Proposition 30 and a whole lot more….

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Proposition 30 has qualified for the November ballot. The initiative, a proposed 1.75% tax on Californians making over $2 million per year to fund electric vehicle infrastructure and combat wildfires, has fragmented traditional Democratic coalitions, splitting unions and putting Gov. Gavin Newsom – who has pursued an aggressive strategy to phase out gasoline-powered cars – in opposition.

The Governor decried the proposal, calling it “a special interest carve-out — a cynical scheme devised by a single corporation to funnel state income tax revenue to their company.” That corporation is Lyft, which has ponied up $8 million in support of the measure.

Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster discuss Proposition 30, the warring factions, the spending, electric cars, horseless carriages, the Western States Petroleum Association’s new anti-Newsom attack ad, hydrogen fuel cells and namedrop everyone from Anthony York to Courtni Pugh to George Deukmejian. All this, plus Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?

Episode Notes:

:33 A breakdown of Propositon 30

2:53 Strange bedfellows

4:50 The “No” side

8:38 The unions

9:43 The polling

10:43 Who is running the campaigns?

14:08 WSPA’s shot across Newsom’s bow

14:45 The WSPA ad

18:33 The idea of electric cars

19:13 “I think I have five cars… I don’t even know how many cars I have”

26:03 “You see a different world”

26:30 Hydrogen fuel cells

27:13 Nuclear?

28:42 WWCA