The Thorn West is a state and local news roundup compiled by members of DSA-LA. Our goal is to provide a weekly update on the latest developments in state and local politics, and to track the issues that are most important to our membership.

Issue No. 170 - August 18, 2023

State Politics

• The California State Legislature is back from recess this week for the final five weeks of the 2023 legislative session. All new bills will need to be voted on before September 14 in order to pass along to Governor Gavin Newsom to be signed or vetoed.

Housing Rights

• Residents of the Aetna Street encampment in Van Nuys successfully blocked a sweep. LA Public Press has firsthand coverage.

• A change in federal regulations will eliminate a significant bottleneck that prevents unhoused people from moving into available permanent housing units while working on their applications, causing units to remain empty for months while the application process drags on. Mayor Karen Bass lobbied for the change.

• After being heard at the Budget and Finance and Housing Committees this week, the initial spending plan for funds collected by Measure ULA, developed by the ULA Citizens Oversight Council (COC), was advanced to full council with a full $150 million of front-funding.

Labor

• Among the bills under consideration by the California State Legislature will be legislation that would give striking workers the right to collect unemployment benefits, as is already the case in New York and New Jersey.

• A report from the Writers Guild of America calls for antitrust agencies to regulate streaming platforms.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• In LA Taco, a report on how two-thirds of Los Angeles’ $1.3 billion in COVID-19 relief funds went to fund the police and fire departments, with none of it going toward housing.

• Next week, LA City Council committees will begin discussing the proposed tentative agreement between the city and the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which increases the starting pay for LAPD officers by nearly 13%.

Environmental Justice

• Los Angeles received its first-ever tropical storm warning, as Hurricane Hilary is predicted to pass through the area over the weekend. LA Public Press spoke with mutual aid groups that are concerned the city has not done enough to help the unhoused community prepare for the likelihood of torrential rain and flooding. Updates from the city and county noted here.

• This month the LA Times is running a special series focusing on the effects of climate change across the state and city, and what can be done on both the individual and governmental levels.

• Politico rounds up some of the climate-related bills that the state legislature will consider in the upcoming final few weeks of this year’s legislative session.