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This is Essential Politics, our in-the-moment look at California political and government news.

Sign up for our free newsletter for analysis and more, and subscribe to the California Politics Podcast. Also don’t miss our Essential Politics page in Sunday’s California section.</s>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California police chiefs have dropped their opposition to a weakened “sanctuary state” bill that would restrict their interactions with immigration authorities, but sheriffs remained opposed Tuesday saying the measure would still limit their authority to work with federal officers in jails.

The bill was introduced in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s election as California Democrats looked to protect immigrants fearing the new Republican president would ramp up deportation. It was watered down on Monday to win support from Gov. Jerry Brown and is expected to be considered in the Legislature on Friday.

The legislative push comes as lawmakers and Brown look to spend $30 million on scholarships and legal assistance for young immigrants living illegally in the U.S. The state is also pursues two lawsuits against Trump over his decision to end a program that protects some young immigrants from deportation.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon’s SB54 originally would have strictly limited the authority for state and local law enforcement officers to cooperate and share information with immigration agents, stepping up statewide sanctuary for people living in the country illegally. It drew sharp condemnation from law-enforcement officials who warned that they’d be unable to work with federal authorities on task forces or ensure dangerous criminals were deported upon release from jail.

With changes announced Monday, it will now allow local officers to transfer immigrants to federal authorities if they’ve been convicted of one of some 800 crimes.

It’s better, the sheriffs said, but still problematic.

“We’re passing laws to not communicate with other governmental agencies and I just struggle with that,” Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, a vocal critic of the bill, told The Associated Press. “I’m still adamantly opposed to the bill. It does nothing to protect immigrants, whether legal or illegal. It only protects criminals.”

Immigration advocates generally applauded the latest version, even with DeLeon’s concessions. For them, the bill delivers a rare victory during Trump’s presidency, preserving some protections for people in the country illegally and adding others.

Police chiefs dropped their opposition because the final version will allow officers to collaborate with federal investigations while reaffirming that they “should not be used to assist in mass deportations,” Gardena Police Chief Ed Medrano, president of the California Police Chiefs Association, said in a statement.

Sheriffs, however, held firm against the bill. Much of the bill’s impact will now fall on jails, which are run by elected sheriffs who say they’ll take the blame if they release someone who ends up committing another crime.

The final version prohibits law enforcement officials from asking about a person’s immigration status or participating in immigration enforcement efforts. The bill prohibits law enforcement officials from being deputized as immigration agents or arresting people on civil immigration warrants.

“There’s so much in this bill that prohibits us from doing stuff we already don’t do,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, another outspoken critic, said in a phone interview. “It’s a horrible bill that is now made where it has a minimal impact on my county.”

Cynthia Buiza, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, acknowledged local law enforcement may already be following many of the bill’s provisions but that it was significant to enshrine them in law.

“It’s not perfect but there are some reassuring things,” she said Tuesday. “This is a step in the right direction.”

The new legislation will allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents access state law enforcement databases – something de Leon sought to prohibit in his original proposal.

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the bill was a “timely and important step” toward divorcing the state from immigration enforcement and “will serve to protect communities throughout California.”</s>SACRAMENTO (AP) — California sheriffs said Tuesday they remain opposed to legislation that would put new restrictions on their interactions with federal immigration authorities despite changes demanded by Gov. Jerry Brown that significantly scaled back the bill’s reach.

California police chiefs, meanwhile, dropped their opposition saying their concerns were addressed. Sheriffs, who oversee jails, said the updated bill will preserve many important powers for them but could still endanger the public by limiting their ability to cooperate with immigration agents looking to deport people being released from custody.

“We’re passing laws to not communicate with other governmental agencies and I just struggle with that,” Kings County Sheriff David Robinson, a vocal critic of the bill, told The Associated Press. “I’m still adamantly opposed to the bill. It does nothing to protect immigrants, whether legal or illegal. It only protects criminals.”

The bill, SB54, was introduced in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s election as California Democrats looked to protect immigrants fearing the new Republican president would ramp up a deportation dragnet.

The final version prohibits law enforcement officials from asking about a person’s immigration status or participating in immigration enforcement efforts. The bill prohibits law enforcement officials from being deputized as immigration agents or arresting people on civil immigration warrants. It would allow immigration agents to interview people in custody, though they can no longer have permanent office space in jails.

In its statement, the sheriffs association said law-enforcement agencies don’t do most of that anyway.

“There’s so much in this bill that prohibits us from doing stuff we already don’t do,” Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, another outspoken critic, said in a phone interview. “It’s a horrible bill that is now made where it has a minimal impact on my county.”

