Gov. Newsom Highlights ‘Return, Restore, Rebuild’ In State Of The State Letter

Governor Gavin Newsom released his annual State of the State letter, following his recent Tour of the State of California, outlining what he plans to do in California in the next year. While the Governor was broad on most points, he specifically highlighted three words as the crux for 2023: Return, restore, and rebuild.

“Return. Restore. Rebuild. Words that can also serve as a guide for what we have ahead of us this year,” the Governor said in his letter.

“RETURN to a system of common-sense health care, where essential medicine does not bankrupt someone who falls ill. On the very first day of my administration more than four years ago, I signed an executive order to bring down the cost of prescription drugs by leveraging California’s market power. Today, that work is realized — we have signed a contract to bring $30 insulin to all Californians – and across the nation. It’s simple. People should not go into debt to receive life-saving medication. Beginning next year, Californians will be able to access affordable insulin and pay 90% less than what many spend now, saving anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 per year. And this is just the beginning.”

“RESTORE a sense of justice to our correctional system by transforming our oldest prison, San Quentin, from a maximum-security facility into one focused on rehabilitation and education to improve public safety and reduce recidivism rates in the state. Building on the work we’ve been leading across our correctional system, I am asking you to invest $20 million this year to begin the reimagining and repurposing of San Quentin to make it the home of a new model that can better prepare those ready to reenter society, and to help those who have committed crimes to take accountability for their actions and work to repair that harm they have caused.”

“We must restore a sense of safety in our communities by breaking cycles of crime —and also by keeping illicit drugs off of our streets. As a parent of four children, I know how scary the prospect of a rising fentanyl problem is for parents, and for those prone to substance use and addiction. We see the ravages of this crisis across our communities — from students in our schools to the people living unhoused on our streets.

“California is committed to the fight against fentanyl. At the San Ysidro Port of Entry – the busiest border crossing in the Western Hemisphere, I visited members of our California National Guard, who work alongside the Customs and Border Protection to stop this poison from proliferating across our state. I am proud of the money we have invested to put more personnel on the border, to help stop the inflow of fentanyl and methamphetamine. We have increased the number of guard members at the border by more than 10 percent in the last year, and are ready to help federal and local officials in any way possible in this ongoing and increasingly urgent fight.

“And we must directly confront the most pressing, intertwined challenges our state faces: homelessness and mental health. We will REBUILD our system of mental and behavioral health, finally delivering on the commitment made more than 60 years ago, when California closed its mental health institutions amid a promise to provide more humane, community-based care. That promise went unfulfilled for decades, as public funding for mental health services dried up, and many people were left to fend for themselves, left to find shelter outdoors, in jails, and cycling through hospitals.

“This failure has hit our veterans especially hard, as they face the highest rates of suicide and homelessness. In 2004, California voters passed the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) which requires every county in the state to offer a core set of services that today helps keep some 80,000 Californians off the streets, out of jails, and out of expensive hospital care. Now it is time to modernize the MHSA so it con better meet today’s challenges — requiring that locals guarantee at least $1 billion of those funds every year for housing those with mental illness and substance use disorders.”

2023 State of the State goals may face challenges

In addition, Newsom also noted that he wants to invest $4 billion more into public schools, a large update of the mental health system through a ballot measure, fighting against extreme weather, improving the economy, and other issues important to California under the banner of the “California Dream.”

The letter came at the end of a four day State of the State tour, in which he gave speeches on four different parts of the State of the State in Sacramento, the Bay Area, the LA area, and San Diego. While he set many goals, experts noted that much of what he wants are either going to be tough sells to the people of California, or will face a hard time in the California Legislature.

“Generally, anything around extreme weather is a safe bet to be passed,” explained “Dana,” a staffer at the state Capitol, to the Globe on Wednesday. “Generally the feeling is that since every part of the state has been affected by drought or floods or wildfires or anything major really, that everyone is all in for it. No one wants to be the person voting against relief only for their district to suddenly need money due to a different disaster.”

“Insulin is kind of moot at this point because the insulin companies already put caps close to what California is trying to do. The state was just too late on that one, and more people are beginning to ask legislators why we even need it now. San Quentin could be a problem, because due to the crime issues right now, a lot of people are really upset about his plans around the prison. This could hit a legal snarl too.”

“Now on fentanyl, trying to stop it, people are really for that one. We’ve gotten calls and emails for years on the problem and the more we do, the better people react. And then mental issues. He really needs to tie this one into homelessness and fighting shooting incidents to really get people behind it. Mental health is a big issue right now, and to sell people on investing more into it and expanding it, Newsom needs to show how more funding can help veterans, how it can help alleviate the homelessness crisis, and how it can even reduce mass shooting incidents, amongst many other problems. He did it with homelessness in the letter, but to really bring it home, he needs to point out all the people it can help.”

“Overall, his vision for 2023 is ambitious, but he’s going to have a lot of problems trying to implement them in all likelihood this year.”

More rebuttals and commentary on his State of the State plans are due to come in the next several days.