union leaders on what a work stoppage would entail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are doing this because we know, because of the way the city has behaved at the bargaining table, that we have to strike to get a deal,” said Charles Allen, union representative for MEF. “Painful, but we have to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/antioch\">Antioch\u003c/a> mayor said Wednesday that he expects the U.S. Department of Justice to indict him as part of a federal investigation, which he described as politically motivated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, a progressive politician who led the Contra Costa County city from 2020 to 2024, said in a video statement that his attorneys have turned over documents requested by federal investigators. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For nearly six years I have lived under the weight of political attacks and relentless public scrutiny,” Hernandez-Thorpe said in the three-and-a-half-minute video. “I want you to hear something from me before you hear it from anyone else. It is my understanding that the Trump Justice Department intends to seek an indictment against me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe did not directly address what the investigation might be about, but spoke about the “difficult issues” his administration handled in office, including leading police department reform after a massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985781/antioch-police-targeted-black-people-with-dogs-and-40mm-launchers-suit-alleges\">corruption and civil rights scandal\u003c/a>, managing the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest of 2020 and becoming the first city to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979945/antioch-confronts-history-of-discrimination-against-chinese-immigrants\">public apology for anti-Chinese policies\u003c/a> and destruction of its Chinatown in the 1870s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those efforts were not always popular,” he said. “But I believed in my heart that they were the necessary changes that we needed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe’s term, which ended after a failed 2024 reelection bid, was not without controversy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The former mayor faced a recall campaign during his first year in office, launched by a group of Antioch residents concerned about what they described as a lack of support for the city’s police department and disrespecting council members during disagreements, among other issues. The effort failed to garner enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2021, Hernandez-Thorpe was accused of sexually harassing an employee while serving as the executive director of the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District, according to an investigation report \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/598928130/Los-MeDanos-Community-Healthcare-District-Report#from_embed\">published by the \u003cem>Bay Area News Group\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. In 2022, he \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/13/antioch-mayor-pleads-no-contest-to-misdemeanor-dui-charges/\">pled no contest\u003c/a> to a misdemeanor DUI charge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe is one of a number of East Bay political figures who have been embroiled in federal investigations in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the operators of the city’s recycling contractor are set to go to trial this fall for their roles in a large-scale corruption scheme, and former San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud charges in February. The FBI also raided \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/14/fbi-raids-home-of-contra-costa-political-power-player/\">multiple \u003c/a>Contra Costa County officials’ homes in 2025 and 2026, including that of former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086725/fbi-raids-contra-costa-county-tax-officials-homes-and-office\">Tax Assessor Gus Kramer\u003c/a>, whose tenure was dogged by questionable assessments, real estate deals and use of gift deeds to acquire property in the county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe’s term, which ended after a failed 2024 reelection bid, was not without controversy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The former mayor faced a recall campaign during his first year in office, launched by a group of Antioch residents concerned about what they described as a lack of support for the city’s police department and disrespecting council members during disagreements, among other issues. The effort failed to garner enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2021, Hernandez-Thorpe was accused of sexually harassing an employee while serving as the executive director of the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District, according to an investigation report \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/598928130/Los-MeDanos-Community-Healthcare-District-Report#from_embed\">published by the \u003cem>Bay Area News Group\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. In 2022, he \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/13/antioch-mayor-pleads-no-contest-to-misdemeanor-dui-charges/\">pled no contest\u003c/a> to a misdemeanor DUI charge.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe is one of a number of East Bay political figures who have been embroiled in federal investigations in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the operators of the city’s recycling contractor are set to go to trial this fall for their roles in a large-scale corruption scheme, and former San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud charges in February. The FBI also raided \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/14/fbi-raids-home-of-contra-costa-political-power-player/\">multiple \u003c/a>Contra Costa County officials’ homes in 2025 and 2026, including that of former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086725/fbi-raids-contra-costa-county-tax-officials-homes-and-office\">Tax Assessor Gus Kramer\u003c/a>, whose tenure was dogged by questionable assessments, real estate deals and use of gift deeds to acquire property in the county.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The former East Bay politician said the investigation is politically motivated. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/antioch\">Antioch\u003c/a> mayor said Wednesday that he expects the U.S. Department of Justice to indict him as part of a federal investigation, which he described as politically motivated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, a progressive politician who led the Contra Costa County city from 2020 to 2024, said in a video statement that his attorneys have turned over documents requested by federal investigators. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For nearly six years I have lived under the weight of political attacks and relentless public scrutiny,” Hernandez-Thorpe said in the three-and-a-half-minute video. “I want you to hear something from me before you hear it from anyone else. It is my understanding that the Trump Justice Department intends to seek an indictment against me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe did not directly address what the investigation might be about, but spoke about the “difficult issues” his administration handled in office, including leading police department reform after a massive \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985781/antioch-police-targeted-black-people-with-dogs-and-40mm-launchers-suit-alleges\">corruption and civil rights scandal\u003c/a>, managing the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest of 2020 and becoming the first city to issue a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11979945/antioch-confronts-history-of-discrimination-against-chinese-immigrants\">public apology for anti-Chinese policies\u003c/a> and destruction of its Chinatown in the 1870s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Those efforts were not always popular,” he said. “But I believed in my heart that they were the necessary changes that we needed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe’s term, which ended after a failed 2024 reelection bid, was not without controversy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The former mayor faced a recall campaign during his first year in office, launched by a group of Antioch residents concerned about what they described as a lack of support for the city’s police department and disrespecting council members during disagreements, among other issues. The effort failed to garner enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2021, Hernandez-Thorpe was accused of sexually harassing an employee while serving as the executive director of the Los Medanos Community Healthcare District, according to an investigation report \u003ca href=\"https://www.scribd.com/document/598928130/Los-MeDanos-Community-Healthcare-District-Report#from_embed\">published by the \u003cem>Bay Area News Group\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. In 2022, he \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/12/13/antioch-mayor-pleads-no-contest-to-misdemeanor-dui-charges/\">pled no contest\u003c/a> to a misdemeanor DUI charge.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hernandez-Thorpe is one of a number of East Bay political figures who have been embroiled in federal investigations in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the operators of the city’s recycling contractor are set to go to trial this fall for their roles in a large-scale corruption scheme, and former San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo pled guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud charges in February. The FBI also raided \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/14/fbi-raids-home-of-contra-costa-political-power-player/\">multiple \u003c/a>Contra Costa County officials’ homes in 2025 and 2026, including that of former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12086725/fbi-raids-contra-costa-county-tax-officials-homes-and-office\">Tax Assessor Gus Kramer\u003c/a>, whose tenure was dogged by questionable assessments, real estate deals and use of gift deeds to acquire property in the county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Political Breakdown continues an ongoing series on election integrity in America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump repeatedly claims that the American election system is vulnerable and easily compromised. He has gone after electronic voting machines and ballot-counting systems, alleged that more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896448/trump-election-address\">250,000 noncitizens\u003c/a> are on the voter rolls of four states and claimed foreign interference in the 2020 election from countries like China. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marisa is joined by NPR correspondent Shannon Bond to parse out the actual vulnerabilities. They discuss the difference between foreign interference and influence, AI’s growing role in political messaging, the loosening of online platform moderation and cuts to cybersecurity offices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you missed them, you can still listen to our first three episodes in this series: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090101/americas-long-history-of-voting-and-election-integrity\">America’s Long History of Voting and Election Integrity\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091047/the-rise-of-election-crime-laws-since-2020\">The Rise of Election Crime Laws Since 2020\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092003/inside-shasta-countys-election-integrity-fight\">Inside Shasta County’s Election Integrity Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump repeatedly claims that the American election system is vulnerable and easily compromised. He has gone after electronic voting machines and ballot-counting systems, alleged that more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896448/trump-election-address\">250,000 noncitizens\u003c/a> are on the voter rolls of four states and claimed foreign interference in the 2020 election from countries like China. \u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Political Breakdown continues an ongoing series on election integrity in America.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>President Donald Trump repeatedly claims that the American election system is vulnerable and easily compromised. He has gone after electronic voting machines and ballot-counting systems, alleged that more than \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5896448/trump-election-address\">250,000 noncitizens\u003c/a> are on the voter rolls of four states and claimed foreign interference in the 2020 election from countries like China. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Marisa is joined by NPR correspondent Shannon Bond to parse out the actual vulnerabilities. They discuss the difference between foreign interference and influence, AI’s growing role in political messaging, the loosening of online platform moderation and cuts to cybersecurity offices. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you missed them, you can still listen to our first three episodes in this series: \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090101/americas-long-history-of-voting-and-election-integrity\">America’s Long History of Voting and Election Integrity\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12091047/the-rise-of-election-crime-laws-since-2020\">The Rise of Election Crime Laws Since 2020\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092003/inside-shasta-countys-election-integrity-fight\">Inside Shasta County’s Election Integrity Fight\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "california-democratic-party-endorses-billionaire-tax-splitting-with-newsom",
"title": "California Democratic Party Endorses Billionaire Tax, Splitting with Newsom",
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"content": "\u003cp>California Democrats’ internal conflict over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/billionaire-tax\">billionaire tax\u003c/a> measure on November’s ballot ramped up Sunday with an endorsement from the state Democratic Party, pitting party activists against the state’s Democratic governor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a meeting in San Diego to take positions on Proposition 40 and other ballot initiatives, the party’s executive board voted to endorse the one-time wealth tax measure by a narrow margin of 61.7%, just above the 60% threshold needed to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SEIU-UHW, the healthcare union behind the proposal, framed the endorsement vote as a huge boost to their campaign and a sign that the party is rallying behind the measure, which Gov. Gavin Newsom and some other powerful labor unions oppose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077053\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man’s shirt and sticker are displayed at the Billionaire Tax Now booth at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What it shows is that Democrats are united across California to support the billionaire tax,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093303/the-union-man-taking-on-the-democratic-establishment-with-a-billionaire-tax\">union President Dave Regan\u003c/a> told KQED. “All of the efforts by people to give a different impression have just shown to be false.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and one of the voting executive board members, disputed that framing, pointing to how contentious and tight the final vote was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t say there’s overwhelming support,” Tung said. “That ignores the fact that this barely passed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The endorsement followed a first vote that fell short at 59.2%. A follow-up motion to take “no position, ” which needed a supermajority vote, also failed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 235 executive board members represent a small percentage of the thousands of Democratic State Central Committee members. The board includes both Democratic elected officials and activists from county Democratic committees and party caucuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The e-board is made up of people who are very committed to the party,” Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta said. “They’re not your average bear; they’re probably more progressive than the rest of the world, but I don’t know if they’re as progressive as the Progressive Caucus within the Democratic Party.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles attended the Sunday board meeting, helping the Proposition 40 campaign whip the votes needed to secure an endorsement. She joins other high-ranking Democrats supporting the measure, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side, Newsom, gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and labor groups including the California Teachers Association oppose it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This divide within the party complicates the value of the endorsement, according to Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086476\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, a candidate for governor, speaks to supporters on election night on June 2, 2026. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A Democratic Party endorsement in California is always going to help a ballot proposition because there are so many Democrats in the state,” Grose said. “It’s not as strong of a signal when there’s high-profile Democrats who are also opposed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The party endorsement doesn’t come with additional funding, messaging or organizing muscle. It allows the Proposition 40 campaign to claim party support on their mailers and ads instead of listing individual Democratic endorsers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now what? The party is not going to spend $10 million to go promote Yes on Prop. 40,” Acosta said. “So whatever the Yes on Prop. 40 campaign wants to do with that endorsement, they’re going to have to figure out how to go tell the rest of the world what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public opinion polls show early support for the measure. A May poll from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/press-release/becerra-hilton-lead-governors-race-majority-back-billionaire-wealth-tax/\">Public Policy Institute of California\u003c/a> shows 54% of likely voters and 76% of Democrats would vote for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Opponents argue the measure, if passed, will push wealthy residents and their tax dollars out of the state. Newsom has also argued a billionaire tax should be enacted at the federal, not state, level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The opposition, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already spent more than $100 million to undermine the measure and is expected to shell out tens of millions more before November. The state party also voted Sunday to oppose two measures funded by Brin, Propositions 41 and 42, seen as poison pill attempts to undercut the billionaire tax measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12070782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom, Democratic Candidate for Governor Xavier Becerra, the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and so many others are standing together against Prop. 40 because it’s bad for our budget, bad for our economy, and bad for our future,” the No on 40 campaign said in a statement. “We need smart, durable solutions to our biggest challenges, not unreliable, untested schemes that shortchange healthcare, education, and public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for an interview. Becerra’s office pointed to his earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">statement to \u003c/a>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">Politico\u003c/a> \u003c/em>warning against “half measures.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Every Californian must pay their fair share, and no billionaire should pay taxes at rates lower than teachers, firefighters or nurses. But this is sketchy policy,” Becerra said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Regan said he hopes Newsom and Becerra will reconsider their positions to align with “the people who they relied on to be elected to office.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact that Gov. Newsom and Secretary Becerra are opposed, I think, says more about them than it does about Democrats,” Regan said. “They are clearly out of step with a supermajority of the voters.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At a meeting in San Diego to take positions on Proposition 40 and other ballot initiatives, the party’s executive board voted to endorse the one-time wealth tax measure by a narrow margin of 61.7%, just above the 60% threshold needed to pass. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>SEIU-UHW, the healthcare union behind the proposal, framed the endorsement vote as a huge boost to their campaign and a sign that the party is rallying behind the measure, which Gov. Gavin Newsom and some other powerful labor unions oppose. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077053\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man’s shirt and sticker are displayed at the Billionaire Tax Now booth at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“What it shows is that Democrats are united across California to support the billionaire tax,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093303/the-union-man-taking-on-the-democratic-establishment-with-a-billionaire-tax\">union President Dave Regan\u003c/a> told KQED. “All of the efforts by people to give a different impression have just shown to be false.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and one of the voting executive board members, disputed that framing, pointing to how contentious and tight the final vote was. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and one of the voting executive board members, disputed that framing, pointing to how contentious and tight the final vote was. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t say there’s overwhelming support,” Tung said. “That ignores the fact that this barely passed.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t say there’s overwhelming support,” Tung said. “That ignores the fact that this barely passed.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The endorsement followed a first vote that fell short at 59.2%. A follow-up motion to take “no position, ” which needed a supermajority vote, also failed.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 235 executive board members represent a small percentage of the thousands of Democratic State Central Committee members. The board includes both Democratic elected officials and activists from county Democratic committees and party caucuses.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The e-board is made up of people who are very committed to the party,” Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta said. “They’re not your average bear; they’re probably more progressive than the rest of the world, but I don’t know if they’re as progressive as the Progressive Caucus within the Democratic Party.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The e-board is made up of people who are very committed to the party,” Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta said. “They’re not your average bear; they’re probably more progressive than the rest of the world, but I don’t know if they’re as progressive as the Progressive Caucus within the Democratic Party.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles attended the Sunday board meeting, helping the Proposition 40 campaign whip the votes needed to secure an endorsement. She joins other high-ranking Democrats supporting the measure, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles attended the Sunday board meeting, helping the Proposition 40 campaign whip the votes needed to secure an endorsement. She joins other high-ranking Democrats supporting the measure, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On the other side, Newsom, gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and labor groups including the California Teachers Association oppose it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On the other side, Newsom, gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and labor groups including the California Teachers Association oppose it. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This divide within the party complicates the value of the endorsement, according to Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This divide within the party complicates the value of the endorsement, according to Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086476\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, a candidate for governor, speaks to supporters on election night on June 2, 2026. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“A Democratic Party endorsement in California is always going to help a ballot proposition because there are so many Democrats in the state,” Grose said. “It’s not as strong of a signal when there’s high-profile Democrats who are also opposed.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The party endorsement doesn’t come with additional funding, messaging or organizing muscle. It allows the Proposition 40 campaign to claim party support on their mailers and ads instead of listing individual Democratic endorsers. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The party endorsement doesn’t come with additional funding, messaging or organizing muscle. It allows the Proposition 40 campaign to claim party support on their mailers and ads instead of listing individual Democratic endorsers. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Now what? The party is not going to spend $10 million to go promote Yes on Prop. 40,” Acosta said. “So whatever the Yes on Prop. 40 campaign wants to do with that endorsement, they’re going to have to figure out how to go tell the rest of the world what happened.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Now what? The party is not going to spend $10 million to go promote Yes on Prop. 40,” Acosta said. “So whatever the Yes on Prop. 40 campaign wants to do with that endorsement, they’re going to have to figure out how to go tell the rest of the world what happened.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Public opinion polls show early support for the measure. A May poll from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/press-release/becerra-hilton-lead-governors-race-majority-back-billionaire-wealth-tax/\">Public Policy Institute of California\u003c/a> shows 54% of likely voters and 76% of Democrats would vote for it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Public opinion polls show early support for the measure. A May poll from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/press-release/becerra-hilton-lead-governors-race-majority-back-billionaire-wealth-tax/\">Public Policy Institute of California\u003c/a> shows 54% of likely voters and 76% of Democrats would vote for it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Opponents argue the measure, if passed, will push wealthy residents and their tax dollars out of the state. Newsom has also argued a billionaire tax should be enacted at the federal, not state, level. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Opponents argue the measure, if passed, will push wealthy residents and their tax dollars out of the state. Newsom has also argued a billionaire tax should be enacted at the federal, not state, level. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The opposition, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already spent more than $100 million to undermine the measure and is expected to shell out tens of millions more before November. The state party also voted Sunday to oppose two measures funded by Brin, Propositions 41 and 42, seen as poison pill attempts to undercut the billionaire tax measure. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The opposition, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already spent more than $100 million to undermine the measure and is expected to shell out tens of millions more before November. The state party also voted Sunday to oppose two measures funded by Brin, Propositions 41 and 42, seen as poison pill attempts to undercut the billionaire tax measure. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom, Democratic Candidate for Governor Xavier Becerra, the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and so many others are standing together against Prop. 40 because it’s bad for our budget, bad for our economy, and bad for our future,” the No on 40 campaign said in a statement. “We need smart, durable solutions to our biggest challenges, not unreliable, untested schemes that shortchange healthcare, education, and public safety.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom, Democratic Candidate for Governor Xavier Becerra, the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and so many others are standing together against Prop. 40 because it’s bad for our budget, bad for our economy, and bad for our future,” the No on 40 campaign said in a statement. “We need smart, durable solutions to our biggest challenges, not unreliable, untested schemes that shortchange healthcare, education, and public safety.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for an interview. Becerra’s office pointed to his earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">statement to \u003c/a>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">Politico\u003c/a> \u003c/em>warning against “half measures.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for an interview. Becerra’s office pointed to his earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">statement to \u003c/a>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">Politico\u003c/a> \u003c/em>warning against “half measures.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Every Californian must pay their fair share, and no billionaire should pay taxes at rates lower than teachers, firefighters or nurses. But this is sketchy policy,” Becerra said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Regan said he hopes Newsom and Becerra will reconsider their positions to align with “the people who they relied on to be elected to office.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The fact that Gov. Newsom and Secretary Becerra are opposed, I think, says more about them than it does about Democrats,” Regan said. “They are clearly out of step with a supermajority of the voters.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The party narrowly endorsed the billionaire tax measure, which still faces high-profile opposition. How much will it help the Proposition 40 campaign?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California Democrats’ internal conflict over the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/billionaire-tax\">billionaire tax\u003c/a> measure on November’s ballot ramped up Sunday with an endorsement from the state Democratic Party, pitting party activists against the state’s Democratic governor. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At a meeting in San Diego to take positions on Proposition 40 and other ballot initiatives, the party’s executive board voted to endorse the one-time wealth tax measure by a narrow margin of 61.7%, just above the 60% threshold needed to pass. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>SEIU-UHW, the healthcare union behind the proposal, framed the endorsement vote as a huge boost to their campaign and a sign that the party is rallying behind the measure, which Gov. Gavin Newsom and some other powerful labor unions oppose. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12077053\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/BillionaireTaxAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A man’s shirt and sticker are displayed at the Billionaire Tax Now booth at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Jeff Chiu/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“What it shows is that Democrats are united across California to support the billionaire tax,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12093303/the-union-man-taking-on-the-democratic-establishment-with-a-billionaire-tax\">union President Dave Regan\u003c/a> told KQED. “All of the efforts by people to give a different impression have just shown to be false.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and one of the voting executive board members, disputed that framing, pointing to how contentious and tight the final vote was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wouldn’t say there’s overwhelming support,” Tung said. “That ignores the fact that this barely passed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The endorsement followed a first vote that fell short at 59.2%. A follow-up motion to take “no position, ” which needed a supermajority vote, also failed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 235 executive board members represent a small percentage of the thousands of Democratic State Central Committee members. The board includes both Democratic elected officials and activists from county Democratic committees and party caucuses.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The e-board is made up of people who are very committed to the party,” Democratic strategist Andrew Acosta said. “They’re not your average bear; they’re probably more progressive than the rest of the world, but I don’t know if they’re as progressive as the Progressive Caucus within the Democratic Party.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles attended the Sunday board meeting, helping the Proposition 40 campaign whip the votes needed to secure an endorsement. She joins other high-ranking Democrats supporting the measure, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and South Bay Rep. Ro Khanna. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On the other side, Newsom, gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and labor groups including the California Teachers Association oppose it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This divide within the party complicates the value of the endorsement, according to Christian Grose, a political science professor at the University of Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12086476\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/Xavier-Becerra-Getty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Xavier Becerra, a candidate for governor, speaks to supporters on election night on June 2, 2026. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“A Democratic Party endorsement in California is always going to help a ballot proposition because there are so many Democrats in the state,” Grose said. “It’s not as strong of a signal when there’s high-profile Democrats who are also opposed.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The party endorsement doesn’t come with additional funding, messaging or organizing muscle. It allows the Proposition 40 campaign to claim party support on their mailers and ads instead of listing individual Democratic endorsers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now what? The party is not going to spend $10 million to go promote Yes on Prop. 40,” Acosta said. “So whatever the Yes on Prop. 40 campaign wants to do with that endorsement, they’re going to have to figure out how to go tell the rest of the world what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Public opinion polls show early support for the measure. A May poll from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/press-release/becerra-hilton-lead-governors-race-majority-back-billionaire-wealth-tax/\">Public Policy Institute of California\u003c/a> shows 54% of likely voters and 76% of Democrats would vote for it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Opponents argue the measure, if passed, will push wealthy residents and their tax dollars out of the state. Newsom has also argued a billionaire tax should be enacted at the federal, not state, level. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The opposition, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already spent more than $100 million to undermine the measure and is expected to shell out tens of millions more before November. The state party also voted Sunday to oppose two measures funded by Brin, Propositions 41 and 42, seen as poison pill attempts to undercut the billionaire tax measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12070782\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2256657926-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 20, 2026. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Governor Newsom, Democratic Candidate for Governor Xavier Becerra, the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and so many others are standing together against Prop. 40 because it’s bad for our budget, bad for our economy, and bad for our future,” the No on 40 campaign said in a statement. “We need smart, durable solutions to our biggest challenges, not unreliable, untested schemes that shortchange healthcare, education, and public safety.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for an interview. Becerra’s office pointed to his earlier \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">statement to \u003c/a>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2026/01/16/gov-field-isnt-buying-the-wealth-tax-00733083\">Politico\u003c/a> \u003c/em>warning against “half measures.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Every Californian must pay their fair share, and no billionaire should pay taxes at rates lower than teachers, firefighters or nurses. But this is sketchy policy,” Becerra said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Regan said he hopes Newsom and Becerra will reconsider their positions to align with “the people who they relied on to be elected to office.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact that Gov. Newsom and Secretary Becerra are opposed, I think, says more about them than it does about Democrats,” Regan said. “They are clearly out of step with a supermajority of the voters.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "inside-the-fight-for-the-future-of-californias-climate-dollars",
"title": "Inside the Fight for the Future of California’s Climate Dollars",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As state lawmakers return to the Capitol from summer recess on Monday, Democrats are spoiling for a fight with Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> over the future of California’s signature climate fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than a year ago, Newsom and the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">extended\u003c/a> the cap-and-trade program to 2045, renaming it cap-and-invest — a clear signal about lawmakers’ thoughts on the fiscal benefits of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052825/whats-next-for-californias-landmark-climate-program\">the system\u003c/a>. By requiring major polluters to purchase permits to account for their emissions, it raises billions of dollars a year for programs ranging from high-speed rail to affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the climate fund could shrink by as much as half due to new rules governing cap-and-invest, forcing lawmakers to make tough choices about how to spend the polluter proceeds — all while Newsom argues the program was never meant to be a permanent source of revenue. Their negotiations could come to a head in the next few weeks, before the final legislative session of the governor’s tenure comes to a close. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040943\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cap-and-invest rules, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085401/amid-opposition-california-regulators-approve-major-changes-to-cap-and-trade-program\">approved\u003c/a> by the California Air Resources Board this spring, are expected to drastically reduce the number of pollution permits, known as allowances, that are auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund over the next three years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, more pollution allowances will be given away to companies covered by the cap, such as oil refineries and factories, to prevent them from leaving California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is tension here insofar as there was an effort to rebrand the program as cap-and-invest — and now there are some serious concerns about the magnitude of the investments that will be coming out of this program,” said Kyle Meng, a professor of environmental economics at UC Santa Barbara. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Regulations boost industry\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom signed the reauthorization of cap-and-invest in September, as part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055461/california-lawmakers-reach-last-minute-deals-on-climate-energy\">sweeping negotiations\u003c/a> on climate and energy that included a bill meant to boost the state’s oil industry by making it easier to drill in Kern County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Air regulators at CARB got to work designing a cap that would allow the state to achieve its climate goals — including reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 — while also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053867/affordability-concerns-at-center-of-cap-and-trade-renewal-debate\">addressing affordability\u003c/a>, a top priority for lawmakers during last year’s reauthorization debate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first set of cap-and-invest rules unveiled in January drew fierce lobbying from the oil industry, which had already seen the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910826/california-considers-more-drilling-and-other-concessions-to-big-oil-as-gas-prices-rise\">closure of refineries\u003c/a> in Los Angeles and Benicia in the last two years that supplied roughly 20% of the state’s refining capacity. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2026/q1/californias-economy-faces-threats-with-new-energy-policy-changes\">warned\u003c/a> in a March letter that the regulations would “cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1099\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/49114191696_1eaabc25a9_o-e1589575094581.jpg\" alt=\"Pumpjacks in western Kern County's South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11814822\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pumpjacks in western Kern County’s South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019. (Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CARB’s final blueprint, approved in May, increased the free allowances granted to polluters over the next three years. It also created the Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive, which could grant companies additional allowances above the cap if they make investments in clean air technologies. The initiative is still being developed, but critics worry it could increase emissions and depress demand for allowances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think that a big focus of these regulations, it seems to me, was to try to provide additional benefits to industry … to prevent businesses from leaving the state, and also help them decarbonize their production processes,” said Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tradeoff is a decline in the allowances given to utilities (which help fund a Climate Credit on customers’ bills) and a significant drop in allowances auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a result, CARB projects $2 billion annually will be deposited into the fund, roughly half the amount in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A revenue program?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, Newsom defended CARB’s work as a pragmatic response to rising costs at the pump. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cap-and-invest has historically added roughly $0.25 to the price of a gallon of gas in California. As the state lowers the cap on emissions by issuing fewer pollution allowances over time, the price of each allowance is expected to rise — increasing compliance costs for California’s embattled oil refineries and further complicating the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we accelerate that transition, we also need to stabilize the market so that we don’t have $10 gasoline,” Newsom told KQED. “And so there was some rebalancing and consideration in that space, especially in the impacts of refineries.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2265237194-scaled-e1778026995886.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076853\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">High gas prices are listed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, as gasoline prices surge amid the ongoing war with Iran. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom and CARB officials have argued that the central purpose of cap-and-invest is to cost-effectively reduce emissions — not bankroll state programs through the revenue that goes to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The whole idea was to reduce the allowances to reduce pollution — it was never to create a fund to subsidize [programs] in perpetuity,” Newsom said. “But now people have become so used to it, it’s become an ongoing funding source. So now everyone’s fighting for more and more resources.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That argument has come as cold comfort to lawmakers who have eyed the fund to pay for housing, transit and wildfire mitigation in otherwise tight budget times. Even Newsom is banking on cap-and-invest revenue for the construction of high-speed rail in the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact, the most quantifiable benefit of cap-and-invest has been its ability to print cash. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much the program has reduced emissions or precisely how many businesses have been retained because of its market design, the carbon allowance auctions have raised $36.1 billion for the GGRF since they began in 2013. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lawmakers see the revenue as key to the political survival of the state’s climate ambitions, by ensuring that a strict emissions cap will result in tangible benefits to California households beyond the avoided costs of climate damages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can say cap-and-invest isn’t a revenue program, but we live and die on revenue programs,” state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, said. “So you’re going to need to point us to where we’re going to get the revenue to backfill these programs because they’re not going to go away — I think that’s going to be the standoff.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>‘\u003cstrong>Mission critical’ \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In North San José, money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is helping transform a vacant lot next to the Berryessa BART station into an apartment complex with 195 units of affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The development broke ground in May and is expected to open in 2028. On a recent weekday afternoon, construction crews were at work preparing the site’s foundation as BART trains whizzed by. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project received $29 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, which uses money in the climate fund to build affordable housing near transit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Construction crews work at the site of RISE, an affordable housing development, across the street from the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When your front door is at a station area, the people who live there are much more likely to hop on transit and not utilize a single-occupancy vehicle to get to their destinations,” said Jessie O’Malley Solis, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s director of multimodal planning and real estate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>VTA has a pipeline of 2,900 affordable units envisioned for future development projects at transit stations in San José, Campbell and Milpitas. All would rely on the AHSC funding generated by cap-and-invest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s critical,” Solis said. “Mission critical.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But AHSC funding could be completely eliminated under the new cap-and-invest rules, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under a deal Newsom struck last year with Democratic lawmakers on how to spend Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund revenue, programs would no longer be guaranteed a percentage share of the fund’s proceeds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, a fixed $1 billion a year would go toward the state’s high-speed rail system, a top Newsom priority, and $1 billion would be set aside for discretionary spending. Funding for housing, transit and reducing pollution in low-income hotspots fell further down the list. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The construction site of RISE, an affordable housing development, next to the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. The 10-story building will have 195 units. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If that spending blueprint remains unchanged, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that there would be no money in the climate account left earmarked for housing, transit, wildfire resilience or the Community Air Protection Program, which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050096/californias-clean-air-program-for-polluted-communities-faces-crossroads\">created to reduce\u003c/a> local air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you cut funding for things like this, you’re undercutting years of community work,” said Lauren Gallagher, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment. “The agreements that were made last year in the legislative process were not honored in this rulemaking.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Communities for a Better Environment has sued CARB to block the new cap-and-invest rules, accusing the agency of failing to properly consider the environmental impacts of changes that would leave less money in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new fiscal reality could upend the deal between Newsom and legislative Democrats on climate spending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Competing priorities \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor has been steadfast in his desire to prioritize Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dollars for high-speed rail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rail officials have vowed that an annual $1 billion commitment will allow them to borrow enough money to complete an initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“All those folks that are out there shaking their head on the high-speed rail, we can’t make up for the last 20, 30 years, but right now we’re laying damn tracks,” Newsom said. “I believe when it is done, people will look back and go, boy, this was worthwhile.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lawmakers and analysts have questioned the agency’s plan to complete even the initial segment, let alone the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line that was promised to voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, local transit agencies from BART to Metrolink face ongoing budget shortfalls. The GGRF has historically funded daily transit operations as well as long-term capital improvements, such as VTA’s Eastridge light-rail extension in San José and the expansion of SMART train service in Sonoma County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right now, we have high-speed rail in the tier that’s above transit, and I don’t think that makes sense,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, said. “High-speed rail shouldn’t get a billion dollars, and then we’ll starve all the other transit agencies in the state.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others have advocated for prioritizing adaptation to the climate costs already piling up for Californians. Hotter temperatures and longer droughts have increased the frequency and severity of wildfires, which have raised costs for electric utilities and rattled California’s home insurance market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers at Stanford’s Climate & Energy Policy Program warned against eliminating GGRF funding used to manage forests and harden communities vulnerable to wildfires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now is not the time to cut wildfire resilience funding,” they \u003ca href=\"https://cepp.substack.com/p/california-wildfire-resilience-funding\">wrote\u003c/a> on Substack. “Otherwise, we risk losing lives, property, and ecosystems while exacerbating the utility and insurance affordability crises, worsening air quality, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not all legislators are jumping into the spending fight. Four members of the bipartisan California Problem Solvers Caucus \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28127828-psc-letter-to-carb-15-day-cap-and-invest-comments-final/\">penned a letter\u003c/a> to CARB supporting the agency’s decision to return pollution allowances to industry and utilities rather than leaving them for lawmakers to divert to pet projects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Value preserved through free allocation … stays in California,” they wrote. “It stays in worker wages, facility operations, local tax bases, fuel price stability, and ratepayer credits.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crew works to install cross braces in the tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Air regulators have stressed that the shift in allowances is only temporary — a three-year adjustment to weather a turbulent energy transition. Come 2030, CARB will again consider a new distribution of pollution permits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in the meantime, Kerstein said, lawmakers are left with tough choices over prized programs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the face of this uncertainty and this potential volatility, what are its priorities?” Kerstein said. “And how does it want to make sure that its top priorities are funded?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Newsom, there is an added element of time pressure. The last legislative session of his tenure comes to an end Aug. 31 — giving the governor less than a month to leave his mark on the future of California’s climate spending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium aligncenter\" style=\"width: 500px; margin: 80px auto 40px;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-your-support-makes-this-work-possible-500x353@2x.png\" alt=\"Your support makes this work possible.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"706\" />\n\nFrom KQED’s Climate desk, “Flipping the Switch” documents California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by donating today.\n\n\u003ca href=\"https://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 272px; margin: 40px auto;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-support-kqed-journalism-272x57@2x.png\" alt=\"Button: Support KQED journalism\" width=\"544\" height=\"114\" />\u003c/a>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As state lawmakers return to the Capitol from summer recess on Monday, Democrats are spoiling for a fight with Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> over the future of California’s signature climate fund. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As state lawmakers return to the Capitol from summer recess on Monday, Democrats are spoiling for a fight with Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> over the future of California’s signature climate fund. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Less than a year ago, Newsom and the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">extended\u003c/a> the cap-and-trade program to 2045, renaming it cap-and-invest — a clear signal about lawmakers’ thoughts on the fiscal benefits of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052825/whats-next-for-californias-landmark-climate-program\">the system\u003c/a>. By requiring major polluters to purchase permits to account for their emissions, it raises billions of dollars a year for programs ranging from high-speed rail to affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Less than a year ago, Newsom and the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">extended\u003c/a> the cap-and-trade program to 2045, renaming it cap-and-invest — a clear signal about lawmakers’ thoughts on the fiscal benefits of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052825/whats-next-for-californias-landmark-climate-program\">the system\u003c/a>. By requiring major polluters to purchase permits to account for their emissions, it raises billions of dollars a year for programs ranging from high-speed rail to affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the climate fund could shrink by as much as half due to new rules governing cap-and-invest, forcing lawmakers to make tough choices about how to spend the polluter proceeds — all while Newsom argues the program was never meant to be a permanent source of revenue. Their negotiations could come to a head in the next few weeks, before the final legislative session of the governor’s tenure comes to a close. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the climate fund could shrink by as much as half due to new rules governing cap-and-invest, forcing lawmakers to make tough choices about how to spend the polluter proceeds — all while Newsom argues the program was never meant to be a permanent source of revenue. Their negotiations could come to a head in the next few weeks, before the final legislative session of the governor’s tenure comes to a close. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040943\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040943\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The cap-and-invest rules, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085401/amid-opposition-california-regulators-approve-major-changes-to-cap-and-trade-program\">approved\u003c/a> by the California Air Resources Board this spring, are expected to drastically reduce the number of pollution permits, known as allowances, that are auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund over the next three years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The cap-and-invest rules, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085401/amid-opposition-california-regulators-approve-major-changes-to-cap-and-trade-program\">approved\u003c/a> by the California Air Resources Board this spring, are expected to drastically reduce the number of pollution permits, known as allowances, that are auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund over the next three years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead, more pollution allowances will be given away to companies covered by the cap, such as oil refineries and factories, to prevent them from leaving California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Instead, more pollution allowances will be given away to companies covered by the cap, such as oil refineries and factories, to prevent them from leaving California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There is tension here insofar as there was an effort to rebrand the program as cap-and-invest — and now there are some serious concerns about the magnitude of the investments that will be coming out of this program,” said Kyle Meng, a professor of environmental economics at UC Santa Barbara. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There is tension here insofar as there was an effort to rebrand the program as cap-and-invest — and now there are some serious concerns about the magnitude of the investments that will be coming out of this program,” said Kyle Meng, a professor of environmental economics at UC Santa Barbara. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Newsom signed the reauthorization of cap-and-invest in September, as part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055461/california-lawmakers-reach-last-minute-deals-on-climate-energy\">sweeping negotiations\u003c/a> on climate and energy that included a bill meant to boost the state’s oil industry by making it easier to drill in Kern County. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Newsom signed the reauthorization of cap-and-invest in September, as part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055461/california-lawmakers-reach-last-minute-deals-on-climate-energy\">sweeping negotiations\u003c/a> on climate and energy that included a bill meant to boost the state’s oil industry by making it easier to drill in Kern County. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Air regulators at CARB got to work designing a cap that would allow the state to achieve its climate goals — including reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 — while also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053867/affordability-concerns-at-center-of-cap-and-trade-renewal-debate\">addressing affordability\u003c/a>, a top priority for lawmakers during last year’s reauthorization debate. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Air regulators at CARB got to work designing a cap that would allow the state to achieve its climate goals — including reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 — while also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053867/affordability-concerns-at-center-of-cap-and-trade-renewal-debate\">addressing affordability\u003c/a>, a top priority for lawmakers during last year’s reauthorization debate. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The first set of cap-and-invest rules unveiled in January drew fierce lobbying from the oil industry, which had already seen the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910826/california-considers-more-drilling-and-other-concessions-to-big-oil-as-gas-prices-rise\">closure of refineries\u003c/a> in Los Angeles and Benicia in the last two years that supplied roughly 20% of the state’s refining capacity. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2026/q1/californias-economy-faces-threats-with-new-energy-policy-changes\">warned\u003c/a> in a March letter that the regulations would “cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The first set of cap-and-invest rules unveiled in January drew fierce lobbying from the oil industry, which had already seen the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910826/california-considers-more-drilling-and-other-concessions-to-big-oil-as-gas-prices-rise\">closure of refineries\u003c/a> in Los Angeles and Benicia in the last two years that supplied roughly 20% of the state’s refining capacity. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2026/q1/californias-economy-faces-threats-with-new-energy-policy-changes\">warned\u003c/a> in a March letter that the regulations would “cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"alt": "Pumpjacks in western Kern County's South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019."