Cynthia Buiza, executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, acknowledged local law enforcement may already be following many of the bill’s provisions but that it was significant to enshrine them in law.

“It’s not perfect but there are some reassuring things,” she said Tuesday. “This is a step in the right direction.”

The bill, written by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, originally would have severely limited the authority for law enforcement officers to cooperate and share information with immigration agents.

With changes announced Monday, which won Brown’s support for the legislation, it will now allow local officers to transfer immigrants to federal authorities if they’ve been convicted of one of some 800 crimes, mostly felonies or misdemeanors that can be charged as felonies.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will also be allowed to access state law enforcement databases — something de Leon sought to prohibit in his original proposal.

Immigrant advocacy groups lobbied hard for the bill and pressured de Leon not to water it down, but they’ve cheered the compromise bill. In announcing the agreement with Brown, DeLeon’s office issued statements of support from many immigrant advocacy groups. Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said the new version “constitutes a victory for migrants.”

Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the bill was a “timely and important step” toward divorcing the state from immigration enforcement and “will serve to protect communities throughout California.”

The bill is expected to be considered in the Assembly and Senate on Friday.

Meanwhile, Brown and top lawmakers announced Tuesday that they plan to spend $30 million helping young immigrants with legal services and college financial aid.

The announcement comes in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to end a program that gives temporary protection from deportation to people brought to the country illegally as children or by parents who overstayed visas.

© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>California Gov. Jerry Brown and the state's top Senate leader have agreed to legislation that would further restrict interactions between state and local law enforcement officers and federal immigration agents.</s>For Mr. de León, the legislation was the most high profile attempt to expand protections for undocumented immigrants in the Trump era. But from the beginning, the California Sheriff’s Association opposed the effort, saying it would increase public safety risks. And Gov. Brown voiced reservations in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” last month. Immigrant rights activists staged protests for the legislation, arguing it was necessary to defend people from expanded deportation efforts and assuage fears in immigrant communities.

The bill still needs to be approved by the Assembly before the legislature adjourns at the end of this week, where it is expected to pass.
• A measure aimed at slowing the revolving door of California legislators becoming lobbyists was given final approval by lawmakers Monday and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration. [Los Angeles Times]
• California lawmakers moved to give more tenant protections to immigrants living in the state illegally. [The Sacramento Bee]
• Mike Cagney, a co-founder of Social Finance, an online lender, is stepping down as chief executive and chairman after sexual harassment claims at the start-up. [The New York Times]
• California will use cap-and-trade revenue for a massive investment in clean trucks, buses, cars and other vehicles. [Los Angeles Times]
• Tesla remotely enabled free software upgrades for Florida drivers during Hurricane Irma, sparking questions about its degree of control over its cars. [The New York Times]
• East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell is among a group of Golden State ex-prosecutors who are connecting the dots in the Trump-Russia case. [Oakland Magazine]
• A well-known East Bay developer was arraigned Tuesday in federal court on an indictment that accuses him of engaging in fraud to make illegal campaign contributions to Mr. Swalwell. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• This week marks the official start of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, exhibitions from San Diego to Santa Barbara that explore Latin American and Latino art. Visitors to the shows are likely to encounter tons of new work, and two key words: Latinx and Chicanx. [The New York Times]
• Last winter unexpectedly dumped record amounts of rain and snow throughout California. What will this winter bring? [The Mercury News]
• An ancient ceremonial practice of regalia is flourishing anew among northern California Native American Tribes. [The New York Times]
• A tale of two streaks: While Cleveland’s baseball team is on an 18-game winning streak, one of the longest in history, the Dodgers have somehow lost 10 in a row. [The New York Times]
• Once an industry of outlaws, sophisticated marijuana businesses in California have begun reaching far outside the core industry to fill high-level positions. [GreenState]

You’ve heard of bomb-sniffing dogs. But a yellow labrador retriever has been putting his nose to the ground on Santa Cruz Island in an effort to sniff out a different kind of threat: a species of invasive ant.

The dog, Tobias, is working with the Nature Conservancy group, helping them in their search for Argentine ants that researchers attempted to wipe out in 2009 after they were found disrupting local wildlife.

“He’s good at his job, and he enjoys it a lot,” Christina Boser, an ecologist with the group, told the Associated Press.

So far the labrador has been unsuccessful in his search, which suggests that the scientists’ effort eight years ago paid off.

Tobias, who is owned by the Working Dogs for Conservation organization was adopted after being found wandering in Helena, Mont., in 2016.

