Shortly after deadly wildfires ignited in Los Angeles County in January, California lawmakers introduced bills to stiffen penalties for arson and other related crimes. One contentious measure — which had the backing of nearly every environmental organization in California — also sought to hold oil companies accountable for wildfires and climate disasters.

The bill failed to advance last week, but not due to any fierce opposition from oil companies. Rather — in yet another example of how Big Oil wins in a state known for being a “climate leader” — it was Big Labor that had the outsized role in blocking the bill.

As CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow explains, the proposal by Sen. Scott Wiener would have allowed wildfire victims and insurers to sue oil companies for causing climate disasters. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, the San Francisco Democrat argued that destructive wildfires during the winter have become “the new normal in California.”

• Wiener: “And right now, who is paying for these climate disasters? … We’re paying for them.” 

The only major political donor supporting the proposal was the California Federation of Teachers, which gave at least $2.5 million to legislators since 2015, according to CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database.

Fossil fuel companies, as well as other business groups, did push against the bill. But the biggest donors in opposition were trade unions, which gave a total of at least $12 million to lawmakers over the last decade.

• Chris Hannan, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California: “This bill’s terrible, terrible policy. And it puts our jobs in jeopardy and puts our state in jeopardy.” 

Compared to other lobbying organizations, labor unions fare better at passing or spiking legislation that fits their agenda, and roughly a quarter of the Legislature is made up of current or former union members. At the hearing, the judiciary committee, composed mostly of pro-labor Democrats, rejected the measure. 

Read more here.

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff:

Another tax season came to a close this week without any sign of the tax returns that Gov. Gavin Newsom once pledged to make public.

It has now been more than three years since Newsom — who said before taking office in 2019 that he would be the first governor to release his tax filings annually — has shared them.

CalMatters reported in November, amid renewed scrutiny of the governor’s finances following his purchase of a $9 million Marin County home, that Newsom last made a tax return available in March 2022. That disclosure came during his re-election campaign, under a state law, signed by Newsom himself, which requires gubernatorial candidates to release their five most recent income tax returns.

With the tax filing deadline arriving on Tuesday for most Californians, CalMatters followed up with Newsom’s team about his pledge. Spokesperson Nathan Click said the governor would eventually allow reporters to review his subsequent tax returns, but did not provide a timeline.

In what the National Union of Healthcare Workers considers to be the longest mental health strike in U.S. history, mental health care workers at Southern California Kaiser Permanente are close to entering their sixth month of striking, writes CalMatters’ Joe Garcia.

Their demands include cost of living wage increases, restoration of pension benefits and more time between therapy sessions for patient follow-up. In March former Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly and former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg agreed to mediate, but union negotiators voted shortly after to suspend talks when they argued Kaiser refused to consider the three major contract issues. 

Bargaining talks were scheduled to resume on Tuesday — three days after Kaiser mental health care employees concluded their hunger strike on April 12. For five days, eight workers fasted at a West Hollywood church, slept on air mattresses and subsisted on water and electrolytes. 

• Adriana Webb, union member: “Kaiser’s trying to starve us out, that’s clear — so, give them what they want. I feel hungry for equity. I feel hungry for change. How is this any different?”

Kaiser spokesperson Terry Kanakri said the company’s goal is to reach an agreement that makes Kaiser “the best place to give and receive care,” but that the union “has made very little movement on the key bargaining issues,” over the past nine months.

Read more here.

As salmon populations continue to decline in Central Valley rivers, the Pacific Fishery Management Council issued its decision Tuesday whether to close California’s commercial salmon fishing season. Find out what the agency decided from CalMatters’ Alastair Bland.

California Voices

CalMatters events: Join CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall and policy leaders on April 24 as they tackle what’s working to address homelessness and affordable housing — and what’s not. Register today to attend online or in person at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento.

And earlier on April 22, Fresnoland and CalMatters’ Yousef Baig are teaming up to explore the future of the High-Speed Rail project with key decision makers and local leaders at the Fresno City College Old Administration Building Auditorium. Register here.