Largely out of public view and with little to no debate, lawmakers on Friday sped through hundreds of bills that had new spending attached, rejecting or stalling more than a quarter of the 686 proposals that were held in the appropriations committees’ suspense files, report CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Jeanne Kuang. Some notable ones that are dead for the year are:

• Senate Bill 445 to streamline California’s high-speed rail project, which aimed to speed up permitting and ease restrictions that bill supporters say significantly slow construction. Backed by the California High-Speed Rail Authority and Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, the bill faced strong opposition from local governments and underwent multiple amendments before it was ultimately spiked.

• Assembly Bill 938 to allow people to clear their records of violent crimes that they committed as victims of trafficking or domestic violence.

• SB 712 to exempt owners of classic cars from the state’s smog-check requirements. As CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow explains, former late-night talk show host Jay Leno was one of the supporters of the bill, arguing that modern emissions standards discourage people from owning classic cars in California. Clean air and environmental groups opposed the measure, and state regulators warned that, if passed, the bill could cost California millions to enact. Read more here.

The Legislature still needs to give its final approval for the bills that advanced by Sept. 12 to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, where the measures can win his signature or die with his veto. These include:

• SB 707 to allow local officials to continue attending public meetings remotely and require bigger cities to offer remote access to the public. The proposal builds on a policy that offered flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, but good government groups say it is one that made it more difficult for the public to confront elected officials.

• SB 437 to give California State University up to $6 million to research the methodology to confirm an individual’s status as a descendant of an enslaved person; and SB 518 to create a new bureau within the state Department of Justice to oversee reparations.

Read more here.

More on the suspense file: CalMatters’ Khari Johnson dives into a handful of tech bills that the Legislature killed last week, including ones that would have barred software algorithms from setting rent prices, and protected utility customers from paying higher energy costs related to data centers. Three bills that aim to limit employers’ use of artificial intelligence advanced, however. Read more here.

CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay:

California Uber and Lyft drivers are poised to gain the right to unionize under a deal touted as “historic” by the governor and the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate on Friday. 

AB 1340, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, would give the drivers the right to unionize. It had been opposed by a group representing the gig companies, and an Uber spokesperson previously told CalMatters that it would mean increased costs for the company.

Now the bill is being tied to industry-sponsored legislation, SB 371, which would lower insurance-coverage requirements. Because Uber had been pushing for this change, it has withdrawn its opposition to the unionization bill, saying both bills represent a compromise. 

Gig companies like Uber and Lyft consider their drivers independent contractors. If drivers unionize, the companies would be required to bargain with them. 

A Lyft statement cheered the insurance bill but did not explicitly indicate support for the unionization bill, and a Lyft spokesperson said the company would have no comment about it.

Both bills advanced last week and the blessing by the state’s top politicians means their passage is all but assured.

Two decisions issued by the California Supreme Court last week could have major implications for sentencing gang-related offenses, and enable thousands of people to request their cases be reexamined by the courts, write CalMatters’ Joe Garcia and Nigel Duara.

One of the decisions overturned a defendant’s death sentence and kicked back the case to a trial court. The other sided with two incarcerated people who argued that prior gang-related charges that counted toward a three-strikes sentence on their records should not be considered as strikes.

Both rulings involved a 2021 California law that raised the bar of evidence for proving that someone broke a law as part of “criminal street-gang activity.”

In different ways, the state’s high court applied the new standard to past convictions. But it remains unclear how far-reaching these rulings will be, and whether it would open the door for others looking to reverse life sentences under the “three strikes” law.

Read more here.

In his latest effort to rein in homeless encampments, Gov. Newsom launched a homeless response task force made up of six state agencies to clear encampments on state property. Find out where teams will be deployed from CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall.

California Voices

California lawmakers must pass an Assembly bill that would give defendants charged with a violent felony who are survivors of intimate partner violence or sexual violence a chance to present evidence of abuse, writes Susan Bustamante, member of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.