Though he was unruly at first, his new owners soon found that he was extremely skilled at hunting down toys, and began to train him to sniff out certain species. Along with the ants, he has also helped to detect quagga mussels, another invasive species, in Montana.

According to his biography on the organization’s website,“He brings total commitment to each search and is rewarded with his Wubba toy.”

Want to submit a photo for possible publication? You can do it here.

California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.</s>A sign warns of petroleum pipelines next to an oil slick along the coast of Refugio State Beach in Goleta, California, United States, May 20, 2015. An oil pipeline that burst along the California coast, fouling a pristine beach and a stretch of ocean near Santa Barbara, is believed to have spilled up to 2,500 barrels of crude petroleum, about five times more than initially estimated, the pipeline company said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

(Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown issued an emergency proclamation on Wednesday for Santa Barbara County where crews are working to clean up the largest oil spill to hit the local coastline in nearly two decades.

“This emergency proclamation cuts red tape and helps the state quickly mobilize all available resources,” Brown said in a statement. “We will do everything necessary to protect California’s coastline.”</s>California Governor Jerry Brown looks on during a news conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California March 19, 2015. REUTERS/Max Whittaker

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday delivered a spirited defense of his controversial proposals to shore up California’s water system, which is straining under years of drought and population growth.

Brown’s impassioned argument in favor of mandatory conservation, desalination and water recycling plants, and a massive project to funnel water from the Sacramento River came a day after regulators imposed steep cutbacks in water use as part of the state’s first-ever mandatory conservation plan.

“I have to deal with these problems I’ve been given,” Brown told a meeting of the Association of California Water Agencies. “I didn’t make these problems. I wish we didn’t have any problems.”

California is entering the fourth year of a devastating drought that has killed 12.5 million trees, caused farmers to fallow a half-million acres of land and left mountains bereft of snow that melts to replenish streams and reservoirs.

Rivers are so low that young salmon have to be trucked to the sea, and many farmers can use only a fraction of the water normally available for irrigation. Dry forests burn like tinder.

On Wednesday, the State Water Resources Board approved a new process for regulating desalination plants to make ocean water drinkable. On Tuesday the board issued the new conservation rules, aimed at enforcing an order by Brown for the state’s urban areas to cut their water use by 25 percent.

It is controversial because it says places that use a lot of water, including workaday towns in dry, inland areas as well as affluent suburbs like Beverly Hills, will have to trim usage by 36 percent, while some municipalities in rainy areas will need to cut back by just 4 percent.

Brown’s other proffered solutions to the state’s water problems have also drawn criticism. A $7 billion bond measure passed to pay for water storage facilities and other projects worries some environmentalists, who don’t want the money used to build reservoirs.

A $16 billion plan to build tunnels above the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, diverting water from the Sacramento River for use elsewhere, has been fought by environmentalists who say it will harm the delta.

But Brown defended the project, saying state scientists and policymakers spent more than a million hours working on it.

“Until you’ve put in a million hours into it,” he said, “shut up.”

Brown’s spokesman said the remark, which prompted laughter, was made in jest.</s>California Governor Jerry Brown waits to speak during a news conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California March 19, 2015, to announce a $1 billion emergency legislative package to deal with the state's devastating, multiyear drought. REUTERS/Max Whittaker

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California judge has ruled the state is obligated to pay $331 million in mortgage relief funds it used to bolster its finances, but stopped short of ordering that the money be turned over to homeowners hard hit by the mortgage and foreclosure crisis.

Instead, Judge Timothy Frawley of Sacramento County Superior Court in his ruling on Friday said it is up to Governor Jerry Brown and lawmakers to come up with a plan to return $331 million that was part of the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement of 2012 when the state has money available to do so.

Robert Gnaizda, general counsel for the three groups that brought the lawsuit, said now that California’s budget has swung to a surplus and Brown and lawmakers are debating what to do with it, the state is in position to begin making payments.

“We would be happy to work with the governor on a distribution schedule,” Gnaizda said, adding that Frawley’s ruling could spur other states that also held on to their proceeds from the settlement to release the money.

Gnaizda said groups that sued California over the funds are seeking meetings with Brown and top Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and Assembly on how to move forward with payments.

It is not clear if that would be swept up into budget talks that are under way between Brown and lawmakers, Gnaizda said.

Brown’s fellow Democrats control the Senate and Assembly but have been at odds with the governor over how much the state sets aside for spending in its budget for its next fiscal year. With the state’s revenue exceeding expectations, they want to spend more than the governor does.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for California’s Department of Finance, said Brown’s administration has not decided whether it will appeal Frawley’s decision.