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/49114191696_1eaabc25a9_o-e1589575094581.jpg\" alt=\"Pumpjacks in western Kern County's South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11814822\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pumpjacks in western Kern County’s South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/49114191696_1eaabc25a9_o-e1589575094581.jpg\" alt=\"Pumpjacks in western Kern County's South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11814822\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pumpjacks in western Kern County’s South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>CARB’s final blueprint, approved in May, increased the free allowances granted to polluters over the next three years. It also created the Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive, which could grant companies additional allowances above the cap if they make investments in clean air technologies. The initiative is still being developed, but critics worry it could increase emissions and depress demand for allowances. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>CARB’s final blueprint, approved in May, increased the free allowances granted to polluters over the next three years. It also created the Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive, which could grant companies additional allowances above the cap if they make investments in clean air technologies. The initiative is still being developed, but critics worry it could increase emissions and depress demand for allowances. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I think that a big focus of these regulations, it seems to me, was to try to provide additional benefits to industry … to prevent businesses from leaving the state, and also help them decarbonize their production processes,” said Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I think that a big focus of these regulations, it seems to me, was to try to provide additional benefits to industry … to prevent businesses from leaving the state, and also help them decarbonize their production processes,” said Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The tradeoff is a decline in the allowances given to utilities (which help fund a Climate Credit on customers’ bills) and a significant drop in allowances auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The tradeoff is a decline in the allowances given to utilities (which help fund a Climate Credit on customers’ bills) and a significant drop in allowances auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As a result, CARB projects $2 billion annually will be deposited into the fund, roughly half the amount in recent years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As a result, CARB projects $2 billion annually will be deposited into the fund, roughly half the amount in recent years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "A revenue program?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A revenue program?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, Newsom defended CARB’s work as a pragmatic response to rising costs at the pump. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, Newsom defended CARB’s work as a pragmatic response to rising costs at the pump. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Cap-and-invest has historically added roughly $0.25 to the price of a gallon of gas in California. As the state lowers the cap on emissions by issuing fewer pollution allowances over time, the price of each allowance is expected to rise — increasing compliance costs for California’s embattled oil refineries and further complicating the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Cap-and-invest has historically added roughly $0.25 to the price of a gallon of gas in California. As the state lowers the cap on emissions by issuing fewer pollution allowances over time, the price of each allowance is expected to rise — increasing compliance costs for California’s embattled oil refineries and further complicating the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“As we accelerate that transition, we also need to stabilize the market so that we don’t have $10 gasoline,” Newsom told KQED. “And so there was some rebalancing and consideration in that space, especially in the impacts of refineries.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“As we accelerate that transition, we also need to stabilize the market so that we don’t have $10 gasoline,” Newsom told KQED. “And so there was some rebalancing and consideration in that space, especially in the impacts of refineries.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2265237194-scaled-e1778026995886.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076853\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">High gas prices are listed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, as gasoline prices surge amid the ongoing war with Iran.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2265237194-scaled-e1778026995886.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076853\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">High gas prices are listed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, as gasoline prices surge amid the ongoing war with Iran.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Newsom and CARB officials have argued that the central purpose of cap-and-invest is to cost-effectively reduce emissions — not bankroll state programs through the revenue that goes to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Newsom and CARB officials have argued that the central purpose of cap-and-invest is to cost-effectively reduce emissions — not bankroll state programs through the revenue that goes to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The whole idea was to reduce the allowances to reduce pollution — it was never to create a fund to subsidize [programs] in perpetuity,” Newsom said. “But now people have become so used to it, it’s become an ongoing funding source. So now everyone’s fighting for more and more resources.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The whole idea was to reduce the allowances to reduce pollution — it was never to create a fund to subsidize [programs] in perpetuity,” Newsom said. “But now people have become so used to it, it’s become an ongoing funding source. So now everyone’s fighting for more and more resources.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That argument has come as cold comfort to lawmakers who have eyed the fund to pay for housing, transit and wildfire mitigation in otherwise tight budget times. Even Newsom is banking on cap-and-invest revenue for the construction of high-speed rail in the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That argument has come as cold comfort to lawmakers who have eyed the fund to pay for housing, transit and wildfire mitigation in otherwise tight budget times. Even Newsom is banking on cap-and-invest revenue for the construction of high-speed rail in the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In fact, the most quantifiable benefit of cap-and-invest has been its ability to print cash. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much the program has reduced emissions or precisely how many businesses have been retained because of its market design, the carbon allowance auctions have raised $36.1 billion for the GGRF since they began in 2013. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In fact, the most quantifiable benefit of cap-and-invest has been its ability to print cash. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much the program has reduced emissions or precisely how many businesses have been retained because of its market design, the carbon allowance auctions have raised $36.1 billion for the GGRF since they began in 2013. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lawmakers see the revenue as key to the political survival of the state’s climate ambitions, by ensuring that a strict emissions cap will result in tangible benefits to California households beyond the avoided costs of climate damages.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lawmakers see the revenue as key to the political survival of the state’s climate ambitions, by ensuring that a strict emissions cap will result in tangible benefits to California households beyond the avoided costs of climate damages.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can say cap-and-invest isn’t a revenue program, but we live and die on revenue programs,” state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, said. “So you’re going to need to point us to where we’re going to get the revenue to backfill these programs because they’re not going to go away — I think that’s going to be the standoff.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You can say cap-and-invest isn’t a revenue program, but we live and die on revenue programs,” state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, said. “So you’re going to need to point us to where we’re going to get the revenue to backfill these programs because they’re not going to go away — I think that’s going to be the standoff.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>‘\u003cstrong>Mission critical’ \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In North San José, money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is helping transform a vacant lot next to the Berryessa BART station into an apartment complex with 195 units of affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In North San José, money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is helping transform a vacant lot next to the Berryessa BART station into an apartment complex with 195 units of affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The development broke ground in May and is expected to open in 2028. On a recent weekday afternoon, construction crews were at work preparing the site’s foundation as BART trains whizzed by. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The development broke ground in May and is expected to open in 2028. On a recent weekday afternoon, construction crews were at work preparing the site’s foundation as BART trains whizzed by. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The project received $29 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, which uses money in the climate fund to build affordable housing near transit. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The project received $29 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, which uses money in the climate fund to build affordable housing near transit. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Construction crews work at the site of RISE, an affordable housing development, across the street from the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091847\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Construction crews work at the site of RISE, an affordable housing development, across the street from the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When your front door is at a station area, the people who live there are much more likely to hop on transit and not utilize a single-occupancy vehicle to get to their destinations,” said Jessie O’Malley Solis, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s director of multimodal planning and real estate. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When your front door is at a station area, the people who live there are much more likely to hop on transit and not utilize a single-occupancy vehicle to get to their destinations,” said Jessie O’Malley Solis, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s director of multimodal planning and real estate. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>VTA has a pipeline of 2,900 affordable units envisioned for future development projects at transit stations in San José, Campbell and Milpitas. All would rely on the AHSC funding generated by cap-and-invest. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>VTA has a pipeline of 2,900 affordable units envisioned for future development projects at transit stations in San José, Campbell and Milpitas. All would rely on the AHSC funding generated by cap-and-invest. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s critical,” Solis said. “Mission critical.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But AHSC funding could be completely eliminated under the new cap-and-invest rules, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But AHSC funding could be completely eliminated under the new cap-and-invest rules, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under a deal Newsom struck last year with Democratic lawmakers on how to spend Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund revenue, programs would no longer be guaranteed a percentage share of the fund’s proceeds. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Instead, a fixed $1 billion a year would go toward the state’s high-speed rail system, a top Newsom priority, and $1 billion would be set aside for discretionary spending. Funding for housing, transit and reducing pollution in low-income hotspots fell further down the list. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Instead, a fixed $1 billion a year would go toward the state’s high-speed rail system, a top Newsom priority, and $1 billion would be set aside for discretionary spending. Funding for housing, transit and reducing pollution in low-income hotspots fell further down the list. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The construction site of RISE, an affordable housing development, next to the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. The 10-story building will have 195 units.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091850\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The construction site of RISE, an affordable housing development, next to the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. The 10-story building will have 195 units.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If that spending blueprint remains unchanged, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that there would be no money in the climate account left earmarked for housing, transit, wildfire resilience or the Community Air Protection Program, which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050096/californias-clean-air-program-for-polluted-communities-faces-crossroads\">created to reduce\u003c/a> local air pollution.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If that spending blueprint remains unchanged, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that there would be no money in the climate account left earmarked for housing, transit, wildfire resilience or the Community Air Protection Program, which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050096/californias-clean-air-program-for-polluted-communities-faces-crossroads\">created to reduce\u003c/a> local air pollution.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When you cut funding for things like this, you’re undercutting years of community work,” said Lauren Gallagher, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment. “The agreements that were made last year in the legislative process were not honored in this rulemaking.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When you cut funding for things like this, you’re undercutting years of community work,” said Lauren Gallagher, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment. “The agreements that were made last year in the legislative process were not honored in this rulemaking.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Communities for a Better Environment has sued CARB to block the new cap-and-invest rules, accusing the agency of failing to properly consider the environmental impacts of changes that would leave less money in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Communities for a Better Environment has sued CARB to block the new cap-and-invest rules, accusing the agency of failing to properly consider the environmental impacts of changes that would leave less money in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The new fiscal reality could upend the deal between Newsom and legislative Democrats on climate spending. \u003c/p>\n",
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"text": "Competing priorities ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Competing priorities \u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The governor has been steadfast in his desire to prioritize Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dollars for high-speed rail. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The governor has been steadfast in his desire to prioritize Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dollars for high-speed rail. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rail officials have vowed that an annual $1 billion commitment will allow them to borrow enough money to complete an initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rail officials have vowed that an annual $1 billion commitment will allow them to borrow enough money to complete an initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“All those folks that are out there shaking their head on the high-speed rail, we can’t make up for the last 20, 30 years, but right now we’re laying damn tracks,” Newsom said. “I believe when it is done, people will look back and go, boy, this was worthwhile.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“All those folks that are out there shaking their head on the high-speed rail, we can’t make up for the last 20, 30 years, but right now we’re laying damn tracks,” Newsom said. “I believe when it is done, people will look back and go, boy, this was worthwhile.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But lawmakers and analysts have questioned the agency’s plan to complete even the initial segment, let alone the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line that was promised to voters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But lawmakers and analysts have questioned the agency’s plan to complete even the initial segment, let alone the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line that was promised to voters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066410\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, local transit agencies from BART to Metrolink face ongoing budget shortfalls. The GGRF has historically funded daily transit operations as well as long-term capital improvements, such as VTA’s Eastridge light-rail extension in San José and the expansion of SMART train service in Sonoma County. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, local transit agencies from BART to Metrolink face ongoing budget shortfalls. The GGRF has historically funded daily transit operations as well as long-term capital improvements, such as VTA’s Eastridge light-rail extension in San José and the expansion of SMART train service in Sonoma County. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Right now, we have high-speed rail in the tier that’s above transit, and I don’t think that makes sense,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, said. “High-speed rail shouldn’t get a billion dollars, and then we’ll starve all the other transit agencies in the state.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Right now, we have high-speed rail in the tier that’s above transit, and I don’t think that makes sense,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, said. “High-speed rail shouldn’t get a billion dollars, and then we’ll starve all the other transit agencies in the state.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Others have advocated for prioritizing adaptation to the climate costs already piling up for Californians. Hotter temperatures and longer droughts have increased the frequency and severity of wildfires, which have raised costs for electric utilities and rattled California’s home insurance market. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Others have advocated for prioritizing adaptation to the climate costs already piling up for Californians. Hotter temperatures and longer droughts have increased the frequency and severity of wildfires, which have raised costs for electric utilities and rattled California’s home insurance market. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Researchers at Stanford’s Climate & Energy Policy Program warned against eliminating GGRF funding used to manage forests and harden communities vulnerable to wildfires. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Now is not the time to cut wildfire resilience funding,” they \u003ca href=\"https://cepp.substack.com/p/california-wildfire-resilience-funding\">wrote\u003c/a> on Substack. “Otherwise, we risk losing lives, property, and ecosystems while exacerbating the utility and insurance affordability crises, worsening air quality, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Now is not the time to cut wildfire resilience funding,” they \u003ca href=\"https://cepp.substack.com/p/california-wildfire-resilience-funding\">wrote\u003c/a> on Substack. “Otherwise, we risk losing lives, property, and ecosystems while exacerbating the utility and insurance affordability crises, worsening air quality, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Not all legislators are jumping into the spending fight. Four members of the bipartisan California Problem Solvers Caucus \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28127828-psc-letter-to-carb-15-day-cap-and-invest-comments-final/\">penned a letter\u003c/a> to CARB supporting the agency’s decision to return pollution allowances to industry and utilities rather than leaving them for lawmakers to divert to pet projects.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Not all legislators are jumping into the spending fight. Four members of the bipartisan California Problem Solvers Caucus \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28127828-psc-letter-to-carb-15-day-cap-and-invest-comments-final/\">penned a letter\u003c/a> to CARB supporting the agency’s decision to return pollution allowances to industry and utilities rather than leaving them for lawmakers to divert to pet projects.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Value preserved through free allocation … stays in California,” they wrote. “It stays in worker wages, facility operations, local tax bases, fuel price stability, and ratepayer credits.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Value preserved through free allocation … stays in California,” they wrote. “It stays in worker wages, facility operations, local tax bases, fuel price stability, and ratepayer credits.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crew works to install cross braces in the tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066415\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crew works to install cross braces in the tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Air regulators have stressed that the shift in allowances is only temporary — a three-year adjustment to weather a turbulent energy transition. Come 2030, CARB will again consider a new distribution of pollution permits. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But in the meantime, Kerstein said, lawmakers are left with tough choices over prized programs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In the face of this uncertainty and this potential volatility, what are its priorities?” Kerstein said. “And how does it want to make sure that its top priorities are funded?” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For Newsom, there is an added element of time pressure. The last legislative session of his tenure comes to an end Aug. 31 — giving the governor less than a month to leave his mark on the future of California’s climate spending. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For Newsom, there is an added element of time pressure. The last legislative session of his tenure comes to an end Aug. 31 — giving the governor less than a month to leave his mark on the future of California’s climate spending. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cimg class=\"size-medium aligncenter\" style=\"width: 500px; margin: 80px auto 40px;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-your-support-makes-this-work-possible-500x353@2x.png\" alt=\"Your support makes this work possible.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"706\" />\n\nFrom KQED’s Climate desk, “Flipping the Switch” documents California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by donating today.\n\n\u003ca href=\"https://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 272px; margin: 40px auto;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-support-kqed-journalism-272x57@2x.png\" alt=\"Button: Support KQED journalism\" width=\"544\" height=\"114\" />\u003c/a>\n"
