Capitol Briefs: Dems launch ‘get out’ effort

Dems try new ‘get out’ tactic: His open letter asking low-polling Dems to get out of the gubernatorial race fell mostly flat, so California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks is trying something new in hopes of culling the field – math. Or more accurately, a new polling project he hopes will give said candidates empirical reasons to get out and reduce the chance of his party being shut out of the November election.

Hicks on Tuesday introduced the California Voter Opinion, Trend, & Engagement Research (VOTER) Index, a new large-sample statewide polling project he says will “provide a consistent snapshot of the California Governor’s race ahead of the Primary Election.”

The first baseline survey will be conducted among 2,000 likely voters and be released on March 24th, with new tracking surveys released every 7-10 days through early May.

In a video call with reporters Hicks rejected contentions from candidates like Tony Thurmond and Xavier Becerra that his plea was a poorly veiled attempt to push out candidates of color, saying it was not an accusation he was “losing any sleep over.”

Rather, he said, the new polling project is intended “to ensure everyone is armed with the information they need to clearly have an eyes-wide-open assessment of where the state of the race currently is between now and when ballots land in the mailboxes of voters.”

LGBTQ Caucus announces its 2026 agenda: The Legislative LGBTQ Caucus revealed its annual legislative priorities and supported bill package on Wednesday, noting nine priority measures and seven more it endorses.

Some of the priority measures include:

AB 1540, authored by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez (D-Los Angeles), which would restore the “Press 3” 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, a program that was eliminated by the Trump Administration.

SB 934, a bill by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would extend the statute of limitations for filing civil legal claims against licensed mental health providers who used the widely discredited practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ patients.

AB 1775,  a bill from LGBTQ Caucus Chair Chris Ward (D-San Diego) that would provide housing, employment, and transition-to-civilian-life support for service members discharged from the U.S. military as a result of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order (EO) 14183, which targets transgender service members.

Among the endorsed measures is AB 1578 from Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley) that requires state and local officials to take specified antihate speech training.

Grove takes another run at Leno’s Law smog exemption bill: After a close but ultimately unsuccessful run last year, Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) has reintroduced a proposal to exempt older vehicles from California’s smog check requirements. Under SB 1392, aka “Lenos’ Law for its support from comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno, classic and collectible vehicles manufactured before the 1981 model year would be exempt from smog checks, with one additional model year added each year thereafter reaching the 1986 model year by 2032. Grove co-authored the bill with Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).

Last year’s proposal (SB 712, also co-authored by Grove and Cortese) cleared the Senate but ultimately died in the Assembly.

More bills, bills, bills: Other bills making the scene this week that we found interesting:

AB 1677, a proposal from Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas), would limit investor-owned utilities profits to no more than 4% above a long-term Treasury bond (currently 4.7%). In a press release Borner said California utilities have been allowed to make approximately 10% profit, when the average cost of capital is much lower for most companies.

Boerner also authored AB 1774, which requires independent audits of utilities’ wildfire mitigation spending to make sure the funds are spent before new money is appropriated through a rate hike.

SB 356, a bill from Sen. Brian Jones (R-San Diego) that would raise the minimum age of eligibility for elderly parole to 60 and the minimum time served to 25 years. The measure was originally introduced in 2025 to address other issues, but was amended in the wake of parole being granted to convicted child molester David Funston in February. Funston, however, was never released as Placer County authorities filed new charges against him hours before he was set to go free.

Not to be outdone, Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove) introduced her own elderly parole reform bill (AB 2727) that  permanently excludes individuals convicted of the most serious sexual offenses from eligibility for elderly parole. Under her proposal permanent exclusion would be implemented for those convicted of:

• Aggravated sexual assault of a child
• Forcible lewd acts on a child
• Sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 years old or younger
• One Strike sexual offenses involving multiple victims

Her bill would also raise the eligibility age to 75 and require an inmate to have served at least 30 years of their sentence.

Child advocacy groups sue cannabis agency: In a fight over cannabis tax dollars, child advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Department of Cannabis Control on Feb. 19, alleging the state has not met “promises made to voters” under Proposition 64 by reallocating funding from environmental protection and child services to other purposes. The lawsuit, brought by plaintiffs Youth Transforming Justice and East Bay Asian Youth Center, comes on the heels of a series of legislative changes that have eased financial pressure on the cannabis industry.

This report was compiled by Capitol Weekly editor Rich Ehisen and senior correspondent Leah O’Tarrow.