The other day, Newsom boasted California is a “tent pole” of the American economy. It’s an odd claim for a state with the highest unemployment and a $73 billion deficit. It’s also an odd choice of words: when Californians think of tents, economic prosperity isn’t exactly what comes to mind.

On that note, the audit of state homelessness spending is out. The results are infuriating: “California spent $24 billion to tackle homelessness over the past five years but didn’t consistently track whether the huge outlay of public money actually improved the situation.”

I first asked for the audit in 2020 and was one vote away from getting it approved when Newsom killed it, pressuring three legislators to “abstain.” Incredibly, the Committee Chair actually tried to cancel the vote as Newsom’s aides eyed him from the witness table.

But last year, the audit was finally approved at the request of Asm. Josh Hoover. Now we know why Newsom desperately didn’t want it: the findings are even worse than I expected. The state simply “stopped tracking spending on programs and whether programs were working.”

Meanwhile, yesterday I convened my Subcommittee for a hearing on stopping Biden’s anti-Independent Contractor rule, which will destroy millions of jobs. The hearing produced a stunning admission from the Democrats’ chosen witness, who was there to toe Biden’s line.

I asked if she supported forcing independent workers to become employees “against their will.” She replied, “absolutely.” As the head of Fight For Freelancers put it, “No matter how many times I watch this clip, I still can’t believe the truth came out so clearly today. In broad daylight.”

Finally, the Supermajority’s Senate and Assembly leader have joined Newsom in opposing the End Prop. 47 initiative. It’s a good thing their opinion doesn’t matter. Californians have taken matters into our own hands.  

Kevin Kiley