Governor Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session Thursday with the goal of protecting California’s progressive policies on climate change and reproductive rights from President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.  

He’s preemptively asking state lawmakers for funds to support future litigation against President-elect Trump’s next administration. 

The Governor’s Office said in a press release that the new resources will likely go towards defending civil and reproductive rights, climate action and the state’s immigrant population, depending on what actions the administration takes. 

The state sued the first Trump administration over 120 times after it threatened similar policies. The state won many of those lawsuits. 

Democratic Assembly member Jesse Gabriel represents the San Fernando Valley. Before taking office, he was a constitutional attorney and assisted with two of the lawsuits. 

“In these situations, speed matters,” he said. “Being prepared matters.”

He said that justifies lawmakers working on this ahead of January, when the regular legislative session starts. 

“We don't know for sure what's going to happen. I think it's important to recognize that,” Gabriel added . “But reading Project 2025, listening to some of the things that the president-elect has talked about on the campaign trail, understanding his record from his first term, we know that we might be engaged in some very significant and very serious litigation.”

Gabriel said, in particular, he’s concerned about threats from Trump on federal support, including funds for natural disaster relief.  

“To the extent that there's going to be any effort to unlawfully withhold federal funding from California, to walk back agreements that the federal government has with California, this effort will be essential to protecting California taxpayers,” he said. 

He stressed that California is one of a handful of states that pays more in taxes to the federal government than it receives in funds and services. 

Many Republican legislators say the move is a stunt by the Governor – including Senator Brian Dahle, who represents rural communities in far Northern California. 

“He's the happiest guy around that Kamala lost because this gives him an opportunity to run for president in four years,” he said. 

Dahle added that he wants the money Newsom is proposing for litigation to be directed toward other things. 

“We don't have these kinds of resources to be thrown out. We have crime, we have cost of living we need to deal with in California,” he said. 

The special session begins December 2nd. 

California’s state legislative session has finally concluded, with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing bills late into the night on Sunday. Included in the bills the governor signed this term are the country’s strongest protections for renters, expanded health insurance coverage and legislation intended to lower the cost of prescription drugs. 

Other measures signed address efforts to prepare the state for impending natural disasters, wildfire safety, economic resiliency and clean drinking water. The governor also vetoed quite a number of bills. In addition, the state has filed over 60 lawsuits — either alone or in conjunction with other states — against the Trump administration, in areas from environmental protection to immigration to funding for the border wall, with many lawsuits still pending. The state has both won and lost several of these suits along the way. CapRadio’s Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler, has an update.

In this edition of CapChat, we’ll round up the last week’s fire news, the role Gov. Gavin Newsom has played as citizens’ advocate for those affected by successive power shut-offs, while repeatedly publicly blasting PG&E for lack of investment and not managing vegetation to prevent wildfires. Newsom has also said part of the problem has been a “cozy relationship” between the California Public Utilities Commission and PG&E. In addition, Newsom has suggested if the CPUC doesn’t do what he wants it to do with respect to PG&E, he’d try to remove commissioners. 

CapRadio’s Capitol Bureau Chief Ben Adler will talk about the history of the PUC and why commissioners have fixed terms of six years. He’ll also talk about the controversy around AB5 and the effort to put a measure on the 2020 ballot about the gig economy and more on how the November 2020 Ballot is shaping up.

Clarification: CPUC Commissioners serve a 6-year fixed term. Though they are appointed by the governor and must be confirmed by the Senate within one year of their nomination, they cannot be fired. A CPUC Chair/President is also appointed by the governor, and can be removed from that role by the Governor. That person, however, can stay with the PUC as a Commissioner for the remainder of their 6-year term.