California Gov. Newsom is losing support among state voters. For the first time since taking office in 2019, more California voters disapprove of the job he is doing (49%) than approve (44%), according to a new poll from the University of California-Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies released Tuesday.

The poll marks an 11-point decline in his approval rating compared with the last time the IGS asked voters about his job performance in February. Most of the change in sentiment is attributable to the extremes, IGS (Institute of Governmental Studies) Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said in a statement, “with the proportion strongly approving of Newsom’s performance declining from 25% to 18%, while those strongly disapproving climbed from 29% to 36%.”

The decline in his approval rating is “broad-based and is particularly noteworthy among political moderates and No Party Preference voters,” he said.

While 66% of Democrats approve of the job Newsom is doing, just 37% of No Party Preference and 7% of Republicans approve. Support was strongest in San Francisco (53%), where Newsom served as mayor before being elected governor, and among females, with 46% of women approving of his job performance compared with 41% of men.

While 53% of voters age 65 or older continue to support the governor, younger voters are less approving. Just 35% of voters age 18 to 29 and 38% of voters age 30 to 39 approve of the job he’s doing.

Newsom’s embrace of the national stage in Democratic politics is contributing to his declining approval at a time when the state is facing budget shortfalls and other problems, DiCamillo said. The only exception is Democrats, 70% of whom approve of him taking a more prominent role in national politics by appearing on national news shows and attending events outside the state.

About 50% of California voters approved of Newsom’s recent trip to China to meet with President Xi Jinping to discuss collaborative climate change solutions; 39% disapproved. More voters approved (37%) of his appointment of Laphonza Butler to temporarily serve in the U.S. Senate after the death of Dianne Feinstein than disapproved (30%).

The IGS conducted its poll in English and Spanish with 6,342 registered voters across the state from Oct. 24-30.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers, union leaders and truck drivers are trying to steer Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom toward signing into law a proposal that could save jobs as self-driving trucks are tested for their safety on the roads.

The legislation would ban self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms) — which would include vehicles from UPS delivery trucks to massive semi-trucks — from operating on public roads unless a human driver is on board. Proponents of the bill say it would help address concerns about safety and losing truck driving jobs to automation in the future. Under the bill, the rules would be in effect until at least 2029.

Republican Assemblymember Tom Lackey, one of the bill’s co-authors, said lawmakers aren’t “against technology,” but they see the bill as a safer way for companies to test self-driving trucks.

“We want balance because we believe in people, and we believe in public safety,” Lackey said. “When surprises happen, physics is not your friend.”

The bill coasted through the Legislature with few lawmakers voting against it. It’s part of ongoing debates about the potential risks of self-driving vehicles and how workforces adapt to a new era as companies deploy technologies to do work traditionally done by humans.

Newsom, who typically enjoys strong support from labor, is facing some pressure from within his administration not to sign it. He has until Oct. 14 to make a decision. His administration’s Department of Finance projected it would cost the state about $1 million annually to implement the bill’s requirements, and his Office of Business and Economic Development says it would push companies making self-driving technologies to move out-of-state.

“Our state is on the cusp of a new era and cannot risk stifling innovation,” Dee Dee Myers, the office’s director and senior adviser to Newsom, said in a letter opposing the bill.

Other opponents of the bill say self-driving truck regulations should be left up to the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and officials with expertise on keeping the roads safe. They argue self-driving cars that are already on the roads haven’t caused many serious accidents compared to cars driven by people. Businesses say self-driving trucks would help them transport transport products more efficiently in the future.

The bill comes as the debate over the future of autonomous vehicles heats up. In San Francisco, two robotaxi companies got approval last month from state regulators to operate in the city at all hours, despite concerns about these vehicles making unexpected stops and blocking traffic. In Phoenix, companies have tested self-driving trucks on highways and to deliver mail through a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service.

On Tuesday in Sacramento, hundreds of truck drivers, union leaders and other supporters of the bill rallied at the state Capitol. Drivers wore shirts representing their chapter of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a large union backing the bill, and chanted “sign that bill” as semi-trucks lined a street in front of the Capitol. Some chants were laced with profanities as they urged Newsom to support their cause. There are about 200,000 commercial truck drivers in California, according to Teamsters officials.

Mike Di Bene, a commercial truck driver of nearly 30 years and member of the Oakland Teamsters chapter, said human drivers have the “intuition and experience” to quickly adapt to unexpected situations, including when there is black ice on the road or when a tire blows out on the freeway. Self-driving technology that “doesn’t value” life can’t understand what’s at stake when operating massive vehicles at high speeds, he said.

Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters union, said it’s important for first responders to be able to communicate with commercial truck drivers when emergencies happen — for example if there is a spill of dangerous materials that can become a health hazard.

“Hazardous materials are everywhere,” Rice said. “We don’t need robots driving these materials around.”

Labor was at the heart of several legislative fights this year, including efforts to raise wages for health care workers, make striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits and allow legislative staffers to unionize. The Legislature sent these proposals to Newsom at a time hotel workers, Hollywood writers and actors are on strike.

