California Gov. Gavin Newsom has raised big bucks for President Joe Biden. Here’s how much

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NEWSOM BRINGS IN IMPRESSIVE HAUL FOR BIDEN

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is more than just a top surrogate for President Joe Biden — he’s also a top fundraiser.

Newsom has been rounding up small-dollar, grassroots donor support for the Democratic incumbent president, according to a report from Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Federal Election Commission records show that Biden has amassed more than $39 million in donations smaller than $200.

According to Nathan Click, who speaks on behalf of Newsom’s campaign, the governor has raised $4 million since March of this year for Biden, including $3 million in in-person events and from major donors and $1 million from small-dollar givers.

Bloomberg reports that Biden has amassed a record $91 million war chest ahead of the 2024 presidential campaign.

SCHIFF INTRODUCES BILL TO LET STRIKING WORKERS COLLECT UNEMPLOYMENT

The battle to let striking workers collect unemployment may be over at the state level, but the fight at the federal level is just beginning, as Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, is preparing to introduce a bill into the U.S. House to do just that.

The Los Angeles Times reviewed a draft of the bill — dubbed the Empowering Striking Workers Act of 2023 — and found that it would allow workers across the country to collect pay after two weeks on strike, and the bill also would make employees eligible for unemployment benefits in the event of a lockout.

Only two states — New York and New Jersey — currently let striking workers collect unemployment, the Times reported.

This bill, which on Tuesday afternoon was not yet available for review online, comes as Schiff is competing with Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, for organized labor endorsements in the 2024 U.S. Senate race for the seat left vacant by the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Schiff has secured eight statewide labor organization endorsements thus far, according to his campaign website.

MIXED REACTION TO BONTA’S META LAWSUIT

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s decision to join more than 30 other attorneys general, Republican and Democrat alike, in suing Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, drew mixed reactions on Tuesday.

Harrison E. James, a Los Angeles-based attorney with the firm Wisner Baum who has launched a class-action lawsuit against Meta, Google and H&R Block alleging unauthorized sharing of taxpayers’ sensitive financial information, said in a statement that Meta’s behavior is “rotten.”

“What is becoming clearer and clearer with each new litigation targeting Meta is that Meta, as a company, prioritizes profit over the health, wellbeing, and privacy rights of its users,” James said.

The decision to sue was hailed by Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media, which has pushed for social media regulations, including in California.

“@CommonSense has been saying it for years: social media platforms are designed to addict teens and that undermines their mental health. Companies like @Instagram fail time and time again to protect youth which is why we need our nation’s leaders to take action,” Steyer said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Ben Sperry of the International Center for Law and Economics, a nonpartisan research center, in a statement said that this lawsuit is “another effort by enterprising state AGs to make a name for themselves while states and the federal government grapple with how to properly regulate social media in order to deter harms to children.”

Sperry notes that there are several pending lawsuits already challenging Meta’s business practices, “and this suit is in some ways duplicative of those efforts.”

Sperry also notes that federal law granting social media companies a measure of immunity from state consumer protection laws has not been tested by the courts, and that some laws, including the California Age Appropriate Design Code Act — which aims to protect children’s privacy online — have already been enjoined by federal courts for likely violating the First Amendment.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“What comes first, a negative COVID test for me or a Speaker for the House of Representatives?”

- California Sen. Alex Padilla, with a poll via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. As of Tuesday afternoon, a negative COVID test was handily winning. Padilla tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Best of The Bee:

▪ California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that he is joining dozens of other states in a federal lawsuit against Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that it is harming the mental health of young people, via Andrew Sheeler.

▪ Capital Public Radio’s troubles mounted Tuesday as the operation’s website went down temporarily because of difficulties finding a way to pay its domain fee to GoDaddy.com, via Sam Stanton.

▪ The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday that it is suspending Cruise LLC’s permit to operate its autonomous vehicles without a test driver present. The company, which is owned by General Motors, was operating a fleet of robotaxis in San Francisco, via Andrew Sheeler.