THE CAPITOL BRIEF
Top Stories
Current and former California billionaires spent a record $612 million on this year's state election, and a review of voter records matched 166 billionaires who live or have recently lived in California to the state voter file. Among the matched billionaires, 36 percent were registered Democrats, compared with 45 percent of the statewide electorate, and 39 percent were registered with no party preference, compared with 23 percent statewide. The spending cited includes more than $200 million Tom Steyer spent on his unsuccessful primary campaign for governor and a more than $300 million opposition campaign, led by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, against Proposition 40, the one-time tax on the state's wealthiest residents backed by SEIU-UHW.
Source: Politico California
Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, November 2 proposed expanding California's film and television tax credit to at least $1 billion, a year after the state raised it to $750 million annually. The proposal would for the first time cover above-the-line talent, set aside $100 million annually for independent productions, and extend the credit through 2040, while the existing program runs until mid-2030. Los Angeles County lost more than 42,000 motion picture industry jobs between 2022 and 2024, and FilmLA reported on-location filming fell 4.8 percent from July through September, while projects in the state incentive program accounted for slightly more than 40 percent of scripted on-location filming in that period.
Source: Politico California
Los Angeles voters decide today between incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman, a two-term councilmember who entered the mayoral race hours before the filing deadline. The contest turns mainly on homelessness: Bass prioritizes clearing encampments into city-leased hotel rooms through Inside Safe, while Raman would maintain shelter capacity and shift money toward shared housing and rental subsidies, fund stalled homeless housing projects, deploy street medicine teams citywide, and create an unarmed crisis response system. All of Raman's Council colleagues are supporting Bass.
Source: Politico California
Press Conferences and Media Briefings
Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday, November 2 announced a fourth legal victory for California after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's emergency application seeking to force California election officials to segregate and not count mail-in ballots returned by a list of approximately 20,000 individuals the administration believes are likely noncitizens. The administration's efforts were turned away at the district court, the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Source: Office of the Attorney General
Also on November 2, Attorney General Bonta co-led a coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors in a comment letter opposing the Trump administration's proposed changes to the 2030 Census, including excluding noncitizens and prohibiting questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The coalition said the proposal would exclude roughly 16.1 million people nationwide from the census count, including around 3 million California residents, more than 7.5 percent of the state's population.
Source: Office of the Attorney General
Also on November 2, Attorney General Bonta joined a coalition of 27 states, counties, and cities in opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's supplemental proposal to rescind its 2015 finding that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants drive climate change and endanger public health and welfare. The coalition urged EPA to withdraw the proposed rule and preserve its ability to use the Clean Air Act to limit power plant greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: Office of the Attorney General
Huntington Beach: Steve Hilton, candidate for governor of California, will meet supporters at an Election Day campaign stop on Tuesday, November 3 at 10:30 a.m. at Kathy May's Lakeview Cafe, 6622 Lakeview Dr., Huntington Beach, CA 92648. The campaign said the stop includes remarks by Hilton, Gloria Romero, candidate for lieutenant governor, Herb Morgan, candidate for state controller, and Tony Strickland, candidate for California State Senate District 36, followed by a press question and answer session and photo and video opportunities with Hilton and supporters.
Inside the Legislature
No Senate or Assembly floor sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, November 3. The Senate website lists Today's Events for November 3, 2026 as: The Senate has adjourned for Final Recess.
Source: California State Senate
The Governor's Office
Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, November 2 released a statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court denying the Trump Department of Justice's request for an emergency order, with no noted dissents. Attorney General Rob Bonta said courts have rejected the administration's attempts to interfere in California's elections four times, from the district court to the Ninth Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said the decision means millions of Californians can focus on casting their ballot.
Source: Office of the Governor
Also on November 2, the Governor's office highlighted California's work to deliver a free and fair election today, including Senate Bill 73 to protect voter rolls, election technology, and election workers, new felonies for attempted election interference, and nearly $40 million invested across the state to support additional staff and modern technology to speed up counting and enhance election security in every county. New laws in effect for Election Day cited by the office include AB 282 (Pellerin), SB 259 (Wahab), AB 502 (Pellerin), AB 1664 (Jackson), SB 884 (Umberg), SB 1418 (Cervantes), and SB 1420 (Richardson).
