Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is planning on forgoing a traditional State of the State address to go on a policy tour around the Golden State.
Newsom will travel from March 16-19 across Northern and Southern California with leaders of the state legislature to locations and talk about policies not made immediately available.
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"Building on his inaugural address and January budget, the governor looks forward to fulfilling his constitutional obligation to update the Legislature on the state of the state and joining lawmakers throughout California to outline new policy proposals that will strengthen our communities," a spokesperson for the governor's office told Sacramento TV station KCRA.
The Golden State's constitution requires that the governor "shall report to the Legislature each calendar year on the condition of the State and may make recommendations." In the beginning, as was the case with the State of the Union, the governor would give the legislature a letter outlining the "state of the state," but since Gov. Earl Warren in the 1940s, subsequent governors have given speeches.
Newsom was handily reelected to a second term in November 2022 after easily defeating a recall attempt a year earlier.
The state had a budget surplus for several years but ended when Newsom announced the state had a $25 billion shortfall in November 2022. His subsequent $5.7 billion in proposed cuts to climate change proposals and proposed axing of $40 million in funding for restoring floodplain projects have come as the state has had a wet 2023 with near-constant rain and snow storms.
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Newsom has insisted he will not run for president in 2024 but has still been floated as a potential Democratic alternative if President Joe Biden does not seek reelection. The policy tour only adds to the speculation that he may be testing the waters for a run at higher office.
The Golden State governor has taken shots at Republican contenders for 2024, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). He ran an advertisement in Florida denouncing DeSantis in July 2022. After Newsom sent a letter to the Justice Department demanding it prosecute Florida and Texas over transporting immigrants to liberal areas, including New York City and Martha's Vineyard, DeSantis quipped that Newsom's "hair gel was interfering with his brain function."