Steve Westly: An Insider’s Guide to Upcoming CA Legislation
An exclusive conversation with VC, educator and politician Steve Westly on Wednesday, April 13 at 4:30 PM (PT). Steve provided a report on the most critical legislation coming up for a vote and an insider’s take on what is happening in Sacramento. In case you could not make it, please see this link to watch the recording.
Here are some of the most important takeaways from our conversation:
We need to apply the same innovation Silicon Valley has used to transform markets and technologies to our government if we want to continue and preserve California’s success.
California is the world’s 5th largest economy and a global leader in education
By 2030, CA is estimated to surpass Germany’s economy (with half of the population and workforce!)
For all of California’s success, we have some unique challenges:
Education: While our UC system is one of the best in the country, our K-12 ranks nearly at the bottom nationally.
Housing: We have one of the highest housing costs in the country — and one of the worst rates of homelessness. The average cost of a CA home is 2x the national average.
Business Climate: The perception is that our state is inhospitable to business, and we have seen a number of high-profile companies leave. CEO Magazine ranks CA #50 and we have the highest income tax in the country.
“California is a global technology leader and our economy is the envy of the world. But we won’t stay there for long if we don’t fix our schools, build more housing and improve our business climate.” — Steve Westly
“Our legislature writes 5,000 bills a year that affect schools, cost of housing, and your taxes. You probably don’t have time to track all these bills. We do.” — Steve Westly
Upcoming bills you should know about:
AB 1400
Single-payer healthcare system
Cost is $440B (1.5x our annual state budget)
Narrowly was not passed in the last legislative session, and is coming back to a vote in 2023
California Employment Development Department (EDD)
According to the CA state auditor, $20B was lost to fraud