Good evening everybody. Good evening everybody. good evening. Thank you everybody. Thank you.
Well, Madam Lieutenant Governor, it鈥檚 nice to be able to say this on International Womens day, it鈥檚 great to be able to say, thank you Madam Lieutenant Governor for that introduction.
Speaker Rendon and Pro Tem Atkins, thank you as always for being here.
And to members of the Legislature and other state officials, thank you for joining us this evening.
And of course to my remarkable wife, Jennifer, the First Partner of the State of California. Thank you for not only being the heart of our family, and for everything you do for the people of California.
It goes without saying, given the state of our world, I don鈥檛 imagine there are many people outside these walls waiting on the words that will be said here tonight.
Interesting oratorical approach to emphasize how unimportant your speech is.
鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Ben Christopher
But it鈥檚 important, as the rabbi said, for us to come together, nonetheless.
Not just to mark how far we鈥檝e come in the fight against COVID, but also to reaffirm our commitment to democratic institutions.
If you want to relive the last two years of California鈥檚 fight against COVID, check out . 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Richard Procter
As the people of Ukraine continue to come under assault, 2 million by the way, 2 million people already displaced from their homes, we take strength from their contagious courage as well as their willingness to fight for their freedom.
So tonight is a moment, a moment to reflect not just on what鈥檚 happening overseas but it鈥檚 a moment to reflect on what it means to live in a society where elected leaders still settle our disagreements by and large with civility and compromise.
And how we derive strength from a government that reflects the people we represent. Just think about it.
Our Speaker, and grandson of Mexican immigrants, worked his way through California鈥檚 public education system, earning a Ph.D. from UC Riverside. Now, committed to ensuring every child has access to early learning.
Our Pro Tem,, she came to California and became a champion for housing and equal rights for all. the Assembly and the state Senate.
Our Chief Justice, public school graduate, speaking out consistently against income inequality and tackling the cost of justice for people in poverty.
And take our constitutional officers here tonight 鈥� think about this 鈥� they include the daughter of an Arkansas sharecropper, an immigrant from the Philippines, the daughter of parents born in China and Greece, one raised by a teacher from Panama, and the proud son of undocumented Mexican immigrants.
Newsom has made the elevation of under-represented Californians to positions of power and influence a hallmark of his governorship. Sen. , Secretary of State , Attorney General and State Supreme Court Justice are all demographic firsts and Newsom appointees. 鈥� Ben Christopher
Thank you all for your remarkable service to our state.
California does democracy like nowhere else in the world. No other place offers opportunity to so many from so many different backgrounds. But we can鈥檛 take our democracy for granted.
Authoritarian and illiberal impulses aren鈥檛 just rising overseas. They鈥檝e been echoing here at home for some time. We might not have strongmen quite literally waging war in our country, we are plagued by agents of a national anger machine, fueling division, weaponizing grievance.
Newsom ran to an easy victory in both 2018 and during last year鈥檚 recall by presenting himself as the antidote to Donald Trump and 鈥淭rumpism.鈥� He doesn鈥檛 say the 鈥淭鈥� word in this speech, but it鈥檚 still a contrast he鈥檚 only too happy to invoke.
鈥� Ben Christopher
Powerful forces and loud voices 鈥� stoking fear and seeking to divide us, weakening the institutions of our democracy.
Counting on complacency to erode voting rights, scapegoating vulnerable minorities.
Conjuring conspiracies and promoting otherness.
Actively exploiting 鈥�
Anger, by the way, that finds a home when people feel understandably disconnected from each other and our collective future 鈥� when that future doesn鈥檛 look as bright as the past 鈥� making them more susceptible to the siren calls of those trying to tear us apart.
Foundationally, this is a threat we must all face, together, and prove there鈥檚 a better way 鈥� a California Way 鈥� forward.
The California Way.
The California Way means rejecting old binaries and finding new solutions to big problems.
Touting climate action 鈥� and gas money
Take for example, the speaker was talking about, climate policy. California has no peers.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon might disagree with that statement: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 at all feel that we are leading the world anymore鈥� on climate, .鈥� Emily Hoeven
For years, But over time, we鈥檝e learned we can鈥檛 solve big problems like climate change situationally, with short-term thinking.
One of the state鈥檚 landmark programs may not be working that well. Experts that the market-based cap-and-trade program is unlikely to achieve 2030 greenhouse gas targets. 鈥� Rachel Becker
The University of California is a research juggernaut, including in climate change. Newsom is in climate change research, technology development and workforce development for the UC.鈥� Mikhail Zinshteyn
Look, no one鈥檚 naive about the moment we鈥檙e living in with high gas prices. And the geopolitical uncertainty that鈥檚 fueling them.