“Our legal team is still reviewing it to determine the legal implications, the fiscal implications and what the next steps are going to be,” Palmer said.

The case is National Asian American Coalition et al v. Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr, Governor, et al, Case No. 34-2014-80001784, in Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento</s>Employees at many small businesses across California could not be denied up to 12 weeks away from work to care for a new child under legislation sent Wednesday to Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill, which applies to workers with at least a year of continuous employment at a company of between 20 and 49 employees, cleared its final hurdle in the state Senate. Employees would no longer be in danger of being fired when leaving to care for a newborn, similar to existing protections for workers at larger companies.

"For our lowest income workers, this is a situation where they cannot afford to take that time working for smaller employers," said state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), the bill's author.

Brown vetoed a similar measure last year, suggesting that any new parental leave law should allow for mediation prior to lawsuits filed by employees. As a result, the new bill requires a two-year pilot mediation program to be created by the state Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing.

Jackson said 40% of workers at small businesses in California are currently at risk of losing their job when they want to take time off to care for a new child. Opponents said the smallest of businesses can't bear the costs of losing workers.

The bill was a top priority of the Legislative Women's Caucus this year, with supporters saying it could provide help to 2.7 million California workers whose employers aren't covered by current law.</s>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Jerry Brown and the state Senate leader said Monday they've agreed to changes in proposed legislation that would further restrict interactions between law enforcement officers and federal immigration agents.

The agreement came on the same day the state sued the Trump administration over its decision to end a program that shields young immigrants from deportation.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, agreed to changes demanded by Brown following fierce opposition from sheriffs and other law-enforcement officials.

The bill would still prohibit state and local police from asking about people's immigration status or enforcing federal immigration laws.

However, following Monday's changes, it would preserve the ability of law officers to cooperate on federal task forces as long as the task force doesn't specifically work on immigration enforcement.

Police and jail officials would be able to notify U.S. immigration agents if they detain people with convictions for some 800 crimes, including serious felonies, battery, assault and sexual crimes.

Immigration agents would still be allowed to interview immigrants in jail, and immigration agents would not be barred from accessing state databases.

"This bill protects public safety and people who come to California to work hard and make this state a better place," Brown said in a statement.

Brown and de Leon reached their agreement in the last week of the legislative year. The Assembly and Senate must approve the measure by Friday or delay action until next year.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had no immediate comment.

California already has some of the most protective laws in the country for immigrants detained by law enforcement. The state has limited the ability of police to detain immigrants for federal deportation agents since 2014, and requires jailers to inform inmates if agents are trying to detain immigrants.

Illinois recently passed even more protective legislation that bars law enforcement from detaining immigrants solely for deportation, said Shiu Ming Cheer, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.

A handful of cities including Chicago and San Francisco, meanwhile, are refusing to cooperate with new federal requirements for tougher immigration enforcement, prompting the Trump administration to threaten to withhold funding.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, a critic of the initial state bill, said sheriffs would be discussing the latest version on a call Tuesday and declined to discuss the details. He noted that ICE generally seeks cooperation on people convicted of major crimes.

Immigrant rights groups held a noisy rally in the Capitol last week urging Brown and de Leon not to back off from the strict immigrant protections de Leon originally proposed in the wake of Donald Trump's election as president.

But the activists generally praised the compromise with Brown.

"We hope that it will serve as a model for other states and encourage them to adopt similar protections," said Jenny Pasquarella, immigrant rights director for the American Civil Liberties Union of California. "This is where the dragnet is."

The legislative deal was announced the same day that California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he's filing a lawsuit over the Trump administration's decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from deportation.

The lawsuit's legal arguments largely mirror those already filed in a lawsuit last week by 15 other states and the District of Columbia. Attorney generals for the states of Maine, Maryland and Minnesota joined California's lawsuit.

More than 200,000 of the 800,000 participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program live in California.

The University of California has also filed a legal challenge to ending the program.

Also on Monday, Mexico Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray said he and other Mexican diplomats are urging members of Congress to make the DACA program permanent and that he is not expecting an immediate influx of hundreds of thousands of young people back to Mexico.

Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco, Amy Taxin in Orange County, Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento and Marine Villeneuve in Augusta, Maine, contributed reporting.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
California Governor Jerry Brown signs a bill that will protect all California residents, regardless of their immigration status, from unnecessary detention and questioning; similar to those ordinances in sanctuary cities.