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"excerpt": "Changes to the state’s cap-and-invest program could leave billions of dollars less for housing, transit or high-speed rail — forcing lawmakers to make tough spending choices.",
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"title": "Inside the Fight for the Future of California’s Climate Dollars | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Flipping the Switch,” examining California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. Find the series and more of our climate coverage \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/climate\">\u003cem>here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As state lawmakers return to the Capitol from summer recess on Monday, Democrats are spoiling for a fight with Gov. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/gavin-newsom\">Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> over the future of California’s signature climate fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Less than a year ago, Newsom and the Legislature \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1998536/newsom-signs-climate-energy-bills-charting-state-course-through-perilous-mid-transition\">extended\u003c/a> the cap-and-trade program to 2045, renaming it cap-and-invest — a clear signal about lawmakers’ thoughts on the fiscal benefits of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12052825/whats-next-for-californias-landmark-climate-program\">the system\u003c/a>. By requiring major polluters to purchase permits to account for their emissions, it raises billions of dollars a year for programs ranging from high-speed rail to affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the climate fund could shrink by as much as half due to new rules governing cap-and-invest, forcing lawmakers to make tough choices about how to spend the polluter proceeds — all while Newsom argues the program was never meant to be a permanent source of revenue. Their negotiations could come to a head in the next few weeks, before the final legislative session of the governor’s tenure comes to a close. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040943\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/250509-BeniciaRefinery-30-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Valero Benicia Refinery in Benicia, on May 8, 2025, processes up to 170,000 barrels of oil a day, making gasoline, diesel, and other fuels for California. Valero plans to shut down the Benicia refinery by April 2026, citing high costs and strict environmental rules. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cap-and-invest rules, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12085401/amid-opposition-california-regulators-approve-major-changes-to-cap-and-trade-program\">approved\u003c/a> by the California Air Resources Board this spring, are expected to drastically reduce the number of pollution permits, known as allowances, that are auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund over the next three years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, more pollution allowances will be given away to companies covered by the cap, such as oil refineries and factories, to prevent them from leaving California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is tension here insofar as there was an effort to rebrand the program as cap-and-invest — and now there are some serious concerns about the magnitude of the investments that will be coming out of this program,” said Kyle Meng, a professor of environmental economics at UC Santa Barbara. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Regulations boost industry\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom signed the reauthorization of cap-and-invest in September, as part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055461/california-lawmakers-reach-last-minute-deals-on-climate-energy\">sweeping negotiations\u003c/a> on climate and energy that included a bill meant to boost the state’s oil industry by making it easier to drill in Kern County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Air regulators at CARB got to work designing a cap that would allow the state to achieve its climate goals — including reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 — while also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053867/affordability-concerns-at-center-of-cap-and-trade-renewal-debate\">addressing affordability\u003c/a>, a top priority for lawmakers during last year’s reauthorization debate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The first set of cap-and-invest rules unveiled in January drew fierce lobbying from the oil industry, which had already seen the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910826/california-considers-more-drilling-and-other-concessions-to-big-oil-as-gas-prices-rise\">closure of refineries\u003c/a> in Los Angeles and Benicia in the last two years that supplied roughly 20% of the state’s refining capacity. A Chevron executive \u003ca href=\"https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2026/q1/californias-economy-faces-threats-with-new-energy-policy-changes\">warned\u003c/a> in a March letter that the regulations would “cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1099\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/04/49114191696_1eaabc25a9_o-e1589575094581.jpg\" alt=\"Pumpjacks in western Kern County's South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11814822\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Pumpjacks in western Kern County’s South Belridge oil field as seen in November 2019. (Dan Brekke/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>CARB’s final blueprint, approved in May, increased the free allowances granted to polluters over the next three years. It also created the Manufacturing Decarbonization Incentive, which could grant companies additional allowances above the cap if they make investments in clean air technologies. The initiative is still being developed, but critics worry it could increase emissions and depress demand for allowances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I think that a big focus of these regulations, it seems to me, was to try to provide additional benefits to industry … to prevent businesses from leaving the state, and also help them decarbonize their production processes,” said Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tradeoff is a decline in the allowances given to utilities (which help fund a Climate Credit on customers’ bills) and a significant drop in allowances auctioned off to fill the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As a result, CARB projects $2 billion annually will be deposited into the fund, roughly half the amount in recent years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A revenue program?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In an interview with KQED, Newsom defended CARB’s work as a pragmatic response to rising costs at the pump. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Cap-and-invest has historically added roughly $0.25 to the price of a gallon of gas in California. As the state lowers the cap on emissions by issuing fewer pollution allowances over time, the price of each allowance is expected to rise — increasing compliance costs for California’s embattled oil refineries and further complicating the state’s transition away from fossil fuels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“As we accelerate that transition, we also need to stabilize the market so that we don’t have $10 gasoline,” Newsom told KQED. “And so there was some rebalancing and consideration in that space, especially in the impacts of refineries.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2265237194-scaled-e1778026995886.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076853\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">High gas prices are listed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, as gasoline prices surge amid the ongoing war with Iran. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Newsom and CARB officials have argued that the central purpose of cap-and-invest is to cost-effectively reduce emissions — not bankroll state programs through the revenue that goes to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The whole idea was to reduce the allowances to reduce pollution — it was never to create a fund to subsidize [programs] in perpetuity,” Newsom said. “But now people have become so used to it, it’s become an ongoing funding source. So now everyone’s fighting for more and more resources.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That argument has come as cold comfort to lawmakers who have eyed the fund to pay for housing, transit and wildfire mitigation in otherwise tight budget times. Even Newsom is banking on cap-and-invest revenue for the construction of high-speed rail in the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In fact, the most quantifiable benefit of cap-and-invest has been its ability to print cash. While it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much the program has reduced emissions or precisely how many businesses have been retained because of its market design, the carbon allowance auctions have raised $36.1 billion for the GGRF since they began in 2013. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lawmakers see the revenue as key to the political survival of the state’s climate ambitions, by ensuring that a strict emissions cap will result in tangible benefits to California households beyond the avoided costs of climate damages.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can say cap-and-invest isn’t a revenue program, but we live and die on revenue programs,” state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San José, said. “So you’re going to need to point us to where we’re going to get the revenue to backfill these programs because they’re not going to go away — I think that’s going to be the standoff.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>‘\u003cstrong>Mission critical’ \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In North San José, money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is helping transform a vacant lot next to the Berryessa BART station into an apartment complex with 195 units of affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The development broke ground in May and is expected to open in 2028. On a recent weekday afternoon, construction crews were at work preparing the site’s foundation as BART trains whizzed by. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project received $29 million from the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program, which uses money in the climate fund to build affordable housing near transit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091847\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-2-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Construction crews work at the site of RISE, an affordable housing development, across the street from the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When your front door is at a station area, the people who live there are much more likely to hop on transit and not utilize a single-occupancy vehicle to get to their destinations,” said Jessie O’Malley Solis, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s director of multimodal planning and real estate. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>VTA has a pipeline of 2,900 affordable units envisioned for future development projects at transit stations in San José, Campbell and Milpitas. All would rely on the AHSC funding generated by cap-and-invest. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s critical,” Solis said. “Mission critical.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But AHSC funding could be completely eliminated under the new cap-and-invest rules, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under a deal Newsom struck last year with Democratic lawmakers on how to spend Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund revenue, programs would no longer be guaranteed a percentage share of the fund’s proceeds. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Instead, a fixed $1 billion a year would go toward the state’s high-speed rail system, a top Newsom priority, and $1 billion would be set aside for discretionary spending. Funding for housing, transit and reducing pollution in low-income hotspots fell further down the list. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12091850\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/20260716_ClimateSolutionsCapTrade_GC-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The construction site of RISE, an affordable housing development, next to the Berryessa/North San José BART Station, in San José on July 16, 2026. The 10-story building will have 195 units. (Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If that spending blueprint remains unchanged, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that there would be no money in the climate account left earmarked for housing, transit, wildfire resilience or the Community Air Protection Program, which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050096/californias-clean-air-program-for-polluted-communities-faces-crossroads\">created to reduce\u003c/a> local air pollution.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When you cut funding for things like this, you’re undercutting years of community work,” said Lauren Gallagher, an attorney with Communities for a Better Environment. “The agreements that were made last year in the legislative process were not honored in this rulemaking.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Communities for a Better Environment has sued CARB to block the new cap-and-invest rules, accusing the agency of failing to properly consider the environmental impacts of changes that would leave less money in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The new fiscal reality could upend the deal between Newsom and legislative Democrats on climate spending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Competing priorities \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The governor has been steadfast in his desire to prioritize Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dollars for high-speed rail. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rail officials have vowed that an annual $1 billion commitment will allow them to borrow enough money to complete an initial segment from Merced to Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“All those folks that are out there shaking their head on the high-speed rail, we can’t make up for the last 20, 30 years, but right now we’re laying damn tracks,” Newsom said. “I believe when it is done, people will look back and go, boy, this was worthwhile.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But lawmakers and analysts have questioned the agency’s plan to complete even the initial segment, let alone the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line that was promised to voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, local transit agencies from BART to Metrolink face ongoing budget shortfalls. The GGRF has historically funded daily transit operations as well as long-term capital improvements, such as VTA’s Eastridge light-rail extension in San José and the expansion of SMART train service in Sonoma County. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Right now, we have high-speed rail in the tier that’s above transit, and I don’t think that makes sense,” Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, said. “High-speed rail shouldn’t get a billion dollars, and then we’ll starve all the other transit agencies in the state.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Others have advocated for prioritizing adaptation to the climate costs already piling up for Californians. Hotter temperatures and longer droughts have increased the frequency and severity of wildfires, which have raised costs for electric utilities and rattled California’s home insurance market. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Researchers at Stanford’s Climate & Energy Policy Program warned against eliminating GGRF funding used to manage forests and harden communities vulnerable to wildfires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Now is not the time to cut wildfire resilience funding,” they \u003ca href=\"https://cepp.substack.com/p/california-wildfire-resilience-funding\">wrote\u003c/a> on Substack. “Otherwise, we risk losing lives, property, and ecosystems while exacerbating the utility and insurance affordability crises, worsening air quality, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Not all legislators are jumping into the spending fight. Four members of the bipartisan California Problem Solvers Caucus \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28127828-psc-letter-to-carb-15-day-cap-and-invest-comments-final/\">penned a letter\u003c/a> to CARB supporting the agency’s decision to return pollution allowances to industry and utilities rather than leaving them for lawmakers to divert to pet projects.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Value preserved through free allocation … stays in California,” they wrote. “It stays in worker wages, facility operations, local tax bases, fuel price stability, and ratepayer credits.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12066415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251208-BART-SILICON-VALLEY-TOUR-MD-09-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A crew works to install cross braces in the tunnel under construction at the West Portal Site of the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project in San José on Dec. 8, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Air regulators have stressed that the shift in allowances is only temporary — a three-year adjustment to weather a turbulent energy transition. Come 2030, CARB will again consider a new distribution of pollution permits. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But in the meantime, Kerstein said, lawmakers are left with tough choices over prized programs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In the face of this uncertainty and this potential volatility, what are its priorities?” Kerstein said. “And how does it want to make sure that its top priorities are funded?” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For Newsom, there is an added element of time pressure. The last legislative session of his tenure comes to an end Aug. 31 — giving the governor less than a month to leave his mark on the future of California’s climate spending. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/scottshafer\">\u003cem>Scott Shafer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium aligncenter\" style=\"width: 500px; margin: 80px auto 40px;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-your-support-makes-this-work-possible-500x353@2x.png\" alt=\"Your support makes this work possible.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"706\" />\n\nFrom KQED’s Climate desk, “Flipping the Switch” documents California’s transition to clean energy and what it means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by donating today.\n\n\u003ca href=\"https://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"width: 272px; margin: 40px auto;\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/KQED-membership-support-kqed-journalism-272x57@2x.png\" alt=\"Button: Support KQED journalism\" width=\"544\" height=\"114\" />\u003c/a>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-lawmaker-told-court-her-mom-had-dementia-in-family-property-battle-not-so-said-doctors",