California continues to , a political liability for Democrats who increased the state gas tax in 2017. 鈥� Emily Hoeven
In January, we .
The state gas tax has been inching up every year since 2017 when the Legislature passed a $5 billion per year transportation funding bill. Republicans and low tax advocates the following year, but voters overwhelmingly shot it down. 鈥� Ben Christopher
The governor鈥檚 January proposal was very modest: it amounts to the on gas suppliers for one year. 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Grace Gedye
But now, it鈥檚 clear we have to go farther.
And that鈥檚 why 鈥� working with legislative leadership 鈥� I鈥檒l be submitting a proposal to put money back in the pockets of Californians to address rising gas prices.
Details are still sparse on this proposal 鈥� the only fresh one in tonight鈥檚 speech. What we know so far: This will be a general tax rebate, not tied to a person鈥檚 gas spending, but targeted at car owners. 鈥� Ben Christopher
But I want to make this clear. At a time when we鈥檝e been heating and burning up, one thing we cannot do is repeat the mistakes of the past. By embracing polluters. Drilling even more oil, which only leads to even more extreme weather, more extreme drought, and more wildfire.
Record-setting , and shows little hope of abating as the . 鈥� Rachel Becker
What more evidence, what more evidence do you need than our own state?
Just think about this. In the past few years, we鈥檝e seen whole communities nearly wiped off the map.
. . .
How many more are we willing to sacrifice?
We need to be fighting polluters, not bolstering them. And in the process of doing so, freeing us once and for all from the grasp of petro-dictators.
New oil and gas well development near schools, hospitals and homes would be banned under Newsom also to new oil fracking permits by 2024. 鈥� Rachel Becker
But this conversation can鈥檛 just be about supply, can鈥檛 just be about oil supply. Daily life still demands too much fossil fuel.
That too has to change.
Underscoring the importance of accelerating California鈥檚 leadership in clean technology, this is not just a national security and an environmental justice imperative 鈥� clean energy is this generation鈥檚 greatest economic opportunity.
This speaks to an increasingly tender sore point within the California Democratic Party between environmentalists and labor. Exhibit A: . 鈥� Ben Christopher
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A perfect example by the way, a perfect example of that is our .
It was, by the way, that created this market.
California has been a leader for decades in and other vehicles, and it is now to ban all new gas-powered cars by 2035. 鈥� Rachel Becker
Now, we have the opportunity to extend this leadership, to secure a critical component of the supply chain for batteries, by tapping one of the world鈥檚 largest lithium reserves 鈥� right here in California. In Imperial Valley. And you consider this, our nation-leading climate investments 鈥� 鈥� will ensure that other innovations will surely follow not by re-creating the 20th century, by extracting more oil, but by extracting new ideas, drilling for new talent by running our economy on a carbon-free engine.
The California Energy Commission doled out $16 million in grants in 2020 to a handful of companies to determine if it鈥檚 feasible 鈥� Rachel Becker
That鈥檚 the California Way.
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Touting the economy, dissing Texas and Florida
Now, when it comes to the economy, California鈥檚 unmatched.
We dominate. We dominate in research, innovation, entrepreneurialism, venture capital 鈥� and remain the . Our GDP growth, our GDP growth has consistently . Think about this. In December alone, . . More new business starts during the worst of the pandemic than Texas and Florida combined.
When it comes to getting employment back to pre-pandemic levels, California was still lagging the nation in December, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics 鈥� and has one of the in the country. 鈥� Grace Gedye
But you know what makes us so different from those states 鈥� besides the freedom of a woman鈥檚 right to choose?
With abortion rights hanging by a thread in nearly two dozen states, Newsom and top Democratic lawmakers want to make California a and the 1.4 million women within driving distance of the state. 鈥� Kristen Hwang
What makes us different is as our businesses grow, we don鈥檛 leave our workers behind.
When lawmakers exempted small businesses from additional COVID sick leave in February, were left behind. 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Grace Gedye
Just consider what we did last year for the middle class here in our state, we sent $12 billion back 鈥� the
We didn鈥檛 stop there. We didn鈥檛 stop there.
We.
We increased .
.
In 2019 Newsom expanded Paid Family Leave from six to eight weeks for California workers. But last year, to help more low-wage workers take the benefit, as my colleague Sameea Kamal wrote. A California Budget & Policy Center study because the payments are too low to cover their expenses. 鈥� Elizabeth Aguilera
We expanded to help working parents.
