Xavier Becerra is set to take over as California’s governor at a time when the state faces no shortage of challenges, from looming federal health care cuts to rising wildfire costs and an ongoing affordability squeeze that has touched nearly every corner of the state, including the Inland Empire.
Throughout his campaign, the Democrat ran a notably low-key race in a state where Democratic victory was all but assured. He steered clear of sweeping promises and left many of his policy positions vague. As he prepares to take office, here’s a closer look at where Becerra stands on some of the biggest issues ahead.
Taxes remain an open question
Becerra opposed the recent ballot measure that would have taxed billionaires, arguing that taxing assets isn’t a reliable way to fund state government. While he has said wealthy Californians should pay their “fair share,” he has stopped short of backing any specific new income tax.
He has, however, expressed support for examining corporate practices tied to low-wage work, including the idea of taxing or ending tax breaks for companies whose employees rely on public assistance because of insufficient pay. The state Department of Finance is currently studying how such a policy might work, with recommendations expected for lawmakers next year.
He’s also weighing a controversial option: taxing drivers based on miles traveled rather than fuel purchased, to help pay for road and highway maintenance. Gas tax revenue, the state’s traditional source of transportation funding, is projected to drop by roughly $31 billion over the next decade as more Californians switch to electric vehicles.
“I take no pleasure in telling people taxes are for a purpose,” Becerra told reporters recently. “I believe that users should pay for (roads).”
Energy and climate choices loom large
Becerra has stressed that affordability must remain a priority even as California continues its shift toward clean energy. One idea he has floated is a program dubbed “power hour,” which would give qualifying low-income households two hours of free electricity each day during peak solar production, when supply is high and demand is low. The benefit would be limited to customers already enrolled in utility assistance programs.
He has said he wants to “continue the path toward clean energy” while working to stabilize costs, including through expanded in-state oil drilling. He’ll also need to decide whether to uphold California’s 2030 deadline banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles, a decision likely to hinge on the pace of electric vehicle charging infrastructure development.
Another pressing issue awaiting him involves investor-owned utilities, which have been lobbying state leaders to reduce their financial liability to insurers and wildfire victims when their equipment causes major fires. If Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t settle the matter before leaving office, it will fall to Becerra. So far, he has avoided taking sides, describing the dispute as a “food fight” between insurance companies and utilities.
Health coverage for immigrants without legal status
Immigration has been a defining issue throughout Becerra’s political career, dating back to his early days in Congress in the 1990s, when he pushed back against proposals to strip social safety net benefits from legal immigrants. As governor, he intends to restore Medi-Cal access for immigrants in the country illegally who were dropped from the program amid state budget constraints.
He has also pledged to enforce newly enacted state laws limiting immigration agents’ use of force and restricting their activity on state property.
Newsom had gradually expanded health coverage to income-eligible immigrants regardless of status, but began scaling it back last year due to budget shortfalls and higher-than-expected health care costs.
“My values and my fiscal beliefs tell me that anyone who works hard in California should have access to the health care they need for themselves and for their family and they should be able to afford it, and that includes undocumented (immigrants),” Becerra told KQED.
Death penalty moratorium expected to continue
Newsom halted executions in California shortly after taking office in 2019, citing moral objections, and later began dismantling death row operations at San Quentin, relocating condemned inmates to other facilities. California hasn’t carried out an execution since 2006.
Newsom is weighing whether to commute the sentences of more than 560 death row inmates to life without parole before leaving office. Regardless of what he decides, Becerra is not expected to resume executions. As attorney general, Becerra defended the state’s death penalty laws and said he personally supported capital punishment in concept, but during his campaign for governor, he said he would continue the moratorium, citing concerns about racial disparities and wrongful convictions.
A self-described ‘pragmatic progressive’
As the Democratic Party continues to wrestle with internal divisions over how aggressively to pursue progressive policy, Becerra has positioned himself as a moderate who favors steady, achievable change over bold ideological shifts.
During more than two decades representing Los Angeles in Congress, he built relationships across the party’s ideological spectrum and was considered a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, though the two clashed in 2009 when Becerra pushed for a stronger public option in the Affordable Care Act.
This year, he distanced himself from his earlier support for single-payer health care, acknowledging it’s unlikely to gain traction in California given resistance from the Trump administration. Even before that shift, he had emphasized pragmatic governance over sweeping promises, pointing to his tenure as U.S. health secretary under President Biden, where he focused on expanding coverage incrementally.
“When I was helping Hillary Clinton in 2016, my daughters wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders,” Becerra said in a recent interview. “And I kept saying to them, I get it, I understand. I want Medicare for All… But we got to get (things) done, and I want someone who’s actually been in the thick of things.”
Original source: CalMatters
