Tag: California

Republicans, Who Do You Think Is Bailing Out Your State?

State and local costs of dealing with the pandemic are skyrocketing as revenues plunge.

New York Times logoAs negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package heat up, a key point of contention — perhaps the key point — is whether Congress will provide meaningful aid to struggling state and local governments.

Boiling down the politics: Democratic lawmakers favor the move. Many Republicans, including the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, do not. Some in the Trump administration have suggested that withholding aid is a great way to pressure states to reopen sooner rather than later. This is both cynical and destructive. Denying states a financial lifeline, even as Washington is showering trillions of dollars on the private sector, will only exacerbate the economic devastation that Congress is trying to mitigate.

The situation is dire. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that states could suffer a collective shortfall of $500 billion through the 2022 fiscal year. Tapping rainy-day funds and using the targeted federal aid already appropriated would still leave a $360 billion gap, the center warns, “not including the substantial new costs they face to combat the Covid-19 virus.” Local, state and territorial governments face their own funding crunches. As tax revenues plunge, costs are expected to skyrocket as layoffs and pay cuts drive more people to apply for food stamps, Medicaid and other public assistance. Continue reading.

California Gov. Newsom issues statewide stay-at-home order

Axios logoNearly 40 million people in California are now required to a stay at home to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to a Thursday evening order from Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Why it matters: This is the first statewide order of its kind in the U.S. since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Where it stands: Newsom announced the order late Thursday, less than an hour after Los Angeles County officials ordered people to remain at home. Multiple counties in the San Francisco Bay Area issued similar orders in recent days. Continue reading.

California and nearly two dozen other states sue Trump administration for the right to set fuel-efficiency standards

Washington Post logoLawsuit marks the latest in an escalating fight over one of the nation’s biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

California and 22 other states sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, asking a federal court to block the Trump administration from stripping the nation’s most populous state of its long-standing authority to set its own fuel-efficiency standards on cars and trucks.

“We’ve said it before, and we will say it again: California will not back down when it comes to protecting our people and our environment from preventable pollution,” the state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, said in a statement announcing the action. “No matter how many times the Trump administration attempts to sabotage our environmental progress, we will fight for clean air.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, marks the latest round in an escalating fight between the White House and California officials over how quickly the nation’s auto fleet must increase its fuel-efficiency. Already, the feud has led to several legal skirmishes, a divided automotive industry and uncertainty in the nation’s car market.

View the complete November 15 article by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin on The Washington Post website here.

Economic and environmental cost of Trump’s auto rollback could be staggering, new research shows

The administration’s war with California could cost the U.S. economy $400 billion by mid-century.

The Trump administration’s plan to freeze fuel efficiency standards in defiance of California’s stricter, more environmentally friendly rules is set to have dire ramifications for emissions levels and the economy, according to new research out Wednesday.

Rolling back California’s robust vehicle emissions requirements will cost the U.S. economy $400 billion through 2050, an analysis from the environmental policy group Energy Innovation found. President Donald Trump’s efforts to undo Obama-era rules will also increase U.S. gasoline consumption by up to 7.6 billion barrels, subsequently increasing U.S. transport emissions up to 10% by 2035.

Under Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have been engaged in a bitter feud with California over emissions standards.

View the complete August 7 article by E.A. Crunden on the ThinkProgress website here.

Trump, RNC file legal challenges to Calif. law seeking release of the president’s tax returns

Washington Post logoPresident Trump and the Republican National Committee filed two lawsuits Tuesday against California officials challenging a new law that would bar Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot next year if he declines to disclose his tax returns.

The federal lawsuits, which were threatened last week when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the bill into law, argue that the measure requiring presidential and gubernatorial candidates to release five years of tax returns runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

The RNC suit, which includes the California Republican Party as a plaintiff, alleges a “naked political attack against the sitting president of the United States.”

View the complete August 6 article by7 John Wagner on The Washington Post website here.