"title": "California Lawmaker Told Court Her Mom Had Dementia in Family Property Battle. Not so, Said Doctors",
"publishDate": 1785625860,
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"headTitle": "California Lawmaker Told Court Her Mom Had Dementia in Family Property Battle. Not so, Said Doctors | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AnaMaria Ávila Bugarin had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in bills for psychological evaluations, legal costs and fiduciary fees to prove what seemed obvious to most of the people around her: She didn’t have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/dementia\">dementia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But one of her daughters claimed she couldn’t take care of herself. Ávila Bugarin wanted to show she didn’t need a court-appointed conservator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the 76-year-old showed up impeccably dressed for her final exam with a neuropsychologist in September 2018, according to court records. Tearful and distraught, she explained how a quarrel over real estate had destroyed her family and landed her in a fight for the most basic human right, records show. First, she claimed, her daughter had hit her as their property dispute boiled over. Then, her daughter petitioned to get her declared incompetent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such ugly family battles can be common in \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>. What makes Ávila Bugarin’s story unique is that the person who tried to strip her of her autonomy is now \u003ca href=\"https://avilafarias.asmdc.org/\">Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías\u003c/a>, who sits on her chamber’s \u003ca href=\"https://altc.assembly.ca.gov/members\">eldercare committee\u003c/a> — the legislative body that’s supposed to protect seniors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093612\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093612\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías on the floor during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on May 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>CalMatters reviewed the case as part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/series/california-probate-court/\">our ongoing investigation\u003c/a> into California’s conservatorship system, which is designed to protect the vulnerable by taking control of their lives and finances. Previous stories have shown that weak oversight by the state’s Professional Fiduciaries Bureau and the courts has allowed the system to be used against the people it’s supposed to protect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records on file at the Contra Costa County Superior Court show that before Ávila Farías rose to become an assemblymember, she faced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520577-court-grants-the-temporary-restraining-order/\">temporary restraining order\u003c/a> for elder abuse after \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232967-avila-bugarin-files-an-elder-abuse-restraining-order-against-avila-farias/#document/p3/a2824445\">allegedly hitting her mother\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522406-avila-farias-dismisses-her-conservatorship-petition-in-august-2019/\" data-type=\"link\">ended her conservatorship attempt\u003c/a> only after her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232951-the-judge-approves-the-settlement-agreement/#document/p5/a2824937\">agreed to sign over real estate\u003c/a> in a settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The records also reveal that Ávila Farías and her husband have filed for \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232945-avila-farias-files-for-bankruptcy/\">bankruptcy\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513594-isidro-farias-files-for-bankrupcy-in-2014/\">three\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522337-the-fariases-file-bankruptcy-for-buena-vista-llc-in-2011/\">times\u003c/a> on behalf of themselves and their company since 2011, and the assemblymember provided a vastly different explanation of the property in question to the courts than she did to the Fair Political Practices Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melissa Brown, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacific.edu/campus-directory/melissa-brown\">elder-law professor emeritus\u003c/a> at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, said Ávila Farías’ attempt to place her mother in conservatorship looks like “a weaponization of the process.”[aside postID=news_11963961 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/092623-Newsom-Gun-Bill-Signing-MG-CM-03.jpg']Ávila Farías would not comment on details of the case, citing a confidentiality agreement that was part of the case’s settlement. But she said she plans to introduce legislation on the issue because of her experience in the case, “hopefully next year.” She didn’t provide specifics about the focus of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her spokesperson, Roger Salazar, said in a written statement that there “has never been a judicial finding that Anamarie Farías engaged in any wrongdoing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California conservatorship proceedings commonly involve complex family dynamics,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He pointed out that she has since been named a conservator for another family member, which “reflects the court’s independent determination that she satisfied the legal standards required to serve in a fiduciary capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her other family members also declined to comment for this story, citing the confidentiality agreement, or didn’t respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, said the speaker was not aware of the temporary restraining order or the conservatorship petition when he appointed Ávila Farías to the committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11979470\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11979470\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Speaker of the California State Assembly Robert Rivas on the State Capitol grounds in Sacramento on March 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías grew up in Martinez, where she served on the city council and the Contra Costa County Board of Education. She was on the board of directors for the California Housing Finance Agency from \u003ca href=\"https://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2015/04/08/news18916/index.html\">2015\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/02/04/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-2-4-21/\">2024\u003c/a>, during the court battles. Two years ago, voters sent her to the state Assembly with the \u003ca href=\"https://antiochherald.com/2024/05/avila-farias-announces-endorsement-by-gov-newsom-in-assembly-race/?fbclid=IwY2xjawS791RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF4ZGdCMnFSM1YwOFpURFVUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkMukZ9lcYHeouL4bicNC-zTcAQqoGeFX9HGyirf7lZVcx8FKFauskvsiRGZ_aem_Ox8lDsZdoyZTcP1Aw_1OoQ\">endorsement of Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, the Fair Political Practices Commission received complaints that Ávila Farías had not disclosed \u003ca href=\"https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/enforcement_div/enf_letters/2025/august/anamarie-avila-farias-nacl-202400760.pdf\">all of her economic interests\u003c/a> for several years. The commission closed an investigation in 2025 after she \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522262-avila-farias-amends-years-of-annual-statements/\">amended her forms\u003c/a>, disclosed reportable economic interests and completed the commission’s educational course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, she \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxla.com/news/california-ice-agent-employment-ban-ab1627\">introduced a bill\u003c/a> that would ban some U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees from becoming police officers and teachers in California. A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1627\">watered-down version\u003c/a> of the bill passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal immigration agents arrest a man in Bell as residents clash with U.S. Border Patrol agents after a traffic collision involving one of the agency’s vehicles during immigration raids across the Los Angeles area on June 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías sits on the Assembly’s Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and is running for a second term in the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before her ascent in state politics, Ávila Farías and her husband tried their hand in real estate, leaving behind a trail of bankruptcies and questionable property transfers, court and property records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their family strife centered on three properties: the family home that Ávila Farías purchased with her mother and sister, which they rented to a tenant; Ávila Farías’ permanent home; and another rental property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August 2008, Ávila Farías and her husband \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513617-avila-farias-transfers-the-family-home-in-2008/\">gifted\u003c/a> the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513619-the-fariases-transfer-their-rental-property-in-2008/\">three\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513618-the-fariases-transfer-their-permanent-residence-in-2008/\">properties\u003c/a> to the lawmaker’s mother, Ávila Bugarin, property records show. In court filings, Ávila Bugarin maintained she had no idea she’d been given ownership of two of the properties. Ávila Farías told the court that her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p10/a2824837\">was aware\u003c/a> of the transfers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three months after the transfers, the couple signed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513626-us-ban-canb-4-11bk70373-d1930112e1251-motion-motion-to-excuse-compliance-with-11-u-s-c-s/#document/p61/a2824438\">$2.3 million business loan agreement\u003c/a>. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513626-us-ban-canb-4-11bk70373-d1930112e1251-motion-motion-to-excuse-compliance-with-11-u-s-c-s/#document/p3/a2824440\">defaulted\u003c/a> on the loan about 18 months later, according to court filings, and the couple’s real estate company \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522337-the-fariases-file-bankruptcy-for-buena-vista-llc-in-2011/\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a> in September 2011, eventually \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513636-the-judge-allows-the-creditor-to-take-possession-of-the-properties/\">turning over ownership\u003c/a> of an unrelated property to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513640-the-trustee-asks-the-judge-to-dismiss-buena-vistas-bankruptcy/\">lending company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bankruptcy \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513646-buena-vistas-bankruptcy-was-dismissed-in-april-2012/\">case was dismissed\u003c/a> in April 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Years later, Ávila Bugarin said that she discovered her daughter “was behind on her mortgage” on the family home, according to the court investigator’s report. It was then, Ávila Bugarin said, that she started researching the properties, and she learned that her daughter had placed the two other homes in her name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Bugarin told the court investigator she also learned that her daughter had taken out loans against the family home. Ávila Bugarin, who spoke limited English, told the court investigator that she signed the bank documents for the loans, thinking she was refinancing the home, not borrowing against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She refused to deed the two properties back to Ávila Farías, saying she’d have to get the family home back first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police eventually got involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February 2018, according to court records filed by Ávila Bugarin, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232967-avila-bugarin-files-an-elder-abuse-restraining-order-against-avila-farias/#document/p3/a2824445\">stormed into her apartment\u003c/a>, yanked the telephone from her mother’s hand and hit her wrist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mother filed for a temporary restraining order, asking for protection for herself and her daughter who lived with her, Judith Ávila, which a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520577-court-grants-the-temporary-restraining-order/\">judge granted\u003c/a>. Judith Ávila corroborated her mother’s account in court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías denied the allegations, saying her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513654-avila-farias-responds-to-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order/#document/p9/a2824955\">slapped her instead\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12069417 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251007_Urban-Alchemy-Rally_-2_qed-1.jpg']Salazar pointed to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520015-rosemarie-griffins-response-to-the-restraining-order/#document/p2/a2824971\">statement from another sister\u003c/a>, RoseMarie Griffin, who was on the other end of the phone call when the altercation occurred. Griffin told the court her sister had no history of verbal or physical abuse. “I have never experienced or witnessed any behavior” that would merit a restraining order, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The temporary restraining order was in place \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513564-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order-was-in-place-for-a-year/#document/p1/a2824448\">for about\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513564-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order-was-in-place-for-a-year/#document/p2/a2824447\">a year\u003c/a>, according to court records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After mediation over the restraining order failed, the mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p12/a2824449\">filed to evict\u003c/a> Ávila Farías from the home that was now in her name. Ávila Farías filed a request in probate court to place \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522392-avila-farias-files-petitions-to-have-her-mom-conserved/\">her mother\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522391-avila-farias-files-petitions-to-have-her-judith-avila-conserved/\">her sister\u003c/a> in a conservatorship, telling the court that her mother had “an inability to carry out actions in her own rational self-interest, and is subject to delusional and severely disorganized thinking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She argued that her brother was unduly influencing their mother and that her mother needed a neutral conservator in light of disagreements between her and her siblings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías told the court that her mother was forgetful and cited years-old incidents of her mother being scammed out of about $500 and allowing “some squatters (homeless felons)” to use her water hose as examples of why her mother needed someone else to handle her affairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge immediately \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513670-the-judge-appoints-a-temporary-conservator-for-avila-bugarin/\">placed Ávila Bugarin\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513669-the-judge-appoints-a-temporary-conservator-for-judith-avila/\">Judith Ávila\u003c/a> under a temporary conservatorship. He said Ávila Bugarin appeared to have been unduly influenced and ordered that she be evaluated. The conservatorship, albeit temporary, blocked Ávila Bugarin from making any financial or personal decisions for herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In subsequent proceedings to determine whether the conservatorship should be permanent, Ávila Bugarin’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513676-avila-fariass-siblings-objection-to-the-conservatorship/\">other children told the court\u003c/a> that they didn’t think their mother had dementia. Two medical doctors came to the same conclusion. And after the final exam, so did the neuropsychologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ms. Avila does not present with any form of significant cognitive deficits which would limit her ability to make medical, legal, financial or life care planning decisions for herself,” Dr. Eric Freitag told the court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the court-appointed professional fiduciary — whom Ávila Farías had recommended — told the court investigator that she “hadn’t noticed any of the issues (Ávila Farías) set forth in the petition.” The fiduciary said Ávila Bugarin was “clear headed and able to take care of herself,” court records show.[aside postID=news_11944448 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS6278_104188708-sfi.jpg']A group of experts drew similar conclusions about Judith Ávila, saying she did not need a conservatorship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías’ attorney, Gary Winuk, said it was appropriate to use conservatorship to figure out Ávila Bugarin’s mental capacity. “The whole purpose of the conservatorship process is to get appropriate testing to find out what someone’s capacity is,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even after experts determined that her mother and sister had the capacity to make their own decisions, the Contra Costa County politician didn’t drop the conservatorship cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a year after her petition, Ávila Farías won a significant victory: Her \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232951-the-judge-approves-the-settlement-agreement/#document/p2/a2824452\">mother agreed\u003c/a> to transfer ownership of the two contested properties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232956-referees-report-to-the-court/#document/p3/a2824480\">valued\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232956-referees-report-to-the-court/#document/p6/a2824481\">about\u003c/a> $1.8 million. And they both agreed to sell the family home they owned together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mother also agreed to drop her petition for a restraining order. Ávila Farías, who had been arguing that her mother wasn’t competent to make her own financial decisions, said she would stop trying to get the government to take away her mother and sister’s ability to control their own lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five months after the settlement, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232962-judge-appoints-receiver-to-sell-the-family-home/#document/p2/a2825129\" data-type=\"link\">hadn’t listed\u003c/a> the home for sale. The judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232962-judge-appoints-receiver-to-sell-the-family-home/\">appointed a receiver\u003c/a>, over \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515633-avila-farias-objects-to-appointing-a-receiver/\">Ávila Farías’ objection\u003c/a>, to sell the home. Three months later, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232945-avila-farias-files-for-bankruptcy/\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a>. The home was eventually \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p1/a2824475\">sold\u003c/a> in November 2020; mother and daughter \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515650-the-judge-approves-avila-fariass-payment-plan/\">used the profits\u003c/a> to cover \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p10/a2824476\">more than $186,000\u003c/a> in legal fees and other bills related to the conservatorship. Under the agreement, Ávila Farías also gave her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p10/a2824476\">$116,000 from the sale\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the case has long since been \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522434-the-conservatorship-case-was-resolved-in-2021/\" data-type=\"link\">resolved\u003c/a>, the records from the conservatorship petition raise larger questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías had claimed that her mother hadn’t been contributing to the costs of the properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For the past 20 years, Ávila Farías not only has been financially responsible for all asset liability but has also managed day-to-day operations and expenses with no financial contributions from Mom,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p9/a2824989\">she wrote in a court filing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, three and a half years earlier, Ávila Farías told the Fair Political Practices Commission a completely different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052267\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The city of Martinez, California on Jan. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Michael R. Lopez/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under pressure from a resident to recuse herself from a city council vote on a resolution that could have impacted her property value, she asked the commission to weigh in. “My mother provided the down payment and has made the loan payments ever since,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515697-avila-farias-writes-a-letter-to-the-fair-policial-practices-commission/#document/p1/a2824478\">she wrote\u003c/a>. “My mother is the sole owner of the property.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission said that there was \u003ca href=\"https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/advice_letters/2010-2019/2014/14-212.pdf\">no conflict of interest\u003c/a>. Ávila Farías voted in support of the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a city council hearing, the politician berated the resident for asking \u003ca href=\"https://martinez.granicus.com/player/clip/1112?meta_id=83350\">her to recuse herself\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I conduct myself in a high moral standard, and I have my own code of conduct, that I don’t need you or any of my council members to govern,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/07/farias-assembly-conservatorship-2/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Records show Anamarie Ávila Farías, a state lawmaker representing parts of Contra Costa County, tried to have her mother placed under conservatorship. She dropped it once she gained control of disputed properties.",