Source: Office of the Governor
Also on November 2, Governor Newsom proposed expanding California's Film and Television Tax Credit Program from $750 million to at least $1 billion, expanding eligibility to above-the-line talent, increasing independent film funding to $100 million annually, adding a 5 percent boost for companies that commit to at least two distinct qualifying productions in California, and extending the program through 2040. The office said the first year of the expanded $750 million credit delivered applications up 82 percent, $8.25 billion in direct production spending, and more than 43,000 cast and crew jobs. The Governor also renewed his call for Congress to pass the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act by the end of the year. See also the Top Stories item on this proposal.
Source: Office of the Governor
Also on November 2, Governor Newsom celebrated the winners of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association's Coolest Thing Made in California contest. Stratolaunch's Talon-A, a reusable, autonomous hypersonic flight-test vehicle, won the large manufacturers bracket, and Phenix Technology's First Due Fire Helmet won the small and medium-sized manufacturers bracket. More than 124,000 people voted over six weeks in the contest, held during Manufacturing Month in October.
Source: Office of the Governor
Fundraising
No campaign fundraiser for Tuesday, November 3 was publicly posted or announced in the sources checked this morning.
New Appointments
No new appointments were announced by the Governor's office on November 2 in the sources checked this morning.
People and Moves
No personnel move in California government or campaigns was publicly announced on November 2 in the sources checked this morning.
Boards and Commissions
No board or commission meeting for Tuesday, November 3 was listed in the sources checked this morning. The California Public Utilities Commission upcoming events page lists its next voting meeting on November 19, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the California State Personnel Board Auditorium, 801 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814.
Source: California Public Utilities Commission
Reports and Studies
The Legislative Analyst's Office lists its most recent publication as The 2026-27 California Spending Plan: Health, dated October 19, 2026, which summarizes the 2026-27 health spending package, including Medi-Cal, State Hospitals, Public Health and Covered California. No LAO publication dated October 20 to November 3 was listed this morning.
Source: Legislative Analyst's Office
Talks and Addresses
No speech or address by a state official for Tuesday, November 3 was publicly announced in the sources checked this morning.
Conferences and Events
No conference or event for Tuesday, November 3 was listed in the sources checked this morning.
Rallies and Protests
No rally or protest at the Capitol on Tuesday, November 3 was announced in the sources checked this morning.
Odds and Ends
The Secretary of State on Monday, November 2 applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision denying the U.S. Department of Justice's attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters, in release PR26-138. The release said the Court denied, without any noted dissent, the federal government's request for an injunction while it continues to pursue its Ninth Circuit appeal, and that on October 30, 2026, the Ninth Circuit declined the government's request. Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber said millions of Californians can focus on casting their ballot. See also the item in The Governor's Office.
Source: Secretary of State
Lobbying and Campaign Filings
Lobbying registration renewal for the 2027-2028 legislative session is taking place from November 1 to December 31, 2026, according to the Secretary of State's Political Reform Division. The division administers the Political Reform Act, and electronic data received by the Secretary of State is published on Cal-Access, the state's campaign and lobbying information system. No new lobbyist registration, lobbyist termination, lobbying client deletion, or candidate intention statement was listed in the Cal-Access pages checked this morning.
Source: Secretary of State
Campaign Notes
Today, Tuesday, November 3, is Election Day in California's general election. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and November 3 is the last day to vote in person or return a ballot by 8:00 p.m. Mailed ballots must be postmarked on or before November 3, and voters mailing a ballot on November 3 should get a manual postmark from a postal employee inside a United States Post Office. Eligible citizens who missed the October 19 online registration deadline may still complete Same Day voter registration through Election Day at their county elections office or any in-person voting location in their county.
Source: Secretary of State