In summary
Unlike his predecessor, Democratic Governor-elect Xavier Becerra made few promises during the election campaign and only hinted at certain policy priorities.
California Governor-elect Xavier Becerra will take the reins at a delicate time for California.
He faces the prospect of deeper cuts to federal health care, soaring wildfire costs and a lingering cost-of-living crisis. But many of the details of his policies remain unknown after he ran a quiet race as a Democrat in a safe blue state, promoting few programs and avoiding making commitments.
Here’s what you need to know about what Becerra will tackle and how he will govern.
He is open to new taxes
Becerra opposed the billionaire tax ballot proposal, saying he doesn’t think taxing assets is a stable way to raise revenue for the state. And while he says he believes the wealthy should pay their “fair share” of taxes, he has not explicitly endorsed new income taxes.
But he said he supports the idea of taxing companies whose workers are so poorly paid that they qualify for public benefits, or possibly ending tax credits given to such companies. The state Department of Finance is studying what that type of tax would look like and is expected to present recommendations to lawmakers next year.
He also said he was considering a controversial proposal that would have the state tax drivers based on miles driven in order to pay for road and highway repairs. The state collects that funding through gas taxes, but that source is expected to decline by $31 billion over the next decade as more drivers adopt electric vehicles.
“I take no pleasure in telling people that taxes have a purpose,” he told reporters last week. “I think users should pay for (the roads).”
Big decisions on climate and energy
Becerra emphasized the need to maintain affordable energy as California continues its clean energy transition.
One of the programs he advocates would give low-income households two hours of free electricity each day during the day, when solar energy is plentiful and consumption is low. The program, which it calls “power hour,” would be limited to utility customers who already qualify for assistance programs.
He said he wants to “continue on the clean energy path, but while we’re on that path we need to make sure we stabilize prices,” including by drilling for more oil in the state, and he will decide whether to meet California’s 2030 deadline to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars based on the state of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
It will also face pressure from investor-owned utilities that have pushed lawmakers and outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom to reduce the amount they must pay insurance companies and fire victims when their equipment sparks destructive wildfires.
If Newsom doesn’t resolve the problem in the next two months, Becerra will have to deal with it when he takes office; So far, he has refused to take a position, calling the debate a “food fight” between insurers and utilities.
Health care for undocumented immigrants
As a first-term congressman from Los Angeles in 1993, Becerra caused a stir on Capitol Hill by arguing with a Democratic elder statesman over a plan to single out legal immigrants for cuts to the social safety net — he opposed it. He said he would seek to reverse restrictions on Medi-Cal that have forced tens of thousands of immigrants residing illegally in California out of the program.
Immigration remained a key issue throughout his career. As governor, he promised to enforce new state laws aimed at limiting the use of force and activities of immigration agents on state property.
Newsom had gradually expanded immigrant health coverage to all eligible adults, but he began cutting back some coverage last year amid a budget shortfall and unexpectedly high health costs.
“My financial values and beliefs tell me that everyone who works hard in California should have access to and be able to afford the health care they need for themselves and their family, including undocumented immigrants,” Becerra told KQED.
Cmaintain the moratorium on the death penalty imposed on Newsom
Newsom imposed a moratorium on the death penalty in 2019 when he took office, citing his moral opposition to executions, and during his term he began dismantling the state’s death row at San Quentin. Prisoners sentenced to death have since been transferred to other prisons.
California has not executed an inmate since 2006. Newsom is considering commuting the death sentences of more than 560 prisoners to life sentences without the possibility of parole, but even if he doesn’t do so, don’t expect Becerra to resume executions.
As attorney general, Becerra defended death sentences and said he supported them in principle, but said during the campaign that he would maintain the moratorium in California because of concerns about racial bias and wrongful convictions.
He calls himself a “pragmatic progressive”
In a party that has been going through an identity crisis for years over how far left it can push its policies, Becerra chooses incremental change over progressive projects.
During his more than two decades in Congress, he had the ear of progressive supporters and established Democratic leaders and was a close ally of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, although the two had a difficult time in 2009 when Becerra wanted her to push more for a public option in the Affordable Care Act.
This year, he backed away from his long-standing support for single-payer health care, saying it was a long shot for California, with the Trump administration unlikely to give the state permission to take the plunge.
Even before that, he said he valued experience over big promises like Medicare for All. As President Joe Biden’s health secretary, for example, he said he was focused on expanding coverage.
“When I was helping Hillary Clinton in 2016, my daughters wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders,” he said in an interview. “And I kept telling them: I get it, I get it. I want Medicare for all… But we have to get this done, and I want someone who’s actually been in the thick of it.”