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"title": "California Lawmaker Told Court Her Mom Had Dementia in Family Property Battle. Not so, Said Doctors | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AnaMaria Ávila Bugarin had racked up tens of thousands of dollars in bills for psychological evaluations, legal costs and fiduciary fees to prove what seemed obvious to most of the people around her: She didn’t have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/tag/dementia\">dementia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But one of her daughters claimed she couldn’t take care of herself. Ávila Bugarin wanted to show she didn’t need a court-appointed conservator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the 76-year-old showed up impeccably dressed for her final exam with a neuropsychologist in September 2018, according to court records. Tearful and distraught, she explained how a quarrel over real estate had destroyed her family and landed her in a fight for the most basic human right, records show. First, she claimed, her daughter had hit her as their property dispute boiled over. Then, her daughter petitioned to get her declared incompetent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such ugly family battles can be common in \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California\u003c/a>. What makes Ávila Bugarin’s story unique is that the person who tried to strip her of her autonomy is now \u003ca href=\"https://avilafarias.asmdc.org/\">Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías\u003c/a>, who sits on her chamber’s \u003ca href=\"https://altc.assembly.ca.gov/members\">eldercare committee\u003c/a> — the legislative body that’s supposed to protect seniors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093612\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093612\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/052826-Assembly-Session-MG-CM-12-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías on the floor during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on May 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Miguel Gutierrez Jr./CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>CalMatters reviewed the case as part of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/series/california-probate-court/\">our ongoing investigation\u003c/a> into California’s conservatorship system, which is designed to protect the vulnerable by taking control of their lives and finances. Previous stories have shown that weak oversight by the state’s Professional Fiduciaries Bureau and the courts has allowed the system to be used against the people it’s supposed to protect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Records on file at the Contra Costa County Superior Court show that before Ávila Farías rose to become an assemblymember, she faced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520577-court-grants-the-temporary-restraining-order/\">temporary restraining order\u003c/a> for elder abuse after \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232967-avila-bugarin-files-an-elder-abuse-restraining-order-against-avila-farias/#document/p3/a2824445\">allegedly hitting her mother\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522406-avila-farias-dismisses-her-conservatorship-petition-in-august-2019/\" data-type=\"link\">ended her conservatorship attempt\u003c/a> only after her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232951-the-judge-approves-the-settlement-agreement/#document/p5/a2824937\">agreed to sign over real estate\u003c/a> in a settlement agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The records also reveal that Ávila Farías and her husband have filed for \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232945-avila-farias-files-for-bankruptcy/\">bankruptcy\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513594-isidro-farias-files-for-bankrupcy-in-2014/\">three\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522337-the-fariases-file-bankruptcy-for-buena-vista-llc-in-2011/\">times\u003c/a> on behalf of themselves and their company since 2011, and the assemblymember provided a vastly different explanation of the property in question to the courts than she did to the Fair Political Practices Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melissa Brown, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.pacific.edu/campus-directory/melissa-brown\">elder-law professor emeritus\u003c/a> at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, said Ávila Farías’ attempt to place her mother in conservatorship looks like “a weaponization of the process.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ávila Farías would not comment on details of the case, citing a confidentiality agreement that was part of the case’s settlement. But she said she plans to introduce legislation on the issue because of her experience in the case, “hopefully next year.” She didn’t provide specifics about the focus of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her spokesperson, Roger Salazar, said in a written statement that there “has never been a judicial finding that Anamarie Farías engaged in any wrongdoing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California conservatorship proceedings commonly involve complex family dynamics,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He pointed out that she has since been named a conservator for another family member, which “reflects the court’s independent determination that she satisfied the legal standards required to serve in a fiduciary capacity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her other family members also declined to comment for this story, citing the confidentiality agreement, or didn’t respond to requests for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, said the speaker was not aware of the temporary restraining order or the conservatorship petition when he appointed Ávila Farías to the committee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11979470\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11979470\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/240314-SPEAKER-RIVAS-PB-MD-10-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Speaker of the California State Assembly Robert Rivas on the State Capitol grounds in Sacramento on March 14, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías grew up in Martinez, where she served on the city council and the Contra Costa County Board of Education. She was on the board of directors for the California Housing Finance Agency from \u003ca href=\"https://archive.gov.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2015/04/08/news18916/index.html\">2015\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/02/04/governor-newsom-announces-appointments-2-4-21/\">2024\u003c/a>, during the court battles. Two years ago, voters sent her to the state Assembly with the \u003ca href=\"https://antiochherald.com/2024/05/avila-farias-announces-endorsement-by-gov-newsom-in-assembly-race/?fbclid=IwY2xjawS791RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF4ZGdCMnFSM1YwOFpURFVUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkMukZ9lcYHeouL4bicNC-zTcAQqoGeFX9HGyirf7lZVcx8FKFauskvsiRGZ_aem_Ox8lDsZdoyZTcP1Aw_1OoQ\">endorsement of Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2024, the Fair Political Practices Commission received complaints that Ávila Farías had not disclosed \u003ca href=\"https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/enforcement_div/enf_letters/2025/august/anamarie-avila-farias-nacl-202400760.pdf\">all of her economic interests\u003c/a> for several years. The commission closed an investigation in 2025 after she \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522262-avila-farias-amends-years-of-annual-statements/\">amended her forms\u003c/a>, disclosed reportable economic interests and completed the commission’s educational course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, she \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxla.com/news/california-ice-agent-employment-ban-ab1627\">introduced a bill\u003c/a> that would ban some U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees from becoming police officers and teachers in California. A \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1627\">watered-down version\u003c/a> of the bill passed the Assembly and is now in the Senate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12093000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12093000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/CalMatters-Olmos-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Federal immigration agents arrest a man in Bell as residents clash with U.S. Border Patrol agents after a traffic collision involving one of the agency’s vehicles during immigration raids across the Los Angeles area on June 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías sits on the Assembly’s Aging and Long-Term Care Committee and is running for a second term in the Legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before her ascent in state politics, Ávila Farías and her husband tried their hand in real estate, leaving behind a trail of bankruptcies and questionable property transfers, court and property records show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their family strife centered on three properties: the family home that Ávila Farías purchased with her mother and sister, which they rented to a tenant; Ávila Farías’ permanent home; and another rental property.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In August 2008, Ávila Farías and her husband \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513617-avila-farias-transfers-the-family-home-in-2008/\">gifted\u003c/a> the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513619-the-fariases-transfer-their-rental-property-in-2008/\">three\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513618-the-fariases-transfer-their-permanent-residence-in-2008/\">properties\u003c/a> to the lawmaker’s mother, Ávila Bugarin, property records show. In court filings, Ávila Bugarin maintained she had no idea she’d been given ownership of two of the properties. Ávila Farías told the court that her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p10/a2824837\">was aware\u003c/a> of the transfers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About three months after the transfers, the couple signed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513626-us-ban-canb-4-11bk70373-d1930112e1251-motion-motion-to-excuse-compliance-with-11-u-s-c-s/#document/p61/a2824438\">$2.3 million business loan agreement\u003c/a>. They \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513626-us-ban-canb-4-11bk70373-d1930112e1251-motion-motion-to-excuse-compliance-with-11-u-s-c-s/#document/p3/a2824440\">defaulted\u003c/a> on the loan about 18 months later, according to court filings, and the couple’s real estate company \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522337-the-fariases-file-bankruptcy-for-buena-vista-llc-in-2011/\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a> in September 2011, eventually \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513636-the-judge-allows-the-creditor-to-take-possession-of-the-properties/\">turning over ownership\u003c/a> of an unrelated property to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513640-the-trustee-asks-the-judge-to-dismiss-buena-vistas-bankruptcy/\">lending company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bankruptcy \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513646-buena-vistas-bankruptcy-was-dismissed-in-april-2012/\">case was dismissed\u003c/a> in April 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Years later, Ávila Bugarin said that she discovered her daughter “was behind on her mortgage” on the family home, according to the court investigator’s report. It was then, Ávila Bugarin said, that she started researching the properties, and she learned that her daughter had placed the two other homes in her name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Bugarin told the court investigator she also learned that her daughter had taken out loans against the family home. Ávila Bugarin, who spoke limited English, told the court investigator that she signed the bank documents for the loans, thinking she was refinancing the home, not borrowing against it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She refused to deed the two properties back to Ávila Farías, saying she’d have to get the family home back first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police eventually got involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February 2018, according to court records filed by Ávila Bugarin, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232967-avila-bugarin-files-an-elder-abuse-restraining-order-against-avila-farias/#document/p3/a2824445\">stormed into her apartment\u003c/a>, yanked the telephone from her mother’s hand and hit her wrist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mother filed for a temporary restraining order, asking for protection for herself and her daughter who lived with her, Judith Ávila, which a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520577-court-grants-the-temporary-restraining-order/\">judge granted\u003c/a>. Judith Ávila corroborated her mother’s account in court filings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías denied the allegations, saying her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513654-avila-farias-responds-to-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order/#document/p9/a2824955\">slapped her instead\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Salazar pointed to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28520015-rosemarie-griffins-response-to-the-restraining-order/#document/p2/a2824971\">statement from another sister\u003c/a>, RoseMarie Griffin, who was on the other end of the phone call when the altercation occurred. Griffin told the court her sister had no history of verbal or physical abuse. “I have never experienced or witnessed any behavior” that would merit a restraining order, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The temporary restraining order was in place \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513564-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order-was-in-place-for-a-year/#document/p1/a2824448\">for about\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513564-the-temporary-elder-abuse-restraining-order-was-in-place-for-a-year/#document/p2/a2824447\">a year\u003c/a>, according to court records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After mediation over the restraining order failed, the mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p12/a2824449\">filed to evict\u003c/a> Ávila Farías from the home that was now in her name. Ávila Farías filed a request in probate court to place \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522392-avila-farias-files-petitions-to-have-her-mom-conserved/\">her mother\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522391-avila-farias-files-petitions-to-have-her-judith-avila-conserved/\">her sister\u003c/a> in a conservatorship, telling the court that her mother had “an inability to carry out actions in her own rational self-interest, and is subject to delusional and severely disorganized thinking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She argued that her brother was unduly influencing their mother and that her mother needed a neutral conservator in light of disagreements between her and her siblings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías told the court that her mother was forgetful and cited years-old incidents of her mother being scammed out of about $500 and allowing “some squatters (homeless felons)” to use her water hose as examples of why her mother needed someone else to handle her affairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The judge immediately \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513670-the-judge-appoints-a-temporary-conservator-for-avila-bugarin/\">placed Ávila Bugarin\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513669-the-judge-appoints-a-temporary-conservator-for-judith-avila/\">Judith Ávila\u003c/a> under a temporary conservatorship. He said Ávila Bugarin appeared to have been unduly influenced and ordered that she be evaluated. The conservatorship, albeit temporary, blocked Ávila Bugarin from making any financial or personal decisions for herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In subsequent proceedings to determine whether the conservatorship should be permanent, Ávila Bugarin’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513676-avila-fariass-siblings-objection-to-the-conservatorship/\">other children told the court\u003c/a> that they didn’t think their mother had dementia. Two medical doctors came to the same conclusion. And after the final exam, so did the neuropsychologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ms. Avila does not present with any form of significant cognitive deficits which would limit her ability to make medical, legal, financial or life care planning decisions for herself,” Dr. Eric Freitag told the court.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even the court-appointed professional fiduciary — whom Ávila Farías had recommended — told the court investigator that she “hadn’t noticed any of the issues (Ávila Farías) set forth in the petition.” The fiduciary said Ávila Bugarin was “clear headed and able to take care of herself,” court records show.