In 2012, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law mandating that companies get approval from the Department of Motor Vehicles before putting their self-driving vehicles to use on public roads. DMV leaders oppose the bill, saying the authority to regulate such vehicles should remain with their agency.

In August, the DMV sent a letter to Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who introduced this year’s bill, saying the testing of self-driving vehicles across 18.3 million miles (29.5 million kilometers) since 2014 in the state has not led to any fatalities. Autonomous vehicles were not found to be “clearly at fault” for the few collisions that caused serious injuries, the letter said.

California DMV Director Steve Gordon said in the letter that the department meets with companies that make self-driving vehicles after accidents occur to find out the root cause. If the department finds a vehicle poses an “unreasonable risk to public safety,” it can suspend or revoke the company’s permit to test the vehicle on the roads, Gordon said in the letter.

The bill would require the DMV to submit a report to the Legislature updating lawmakers on the safety of medium- and heavy-duty self-driving trucks. It would require companies to report collisions that caused property damage, injury or death to the department within 10 days.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom took action Feb. 6 urging the federal government to investigate the recent price spike affecting the Western U.S. and highlighted the state’s action to provide relief to Californians.

In a letter to the federal agency responsible for regulating wholesale natural gas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC, the Governor requested that the agency “immediately focus its investigatory resources on assessing whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior, or other anomalous activities are driving these ongoing elevated prices in the western gas markets.”

Additionally, millions of Californians will soon see relief from high utility bills – with credits of $90 to $120 showing up on gas and electric bills as soon as next month.

On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission or CPUC voted to accelerate the California Climate Credit to help California families with high gas bills.

The CPUC and the California Energy Commission Feb. 7 will host an en banc hearing to examine the causes and impacts of the recent spike in natural gas prices.

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The new conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that banned states from outlawing abortion. If they do, at least 26 states are likely to either ban abortion outright or severely limit access, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that supports abortion rights.

That would force lots of women to travel to other states to get abortions, prompting Democratic-led states like California to propose and pass new laws to prepare for them. Last week, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law aimed at banning legal action against people who aid or receive an abortion, a measure responding to a law in Texas that lets people sue abortion providers or those who assist them.

Oregon lawmakers included $15 million in their state budget to help pay for people to travel to the state to get abortions. California has a similar bill, one of 14 proposals aimed at expanding and protecting access to abortion in the nation’s most populous state. The bills were inspired by a report from the Future of Abortion Council, a group Newsom convened last year to advise him on how to respond should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

“We’re looking at 26 states that will introduce some sort of ban and restriction on abortion, so you have the other half of the country that will need to prepare for how we take care of those patients,” said Jodi Hicks, CEO and President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. “We’re all imagining and trying to prepare correctly for what that impact will be.”

California already requires health insurance companies to cover abortions. But insurers often charge things like co-pays and deductibles that can add an average of $543 to the cost of a medication abortion and $887 to the cost of a procedural abortion, according to an analysis by the California Health Benefits Review Program.

The law Newsom signed on Tuesday eliminates those fees. While the law will make abortions cheaper, it will also slightly increase monthly premiums for patients and their employers. But the savings from eliminating the fees will be greater than the increased premiums, according to an analysis by the California Health Benefits Review Program.

“As states across the country attempt to move us backwards by restricting fundamental reproductive rights, California continues to protect and advance reproductive freedom for all,” Newsom said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this summer whether to uphold a law in Mississippi that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. During a public hearing on the case last year, a majority of justices indicated they were willing to uphold the law and even overturn Roe v. Wade.

That case has prompted swift action in state Legislatures across the country. Last week, lawmakers in Idaho sent a bill to the governor that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. In Missouri, lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it illegal for the state’s residents to get abortions in other states.

States like California, however, are drafting proposals to counter those measures. They include bills to ban disclosing abortion medical records to police or other out-of-state entities and protect patients and providers from civil liability. They would expand California’s abortion workforce, allowing some nurse practitioners to perform the procedure without the supervision of a doctor and setting up a scholarship program for people studying reproductive health who agree to work in underserved areas.

And they would set up funds that would help pay for people to get abortions, including compensating providers who provide free care to low-income patients and assisting with things like travel, lodging and child care for women seeking the procedure in California.

“This legislative package is robust, it’s bold, it’s responsive and it’s innovative, and that’s exactly what we need right now,” said Amy Moy, chief external affairs officer for Essential Access Health and a member of the steering committee for the Future of Abortion Council. “We have a unique opportunity and a pressing responsibility to make sure that anyone seeking time sensitive and potentially life changing abortion care within our state’s boarders can do so with dignity and respect and safety.”

AP News | Contributed

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“The State of the State will not improve until California acts to dramatically increase the supply of ownership housing to provide working Californians the stability and prosperity that homeownership provides.