Trump’s tax returns required under new California election law

SACRAMENTO — President Trump will be ineligible for California’s primary ballot next year unless he discloses his tax returns under a state law that took effect immediately Tuesday, an unprecedented mandate that is almost certain to spark a high-profile court fight and might encourage other states to adopt their own unconventional rules for presidential candidates.

The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on the final day he could take action after it passed on a strict party-line vote in the Legislature earlier this month, requires all presidential candidates to submit five years of income tax filings. They must do so by late November to secure a spot on California’s presidential primary ballot in March. State elections officials will post the financial

“As one of the largest economies in the world and home to one in nine Americans eligible to vote, California has a special responsibility to require this information of presidential and gubernatorial candidates,” Newsom said in a statement that accompanied his signature on the bill. “These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty to do everything in their power to ensure leaders seeking the highest offices meet minimal standards, and to restore public confidence. The disclosure required by this bill will shed light on conflicts of interest, self-dealing, or influence from domestic and foreign business interest.”

View the complete July 30 article by John Myers on The Los Angeles Times website here.

California reaches climate deal with automakers, spurning Trump

WASHINGTON  — Four major automakers have reached a deal with California air regulators to gradually increase fuel efficiency standards, rejecting Trump administration efforts to relax tailpipe pollution regulations.

The agreement between the California Air Resources Board and the automakers — Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW — covers about 30% of new cars and SUVs sold in the United States. It presents a direct challenge to the Trump administration’s plans, expected to be formally announced later this summer, to roll back tougher tailpipe pollution standards put in place under President Obama.

The fuel efficiency rules are key to reducing U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming. Cars, trucks and other forms of transportation are the biggest source of U.S. emissions, accounting for about 30% of the total.

View the complete July 25 article by Anna M. Phillips and Tony Barboza on The Los Angeles Times website here.

The War Against California

Credit: Mandel Ngan, AFP, Getty Images

The Trump administration has targeted the deep-blue state after dozens of lawsuits challenging his administration on issues from immigration to the environment.

THEY’RE PERPETUALLY IN court, on opposite sides. Each sees the other as the embodiment of bad practices and values. Sometimes the feud descends to name-calling and not-so-veiled threats of retribution.

No, it’s not the worst celebrity divorce. It’s California and the Trump administration, which have been engaged in an ongoing power struggle since Donald Trump took office in January 2017. But unlike other state-federal fights, this one is more evenly matched, as the Golden State uses its tremendous economic dominance and sheer size to thwart Trump administration policies.

“It’s true that California, on account of its size, can do an awful lot of stuff. The feds need California, for all sorts of purposes,” says Michael Greve, a professor at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and an expert on federalism. Still, “California also needs the feds to be not too mean to it,” Greve adds. “It’s frequently a game of chicken. The question is, who blinks?”

View the complete February 22 by Susan Milligan on The U.S. News and World Report website here.

California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census

The following article by Samantha Schmidt was posted on the Washington Post website March 27, 2018:

The Justice Department’s request to add a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census was granted. Here’s how that could affect voting districts. (Joyce Koh, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

The state of California sued the Trump administration Monday night, arguing that the decision to add a question about citizenship in the 2020 Census violates the U.S. Constitution. The state’s attorney general acted just after the Commerce Department announced the change in a late-night release.

The action was followed Tuesday by an announcement from New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman that he will lead a multi-state lawsuit to preserve what he said was a fair and accurate Census. Continue reading “California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census”

A Tale of Two Visits

The following article by Kenneth T. Walsh was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website March 16, 2018:

Reactions in Pennsylvania and California show where the presidency stands.

Marine One leaving the White House. Credit: Agusta-Westland

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ventured outside Washington twice during the past week – once to a pro-Trump congressional district in western Pennsylvania and once to the anti-Trump venue of California, a state he lost by 4 million votes to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The reactions he got in each place served as a summary of where his presidency stands. He appears to be losing his grip on some of his once die-hard supporters because of policy flip-flops and erratic behavior. And he has yet to appeal to the many voters who can’t abide him and who are troubled by his bluster and his inconsistent but mostly conservative agenda. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Visits”