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. 213 - August 23, 2024

State Politics

• As the August 31 deadline for state legislation nears, SB 1047, a bill to regulate large tech company’s AI programs, has garnered national attention. Strident opposition from the tech industry has resulted in several amendments dampening the bill’s effect.

• The California Journalism Preservation Act would have required large tech companies to pay a fee to support the local news sites whose content they siphon profits from. However, that law has now been abandoned in favor of a public-private partnership between California and Google, which will modestly fund in-state news publications as well as an unspecified “AI Innovation Accelerator” program. CalMatters also covers.

Health Care

• The FDA has approved a new COVID vaccine that is more closely targeted to currently dominant strains of the disease, expected to be available this week.

• AB 3129 would give the California Attorney General some authority to regulate private equity purchases of health care facilities, though lobbying from the healthcare industry has resulted in an amendment that exempts the acquisition of for-profit hospitals.

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• This week Governor Newsom signed a package of 10 measures focused on increasing the penalties for property crime. The legislation has been marketed as an alternative to Prop 36, an even more draconian November ballot measure.

Transportation

• Councilmembers Hugo Soto-Martinez and Nithya Raman spoke at last Friday’s ribbon cutting for phase one of Access to Hollywood, an ambitious, pedestrian and cyclist-friendly redesign of Hollywood Boulevard. Torched takes the occasion of last weekend’s CicLAvia event, during which six miles of Hollywood Boulevard were closed to car traffic, to appreciate the improvements and account for the city's remaining needs.

• As the Paris Olympics ended, Mayor Karen Bass reiterated the city’s oft-stated vision of a “no-car” Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, though skepticism abounds that the city will meet these goals with the success that Paris did.

Climate

• California’s Orphan Wells Prevention Actis meant to force oil companies to pay to plug abandoned oil wells, but, to the dismay of environmental advocates, the California Department of Conservation recently ruled that the law does not apply to a recent merger between two large oil companies.

• The LA TImes Editorial Board warns Californians of the unsustainable climate burden of the proliferation of generative AI programs, which require vast amounts of water and power.