“Working Californians today are excluded from the benefits of homeownership that middle-class Californians once took for granted. California’s overall homeownership rate has declined to just 55 percent. Among the state’s largest ethnic group, Latinos, it’s 44 percent, and only 37 percent of Black families own their home. This is unacceptable.

“Homeownership, according to the California Housing Finance Agency, is the most effective way that people build wealth and stabilize communities. However, the housing supply crisis has pushed the median home price sky high; on track to surpass $830,000 in 2022. This, in a state with a median household income of about $75,000. A stable and prosperous state cannot just have homes priced for software engineers and the already wealthy.

“The lack of homeownership opportunity is the primary reason the middle class and the businesses that employ them move out of state, creating the growing and troubling income and wealth inequality we see around us today.

“REALTORS®, as part of a bipartisan coalition, have offered common sense solutions to help address this crisis. California must prioritize and act to create homeownership opportunities for all of our diverse state. First, California should shift 30 percent of all federal housing funds coming to the state to homeownership funding — 20 percent to go to homeownership housing production and 10 percent to down payment assistance. And California’s 2022-23 state budget should allocate a minimum of $600 million from the state’s budget surplus, allocating $400 million to the production of owner-occupied, affordable housing for lower income Californians and $200 million to down payment assistance programs.

“A commitment to homeownership from our state’s leaders is essential to creating equity, economic stability, and opportunity. The 217,000 members of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® stand ready to support policies to make real the promise of Homeownership for all Californians.”

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 110 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 217,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

California REALTORS | Contributed

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Justice Jenkins has held several prominent state and federal judicial positions throughout his career. He would be the first openly gay California Supreme Court justice and only the third African American man ever to serve on the state’s highest court. It has been 29 years since an African American man has served on the California Supreme Court.

“Justice Jenkins is widely respected among lawyers and jurists, active in his Oakland community and his faith, and is a decent man to his core,” said Governor Newsom. “As a critical member of my senior leadership team, I’ve seen firsthand that Justice Jenkins possesses brilliance and humility in equal measure. The people of California could not ask for a better jurist or kinder person to take on this important responsibility.”

A son of San Francisco, Justice Martin Jenkins (Ret.), 66, was born and raised in the Bay Area. He grew up cleaning office buildings and churches with his father who also worked a full time job with the City and County of San Francisco as a clerk and janitor at Coit Tower. Guided by his parents’ values of hard work and respect for all, Justice Jenkins went on to have a storied legal career, including years as a civil rights attorney, an appointment to a federal bench and most recently, guiding the Newsom Administration’s efforts to build a judiciary that reflects the vibrance and diversity of California as judicial appointments secretary since 2019.

Growing up, Justice Jenkins knew he would have to work harder, stay later and go the extra mile to succeed. It was the work ethic he learned from his parents and brought with him to a brief pro football career. Just after finishing undergrad, he signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks but soon realized that rather than sitting on the football bench, his true calling was becoming a lawyer and pursuing a different bench as a judge.

Throughout his career, Justice Jenkins has advanced the cause of equality, particularly across racial and gender divides. Justice Jenkins’s family traces its roots to the Jim Crow South, and while Justice Jenkins did not grow up in the South, his family’s stories of injustice and blatant discrimination stuck with him. As a young attorney working in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, Justice Jenkins pursued cases involving police misconduct and cross burnings. He has also worked to promote gender equality through cases on pregnancy-related leave and sex discrimination.

“I am truly humbled and honored to be asked by the Governor to continue serving the people of California on the Supreme Court,” said Justice Jenkins. “If confirmed, I will serve with the highest ethical standards that have guided me throughout my career, informed by the law and what I understand to be fair and just.”

In his role as Judicial Appointments Secretary, Justice Jenkins has guided the Newsom Administration’s efforts to build a judiciary that reflects the people they serve. He spearheaded transparency efforts by making public the Regional Judicial Selection Advisory Committees, so that for the first time in California history, the individuals who provide feedback on judicial candidates for nomination and appointment will be known to the public. Justice Jenkins has worked closely with these committees to appoint 45 jurists, helping promote the diversity of the California judiciary for years to come.

Prior to his role in the Newsom Administration, Justice Jenkins served as an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District from 2008 to 2019. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1997 and served on the bench until 2008.

In addition to his recent judicial service, Justice Jenkins served as a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court from 1992 to 1997 and on the Oakland Municipal Court from 1989 to 1992. From 1986 to 1989, he was a trial attorney with the Pacific Bell Legal Department of San Francisco and from 1983 to 1986, he worked in the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney litigating civil rights cases. From 1980 to 1983, he worked as a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

He will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Associate Justice Ming W. Chin. The Governor’s nomination must be submitted to the State Bar’s Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments. The Commission on Judicial Appointments consists of Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and senior Presiding Justice of the state Court of Appeal J. Anthony Kline.

For more, visit www.gov.ca.gov/2020/10/05/governor-newsom-selects-justice-martin-jenkins-ret-for-california-supreme-court/

-EIN PRESSWIRE

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