Newsom’s homelessness projects Prop. 1 are delayed

I’m CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow, and today I’m happy to have Lynn.

As Gov. Gavin Newsom woos national voters for his anticipated presidential campaign, he is sure to face criticism on two fronts. One is the largest homeless population in California. The other is California’s inability to complete ambitious billion-dollar projects, even after voters give the go-ahead.

The poster child for California’s bureaucratic quagmire is voter-approved and extremely expensive High-speed rail project which stalled under Newsom’s watch. Another is the state’s inability to build large new tanks 12 years after voters approved an expensive water bond under the promise that additional water storage would help protect the state from drought.

Newsom is now being forced to backtrack on his promise on Proposition 1’s $6.4 billion in bonds passed in 2024 in hopes of getting homeless people off the streets quickly and into mental health treatment.

CalMatters reporter Marissa Kendall reports that none of the mental health bills Prop. 1, which Newsom promised would be done in 2025, was not completed on time.

Read more here on why projects have been delayed or canceled altogether and what Newsom has to say about the delay.

Lawmakers subpoena head of Department of Motor Vehicles to testify about troubling CalMatters findings License to Kill series. Investigative reporters Robert Lewis and Lauren Hepler reported that time and again the California DMV continues to issue licenses to dangerous drivers even after they have killed.

Lawmakers this session have introduced so far a dozen road safety bills aimed at tackling the problems and combating dangerous driving.

This week, DMV Director Steve Gordon had few answers to lawmakers’ toughest questions. Read more here.

Some California lawmakers have been trying to ban the printing of paper notes in grocery stores and pharmacies for the better part of a decade. In 2019, former San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting was known for one of his staff I dress like a receipt while trying to get support for his bill. That measure died—as did Ting’s subsequent efforts.

California lawmakers are trying again. This time the focus is on the chemicals in the receipts.

Member of the San Francisco Democratic Assembly Katherine Stephanieis measure seeks to ban cancer-causing bisphenols from receipts. Her bill passed the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee on Tuesday.

“This is a longstanding tradition in San Francisco, and I hope you have more success than your predecessor,” Stephanie’s fellow Democrat, Rebecca Bauer-Kahansaid at the hearing. “And I think not dressing your staff as a receipt is a great first step.”

Watch the nine-minute hearing for digital democracy. Read the Sacramento Bee’s story on the bill here.

A new report suggests some steps California and its neighbors in Mexico should take to clean up pollution in San Diego’s Tijuana River. For decades, the river has repulsed surfers, swimmers and fur seals. Read about the report’s findings here.