Newsom to add 200,000 new child care slots for working families by the 2025-26 school year. The state promised that by 2022-23 more than half of those subsidized slots, about 145,000, will come online. 鈥� Elizabeth Aguilera
And this year, with your support, we will do something no other state in America has done 鈥� , regardless of immigration status.
Close to 1 million undocumented people could benefit from the state鈥檚 plans to expand Medi-Cal. But hundreds of thousands of others who earn above the Medi-Cal income limit . 鈥� Ana B. Ibarra
That鈥檚 the California Way.
Single-payer health care, which would have eliminated out-of-pocket medical costs for all Californians by levying higher taxes, earlier this year. Newsom distanced himself from this campaign promise, instead focusing on expanding Medi-Cal. 鈥� Kristen Hwang
Touting health; from pandemic to endemic?
And speaking of not leaving people behind, no state, no state took to protect public health and human life .
Our lockdowns, distressing as they were, saved lives. Our mask mandates, our mask mandates saved lives. Your choices saved lives. California experienced far lower COVID death rates than any other large state. Fewer than Texas, Ohio. Fewer than Florida 鈥� .
COVID-19鈥檚 death toll has been felt unequally, with communities of color bearing the largest share. Pacific Islanders have experienced thewhile Black Californians make up a . 鈥� Kristen Hwang
But mindful, even with of Californians being fully vaccinated, we鈥檙e mindful that we cannot let our guard down.
More than 83% of Californians are fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19, butfar behind. In some counties, fewer than 25% of those eligible have been boosted. 鈥� Kristen Hwang
Key Democrats in the Legislature are pushing further with that mandate the shots for all kids and workers in the state and aim to crack down on misinformation about the vaccine online and among doctors. 鈥� Elizabeth Aguilera
That鈥檚 why just last month, we put out our SMARTER Plan 鈥� to stay ahead of future variants, and seasonal surges.
The state鈥檚 sets goals like stockpiling 75 million masks, bringing in 30 million over-the-counter tests and increasing the state鈥檚 health workforce by at least another 3,000 if there鈥檚 another surge. 鈥� Ana B. Ibarra
And I just want to thank you. I want to take a moment to thank all of you. To thank members of this Legislature for all you did these past two years to help keep us safe.
This could be an attempt to appease lawmakers who have sometimes chafed under Newsom鈥檚 COVID emergency powers 鈥� and who could vote next week . 鈥� Emily Hoeven
Touting remedies to homelessness
But there鈥檚 another crisis all too familiar, referenced just a moment ago. And that鈥檚 the crisis of homelessness, which we know has worsened over the last decade, not only here in California, but across the nation.
The last time California tallied its homeless population in 2020, it found at least over their heads on any given night. That count was recently repeated for the first time since COVID-19, and is expected to yield higher numbers. 鈥� Manuela Tobias
Just a few years ago, California lacked any comprehensive strategy. No accountability, and no meaningful state resources to solve the problem. But that鈥檚 all changed.
Affordable housing and homelessness have suffered from decades of disinvestment, leaving lawmakers scrambling to catch up. Coordination remains an issue, though. The State Auditor鈥檚 office for its slow distribution of federal COVID-19 homelessness dollars as recently as August. 鈥� Manuela Tobias
In just the past three years, we not only have a , we鈥檙e also requiring new accountability, and providing unprecedented investments for cities and counties on the front lines.
As the homelessness crisis worsens, state officials are . The governor and Legislature appropriated to address homelessness last summer 鈥� but results may take years to materialize. 鈥� Manuela Tobias
And while we鈥檝e moved a record , 58,000, off the streets, since the beginning of the pandemic, we recognize, we all recognize, we have more work to do 鈥� particularly to address what鈥檚 happening on our sidewalks, reaching people who need help the most.
The actual number of people out of the streets and in housing via the governor鈥檚 signature Project Homekey thus far is about 8,000, although the program 鈥� which turned into permanent housing with wraparound services 鈥� is expanding to bring on another 12,000 units in the coming years using $2.75 billion in last year鈥檚 budget. His emergency program, which sheltered tens of thousands more people, has been . 鈥� Manuela Tobias
Those with schizophrenia spectrum and psychosis disorders, many self-medicating with drugs or alcohol addictions.
Interesting that the focus on mental health in this speech is limited to this discussion of homelessness. A much broader mental health crisis is brewing, especially among young people. 鈥� Jocelyn Wiener
And that鈥檚 precisely what our , and our new , seek to address.
The governor last week unveiled a proposal that would compel people with serious mental illnesses and substance use disorders into treatment. Newsom鈥檚 ambitious proposal would still require legislative approval 鈥� and hefty state spending to meet the needs . 鈥� Manuela Tobias
Getting people off the streets, out of tents and into housing and treatment is essential, clearly essential, to making our streets safe for everyone.