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A group of experts drew similar conclusions about Judith Ávila, saying she did not need a conservatorship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías’ attorney, Gary Winuk, said it was appropriate to use conservatorship to figure out Ávila Bugarin’s mental capacity. “The whole purpose of the conservatorship process is to get appropriate testing to find out what someone’s capacity is,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even after experts determined that her mother and sister had the capacity to make their own decisions, the Contra Costa County politician didn’t drop the conservatorship cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a year after her petition, Ávila Farías won a significant victory: Her \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232951-the-judge-approves-the-settlement-agreement/#document/p2/a2824452\">mother agreed\u003c/a> to transfer ownership of the two contested properties, \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232956-referees-report-to-the-court/#document/p3/a2824480\">valued\u003c/a> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232956-referees-report-to-the-court/#document/p6/a2824481\">about\u003c/a> $1.8 million. And they both agreed to sell the family home they owned together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her mother also agreed to drop her petition for a restraining order. Ávila Farías, who had been arguing that her mother wasn’t competent to make her own financial decisions, said she would stop trying to get the government to take away her mother and sister’s ability to control their own lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five months after the settlement, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232962-judge-appoints-receiver-to-sell-the-family-home/#document/p2/a2825129\" data-type=\"link\">hadn’t listed\u003c/a> the home for sale. The judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232962-judge-appoints-receiver-to-sell-the-family-home/\">appointed a receiver\u003c/a>, over \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515633-avila-farias-objects-to-appointing-a-receiver/\">Ávila Farías’ objection\u003c/a>, to sell the home. Three months later, Ávila Farías \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28232945-avila-farias-files-for-bankruptcy/\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a>. The home was eventually \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p1/a2824475\">sold\u003c/a> in November 2020; mother and daughter \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515650-the-judge-approves-avila-fariass-payment-plan/\">used the profits\u003c/a> to cover \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p10/a2824476\">more than $186,000\u003c/a> in legal fees and other bills related to the conservatorship. Under the agreement, Ávila Farías also gave her mother \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515634-avila-farias-files-updated-list-of-debts-and-payments-in-jan-2021/#document/p10/a2824476\">$116,000 from the sale\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the case has long since been \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28522434-the-conservatorship-case-was-resolved-in-2021/\" data-type=\"link\">resolved\u003c/a>, the records from the conservatorship petition raise larger questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ávila Farías had claimed that her mother hadn’t been contributing to the costs of the properties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For the past 20 years, Ávila Farías not only has been financially responsible for all asset liability but has also managed day-to-day operations and expenses with no financial contributions from Mom,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28513665-avila-farias-responds-to-her-siblings-objections-to-the-conservatorship/#document/p9/a2824989\">she wrote in a court filing\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, three and a half years earlier, Ávila Farías told the Fair Political Practices Commission a completely different story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12052267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12052267\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/MartinezGetty-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The city of Martinez, California on Jan. 11, 2025. \u003ccite>(Michael R. Lopez/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under pressure from a resident to recuse herself from a city council vote on a resolution that could have impacted her property value, she asked the commission to weigh in. “My mother provided the down payment and has made the loan payments ever since,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28515697-avila-farias-writes-a-letter-to-the-fair-policial-practices-commission/#document/p1/a2824478\">she wrote\u003c/a>. “My mother is the sole owner of the property.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The commission said that there was \u003ca href=\"https://www.fppc.ca.gov/siteassets/documents/legal_div/advice_letters/2010-2019/2014/14-212.pdf\">no conflict of interest\u003c/a>. Ávila Farías voted in support of the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a city council hearing, the politician berated the resident for asking \u003ca href=\"https://martinez.granicus.com/player/clip/1112?meta_id=83350\">her to recuse herself\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I conduct myself in a high moral standard, and I have my own code of conduct, that I don’t need you or any of my council members to govern,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/investigation/2026/07/farias-assembly-conservatorship-2/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Lawmakers Return to Sacramento to Tackle Wildfire Costs, Climate Funding, AI Data Centers",
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"content": "\u003cp>The state Legislature returns to Sacramento from summer recess on Monday, and they’ll face big questions about California’s messy energy transition. Who should bear the cost of damaging wildfires? How should the state prioritize its shrinking climate fund? What regulations should they impose on the rapid buildout of AI data centers? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Guy discusses all that with two contributors to Politico’s California Currents newsletter: California environment reporter Camille von Kaenel and California energy reporter Noah Baustin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The state Legislature returns to Sacramento from summer recess on Monday, and they’ll face big questions about California’s messy energy transition. Who should bear the cost of damaging wildfires? How should the state prioritize its shrinking climate fund? What regulations should they impose on the rapid buildout of AI data centers? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The state Legislature returns to Sacramento from summer recess on Monday, and they’ll face big questions about California’s messy energy transition. Who should bear the cost of damaging wildfires? How should the state prioritize its shrinking climate fund? What regulations should they impose on the rapid buildout of AI data centers? \u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "In the final weeks of the legislative session, Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers will consider high-stakes decisions on energy and the environment.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The state Legislature returns to Sacramento from summer recess on Monday, and they’ll face big questions about California’s messy energy transition. Who should bear the cost of damaging wildfires? How should the state prioritize its shrinking climate fund? What regulations should they impose on the rapid buildout of AI data centers? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Guy discusses all that with two contributors to Politico’s California Currents newsletter: California environment reporter Camille von Kaenel and California energy reporter Noah Baustin. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "california-teacher-misconduct-database-bill-failed-al-muratsuchi",
"title": "California Lawmakers Fail to Fix Warning System for Teacher Misconduct — Again",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A last-ditch legislative attempt to help California school districts keep problematic teachers out of the classroom has collapsed following opposition from unions and the state teacher licensing agency that a proposed searchable database would violate privacy and subject educators to unfair treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed database, introduced by a Democratic member of the state Assembly in June, would have allowed schools to see if applicants for public school teaching positions had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California Federation of Teachers pushed back, warning that teachers could land in the database even if schools had not determined they committed serious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried,” Muratsuchi said. “I hope future Legislatures pick up the ball.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposed database, introduced by a Democratic member of the state Assembly in June, would have allowed schools to see if applicants for public school teaching positions had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California Federation of Teachers pushed back, warning that teachers could land in the database even if schools had not determined they committed serious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I tried,” Muratsuchi said. “I hope future Legislatures pick up the ball.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California is set to launch a database for school support staff, such as bus drivers and janitors, with substantiated claims of egregious misconduct. Setting up a similar system for public school teachers, however, is proving more complicated.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/newsletters/dispatches\">\u003cem>Sign up for Dispatches\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A last-ditch legislative attempt to help California school districts keep problematic teachers out of the classroom has collapsed following opposition from unions and the state teacher licensing agency that a proposed searchable database would violate privacy and subject educators to unfair treatment. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposed database, introduced by a Democratic member of the state Assembly in June, would have allowed schools to see if applicants for public school teaching positions had been reported to the state after they were fired or resigned over claims of misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The California Federation of Teachers pushed back, warning that teachers could land in the database even if schools had not determined they committed serious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We would support legislation that targets substantiated reports of egregious misconduct,” said Tristan Brown, a lobbyist with the California Federation of Teachers. “We live in a state with Silicon Valley. The state should be able to support a system that is up to date and tracking substantiated reports of misconduct.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi had proposed to make it easier for schools to screen teacher applicants after a KQED-ProPublica investigation published in May. The news outlets revealed how delays and inaction, combined with a lack of transparency, allowed educators to get new jobs after school districts reported them to the state teacher licensing agency for sexual harassment or other misconduct.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/GettyImages-2231342591-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a Democrat who introduced the teacher accountability bill, said his office was “confronted with a lot of resistance” over whether it would lead to unfair treatment of the accused. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A similar effort by Republican lawmakers to address the issue also hit roadblocks earlier this year. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When the safety of a child does not meet a legislative priority, that’s a head-scratcher for me,” said Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, who co-authored the first attempt to create the teacher database. “I think being sympathetic to the offender is on the wrong side of this issue.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Both bills were modeled on a law the Legislature passed in 2025 mandating the creation of a database by next summer that will allow employers to search the names of school support staff, such as bus drivers, custodians and teaching assistants, who are under investigation by their schools or have substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The database for school support staff passed after months of tense negotiations. Under that system, employees’ names would be removed from the database if school investigations fail to substantiate claims of egregious misconduct. The bill passed despite opposition from unions, but the system that will be put in place is still being refined. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But that law explicitly does not apply to public school teachers. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The system currently in place for public school educators is a patchwork with a fair number of gaps. School districts have long been required to report to the state any teacher who is fired or who resigns due to misconduct. But the state’s teacher licensing agency, which collects all of those reports, is restricted by state law in what information the agency can share while it investigates. The state’s disciplinary process typically takes one year, and teachers could be hired during the investigation period without schools knowing about the claims against them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California’s publicly accessible online database of credentialed educators does indicate, with a red-flag icon, whether those public school teachers have been disciplined by the state. But it does not explain the reason for the sanction or provide a link to any documents. It is only after the state licensing agency recommends an educator be disciplined that prospective employers can request a summary of the case and the agency’s findings.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Without such details, California school administrators must rely on teachers themselves or their previous employers to provide key information. A law passed in 2024 requires teacher candidates to share their complete job history in education and mandates that school districts ask every previous employer whether a candidate had been reported to the credentialing agency for credible or substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct. If so, previous schools must share the relevant information. But that law keeps bad actors out of schools only if teachers and schools keep — and provide — accurate records.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For more than a year, California school administrators have lobbied lawmakers for a better way to protect students from those with a history of misconduct. “A database is needed to provide more complete, timely information so that schools can fulfill their responsibility to put trusted adults in positions that work with students,” said Dorothy Johnson, a lobbyist with the Association of California School Administrators, whose members include superintendents, principals and human resources officials. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093305\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260318-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Committee of Credentials, a subcommittee of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, meets in Sacramento, California, on March 18, 2026, as part of three days of deliberations. The subcommittee reviews cases involving alleged educator misconduct. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB1381/id/3448036\">the original bill\u003c/a> authored by Muratsuchi and sponsored by the school administrators association, teachers would be added to a new database if their school districts have reported them to the state for misconduct. Before making job offers, schools would be required to check the database, accessible only to employers, for names of teachers with substantiated and credible complaints of egregious misconduct. Then, schools would be required to request records about misconduct from the districts that reported them. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi said his office was “immediately confronted with a lot of resistance,” with teachers unions raising concerns over fair treatment of the accused. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brown, the lobbyist for the California Federation of Teachers, said the language in the measure was too broad. He said the union would not object to a database that identifies only teachers with substantiated complaints of egregious misconduct, but the bill also states that reports of “possible misconduct” would be included. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Our opposition is really focused on making sure we’re looking at dangerous conduct that we can definitively say happened,” Brown said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Muratsuchi, who pulled language for his bill directly from the previous effort by Republican Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, said his intent was for the database to focus on egregious misconduct reports that were substantiated and credible. Had he had more time, he said, he would have clarified the language through the legislative process and addressed the unions’ concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But he introduced the bill with just weeks left in the legislative session. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Seth Bramble, a lobbyist for the California Teachers Association, the state’s most powerful teachers union, wrote in a statement that the proposed database would lead to “employment consequences for innocent teachers based on allegations later determined to be unfounded.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“CTA unequivocally supports protecting students, ensuring that credible misconduct information is shared with prospective school employers, and preventing individuals who commit egregious misconduct from moving from school to school,” Bramble wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Trump administration singled out teachers unions as obstructions to legislative reforms to protect children when it announced a national crackdown in July on how school districts handle accusations of sexual misconduct by teachers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Teachers’ unions’ demonstrated commitment to shield their members from disciplinary action for gross misconduct cannot trump basic moral and legal responsibilities to students and families,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the open letter to state school chiefs. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090872/trump-administration-launches-crackdown-on-teacher-sexual-misconduct-following-kqed-propublica-investigation\">McMahon cited\u003c/a> KQED and ProPublica’s finding that California’s teacher licensing agency has not revoked the professional credentials of at least 67 educators who school districts determined had sexually harassed students or committed other sexual misconduct. At least 14 of those educators were rehired by other schools. That included Bay Area math teacher \u003ca href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/california-fired-teacher-sexual-harassment\">Jason Agan, who two schools hired\u003c/a> despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. Agan was removed from the classroom the day after the story was published.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A substitute replaced him for the remainder of the school year.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Agan has denied any sexual motivation in touching students and said during his dismissal hearing at his first school that he touched students only to offer them support.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1103\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12093306\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260324-ProPublica-CATeacherDiscipline-26-BL_qed-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A photo of teacher Jason Agan in the Rodriguez High School yearbook from 2005 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, on March 24, 2026. Two schools hired Agan despite having been fired after an independent panel determined he sexually harassed female students and massaged their shoulders after he’d been warned to stop. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California’s educator licensing agency, joined the unions in objecting to the bill to add teachers to the misconduct database. Jonathon Howard, the government relations manager for the credentialing agency, told Muratsuchi in a June 19 email obtained by KQED and ProPublica that complying with the proposed legislation would “require Commission staff to commit crimes.” Howard cited state laws restricting what information the teacher licensing agency is allowed to share. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi’s bill, Howard said, would expose the agency to “significant liability.” “The Commission does not oppose the goal of ensuring that credentialed educators with substantiated histories of serious misconduct cannot move undetected between schools,” Howard wrote. “However, achieving that goal requires legislation that is legally sound, operationally workable, and fair to the educators whose livelihoods and professional reputations are at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Anita Fitzhugh, a spokesperson for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, previously told KQED and ProPublica that the agency “stands ready to implement any additional public protections that the Legislature authorizes.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within weeks of introducing the bill and following opposition, Muratsuchi scrapped the idea of adding teachers reported to the state for egregious misconduct to the database and instead amended the bill to clarify that the teacher licensing agency may penalize administrators who don’t thoroughly vet applicants. The school administrators association withdrew its sponsorship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Muratsuchi, whose term expires in December, said he still supports more access to information about educators disciplined for serious misconduct. But with the legislative session ending Aug. 31, time is running out.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I tried,” Muratsuchi said. “I hope future Legislatures pick up the ball.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Dave Regan built his career fighting for the underdog. Now he’s taking on California’s billionaires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Regan leads SEIU-UHW, a union representing more than 120,000 healthcare workers in the state. He’s known for taking on the state’s most powerful interests and using ballot initiatives as leverage to force negotiations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>His latest proposal is a controversial billionaire wealth tax on the November ballot that has split the labor community and Democratic party in California. The measure aims to offset looming MediCal cuts from President Trump’s so-called “big beautiful bill” by issuing a one-time, 5% tax on the assets of the state’s billionaires. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cbr>Marisa sits down with Regan to talk about his upbringing, how he got into organizing and the backroom negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom to pull the measure off the ballot that ultimately failed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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