Capitol Briefs: Protests, population and Prop 1

Anti-Trump, Anti-Elon rallies sweep Capitols: Rallies opposing President Donald Trump, his billionaire benefactor Elon Musk and Project 2025, the 900-page list of policy proposals put forth by the conservative D.C.-based think tank Heritage Foundation, swept across numerous state Capitols on Wednesday, including in Sacramento. The protests were part of a movement organized through social media hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, or “50 protest, 50 capitols, one day.”

A very large, very boisterous but otherwise peaceful crowd gathered on the west steps of the Capitol in Sacramento to denounce a litany of Trump’s recent executive orders and unprecedented actions by Musk in his role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump-created entity intended to drastically cut federal government spending. To date, that effort has included moves to greatly reduce the federal workforce, eliminate longstanding international aid programs and, in what many observers contend is a hostile and illegal action, taking control of the U.S. Treasury’s payment system.

For many, it all adds up to the most serious threat to American democracy in generations.

“I can’t even wrap my head around how insane all of this is,” said one rally attendee who identified herself as a former federal employee. “I don’t know how much this event will help, but I had to do something. I can’t just stand by and watch this damage to our democracy without at least trying to help.”

While no lawmakers were involved in the protest, Capitol Weekly did happen upon Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward) as she was walking by on 10^th Street. Wahab said the size and enthusiasm of the crowd was understandable given “the direction the government is going.”

She also noted the significant challenges she and her colleagues are addressing in addition to those coming from Washington D.C., most notably the catastrophic fires and recovery effort in Los Angeles and the desires stated by legislative leaders to bring down California’s notoriously high cost of living.

“We need to focus on what we can do right here and now for our residents, regardless of what’s happening at the federal level,” she said.

Housing remains top reason people leave California: The high cost of housing remains the top driver for why people move out of California, according to new data from the Public Policy Institute of California. According to the PPIC, over 700,000 of the adults who have left California since 2014 cite housing costs as their prime motivator for moving, and 34 percent of current Californians say those costs are the reason they are considering a move out of state in the near future.

LAO says more oversight needed in mental health funding: Since its creation in 2021, the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) has received $1.8 billion in state funds for the use of building facilities for mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in California. With the Newsom administration working to allocate the first $3.3 billion of Proposition 1 bond dollars in May of this year, a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office suggests it is a good time for the state to consider greater oversight of the program, and to “consider whether any changes in program administration are merited.”

A few other highlights from the report:

• A majority of new capacity is being added in four regions of the state estimated to have the least need.
• BHCIP has not made any progress in building facilities in the southern San Joaquin Valley, the region identified as having the greatest need.
• Small counties are getting “disproportionately more BHCIP dollars than larger counties” through the initial grant rounds, with most of the funds concentrated in 11 of 10 counties. The remaining 19 small counties received no grants.