Civil rights groups are already raising some concerns about the Care Court proposal, saying people in need of mental health treatment often can鈥檛 get it.
鈥� Jocelyn Wiener
But public safety certainly isn鈥檛 just about homelessness.
Crime: What was said and left unsaid
Bobby Kennedy, just , reminded us that the health of a society depends on the ability of people to walk their own streets, in safety. Not to be frightened into isolation.
Newsom recently , Sirhan Sirhan, reversing the Board of Parole Hearings鈥� decision. 鈥� Byrhonda Lyons
鈥淎 nation,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hich surrenders to crime 鈥� whether by indifference or heavy-handed repression, is a society which has resigned itself to failure.鈥�
Our approach is to be neither indifferent to the realities of the present day, nor revert to heavy-handed policies that have marked the failures of the past.
Newsom鈥檚 budget proposal seeks $179 million to reduce crime, particularly organized retail thefts. The Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office recently said Newsom鈥檚 crime plan . 鈥� Byrhonda Lyons
But we鈥檙e also, we鈥檙e also to tackle the root causes of crime, doubling down on proven violence prevention programs.
Recent shows that most Californians are concerned about crime. But the governor mentions the word three times in his state address 鈥� a contrast from last year, when he boasted of leading on 鈥渃riminal justice reform.鈥� 鈥� Byrhonda Lyons
That is the California Way.
That鈥檚 all on criminal justice issues? It鈥檚 worth noting that Newsom is taking a completely different approach than President Joe Biden took during last week鈥檚 State of the Union. Biden doubled down on funding the police. Newsom hasn鈥檛 mentioned police. 鈥� Byrhonda Lyons
Touting more school for more students
Of course, to tackle any root cause, we need to talk about education.
And I鈥檓 not talking about that version of education 鈥渞eform,鈥� being promoted in some states where they鈥檙e , where you can for teaching history and where you
This is Newsom鈥檚 third unfavorable reference to to Florida in this speech. On Tuesday, the Florida Senate passed a law restricting the ability of schools to teach students about sexual orientation and gender 鈥� what critics have dubbed the 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay bill.鈥� 鈥� Ben Christopher
I鈥檓 talking about a real transformation of our public education system, like we鈥檙e doing right here in the state California.
By creating choices 鈥� real choices 鈥� for parents and unprecedented support for their kids.
Newsom鈥檚 main contenders in the failed 2021 recall supported measures like tuition vouchers. Months before the start of the pandemic, Newsom signed into law that would restrict charter schools. 鈥� Joe Hong
A whole new grade 鈥� , nine hours, nine hours of enrichment a day with true universal , millions of and
鈥嬧�婲ewsom鈥檚 January budget proposal continues a previous commitment to for all 4-year-olds over the next four years, to expand the program and to add educators to lower the student-teacher ratio. 鈥� Elizabeth Aguilera
The 2021-22 state budget included $1.8 billion for summer school and before and after-school programs. A record number of students enrolled in in 2021, but school administrators have struggled to staff before and after-school programs due to . 鈥� Joe Hong
That鈥檚 the California Way.
Look, I think all of us here can at least here agree to this, people have always looked to California for inspiration.
And now, in the midst of so much turmoil with stacking of stresses and dramatic social and economic change, California is doing what we have done for generations, , expanding the horizon of what鈥檚 possible.
We know that government cannot be the entire solution, but we also know that government has always been part of the solution.
By creating a platform for people, and the private sector, to thrive.
And as Friedman said 鈥� we have a formula, a formula for success setting rules for risk-taking, not recklessness.
Infrastructure, research and development, 鈥� the finest system of higher education anywhere in the world, our CSUs, UCs and community colleges. And ensuring society provides a hand up when people need help, maintaining , maintaining our and from around the world.
Last year Newsom and state lawmakers approved $47.1 billion in higher-education spending, a banner year for college and financial aid funding 鈥� including a down payment on . Newsom鈥檚 budget this year seeks to make good on some of last year鈥檚 , including creating more slots for Californians at the UC and CSU while also expanding the . 鈥� Mikhail Zinshteyn
Those are all California values.
Embracing diversity, but also seeking common ground. Pursuing greater connectedness.
Not exploiting division, with performative politics, and memes of the moment but by unifying towards common purpose.
Inviting more people with diverse perspectives, from different backgrounds 鈥� 鈥� all into the fight for a better California.
鈥嬧赌婣苍&苍产蝉辫;, which I definitely didn鈥檛 need to Google. 鈥� Ben Christopher
Thank you all very, very much. Thank you for the privilege of your time tonight.