California Politics 360 Full Episode

California gas prices on the rise. The warning from state leaders about what could happen next. The global disruption that we are seeing is really just exposing our system and showing how fragile it is. More than *** year after the Los Angeles wildfires, State Farm, now accused of breaking the. Law hundreds of times. Those dollars have *** direct impact on whether or not somebody is able to recover, somebody is able to go home. What state leaders say could prevent this from happening again, sitting down with candidates for governor. Somebody has to do it to make *** drastic change. It’s the last thing California needs is the status quo, Republican Chad Bianco on his vision for California. Thank you for joining us for California Politics 360. I’m Ashley Zavala. Californians are grappling with sticker shock at the pump. Drivers are paying more than $6 *** gallon across the state. Now California leaders are warning prices could get even higher if the war in Iran persists. This week, California Energy Commissioner Siva Gunda telling lawmakers. The state has enough oil and gas supply for the next 6 weeks, but after that there are concerns if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Beyond that, I think based on what we’re hearing from the industry and what we have observed, the pricing will move, move molecules towards California, but it will come at *** price, and that’s something that we need to closely watch. As state leaders pushed to cut the use of oil and gas for renewable energy, California lost two oil refineries in the past year. The two facilities provided about 20% of the state’s refining capacity. Since then, California has been relying even more on foreign fuel. Nearly 30% of the state’s crude oil supply comes from three countries impacted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This week, I sat down with the president of the Western States Petroleum Association. The group lobbies our state leaders on behalf of companies operating in California. Here’s part of my conversation with Jody Muller. When people ask you how much of the war in Iran versus state policies, the refinery closures, how much of each has to do with the gas prices we’re seeing right now? The global disruption that we are seeing is really just exposing our system and showing how fragile it is because of all of the policies that we’ve had over the decades of layered policies on top of each other and I mean over the last week we’ve heard from Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration, California Energy Commission. Vice Chair Sevagunda told *** panel of lawmakers this week that California essentially has 6 weeks’ worth of supply to meet demand, and then beyond that there are basically *** lot of questions. The state could be exposed to higher gas prices after that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Is that does the Western states. Petroleum Association agree with that assessment as the state has moved more and more towards outsourcing our supply here in the state while demand is not going down, it puts California in *** precarious position where they are now competing with other states and countries for their fuel. He said that, I mean California, that you know the fuel could certainly come our way beyond 7 weeks, but it would come at *** price. Is that, do you agree with that? I do agree with that we will see, you know, continued pressure on price in an upward direction unfortunately for consumers as supply comes down here in the state and. Consumers should be concerned and $1 more, $2 more. What do you think? I don’t have *** crystal ball to speculate on what that price might be, but it’s really supply and demand, and we are seeing less and less supply available, and we are competing in *** global marketplace. It’s *** commodity priced from the worldwide market, so. California is going to have to be fighting for that. What could state lawmakers, state regulators do in the very short term, near term to help with the situation? First and foremost, we have to protect what we have. I was at that same hearing. I sat on that same panel, and they continued to talk about outsourcing our supply of fuels and bringing in more and more imports into the state of California. And as we do that. That really puts the in-state refineries on an uneven playing field with the importers. And I mean in the long term, is there something that the state really needs to consider? I know there was *** discussion around protecting assets, preventing more refiners from leaving, but what specifically does does the oil industry essentially need for that, right? We have to have *** better business environment in California for the entire business community, but for in-state refining, in-state reproduction, the entire industry. The demand is still high and the state is moving toward artificially lowering the supply that we have and that really creates this imbalance so we have to acknowledge that we need to do something about the business environment here and make it more conducive to refiners wanting to stay, to producers getting that oil out of the ground in the San Joaquin Valley, and having *** system that truly supports the needs of the consumers in California. WISPA President Mueller and I also talk about where the group stands on updates to another major California clean air program known as CAP and Invest, the risks she says are associated with the upcoming vote. Who will be California’s next governor? My sit-down conversation with Republican Chad Bianco. His plan to ramp up police and fire services. This year California voters will choose their next governor, so every week leading up to the June primary we’ll hear from one of the top candidates running for the state’s highest position. This week I sat down with Republican candidate Chad Bianco to get his thoughts on the major issues impacting Californians. Sitting down with Chad Bianco. Somebody has to do it to make *** drastic change. It’s the last thing California needs is the status quo. I came to California for the best life possible, and I truly do believe I achieved it. And I unfortunately now have kids. That are looking elsewhere for theirs because they can’t afford to buy *** house, they can’t afford gas, they can’t afford groceries. The Republican sheriff of Riverside County is ready to seriously cut regulations in state spending if elected governor. He says he would use tax dollars to ramp up police and fire services, and we have hundreds of billions of dollars in budget. We don’t have *** money problem. California has never had *** money problem. We have *** massive spending problem. So you’re cutting programs. I don’t know if I would say cutting programs. I’m going to, we can, I think we can all possibly agree just from the last two months that I guarantee 25% of our budget is fraud. I guarantee it. I guarantee it that we could find $50 billion *** year in fraud. Any thoughts on like which specific departments? It’s every single department. I think we’re learning that. I think that we’re learning that it isn’t one, it isn’t just homeless now. It’s medical. Now it’s, it’s going to the DMV. I mean, I’m not going to say. That anyone or any agency is immune and exempt from it. So how would *** Governor Bianco then root out fraud and figure out some of these spending issues that you say are there? Like what specifically would you do? So first we have to go back to what government’s responsibility is anyway, and government has priorities, and priorities are where you spend your money. And California’s priorities are completely upside down. No matter what, the number one role of any government, federal or state, is public safety. The federal government keeps us safe from foreign invaders and local government keeps us safe from criminals and from natural disasters. Fire gets. Added into that, so police and fire is the number one responsibility of government. And if you are not keeping not healthcare, not education, no, no, but I’m just saying logistically California’s state budget, 40% of it by state law has to go to K through 12 education, and I mean public safety is still *** significant part of. Education is your number 3. So, so just to clarify then, Governor Bianco would state law, you’ll change the state law. You go back to the voters on how much money goes to education. Absolutely, because there’s no way should it be 40%. How much should it be? *** whole lot less than that. Bianco said he would reverse several criminal justice laws in California, including one that transferred the responsibility of lower level criminals from the state prison system to local law enforcement. Bianco has also promised to cut rules related to the environment, housing, farming, and other laws he says are holding businesses back and keeping costs high. On healthcare, he says he would no longer provide state health insurance to undocumented immigrants. To get some of this done, if elected, Bianca would have to work with the California legislature that is dominated by Democrats. I get asked *** lot, what are you going to do to work with the legislature? I’m really not going to. They better figure out what they’re going to do to work for me. Because I’m fairly confident that California has had enough. But last year, most California voters sided with Democrats in *** special election to redraw California’s congressional districts known as Proposition 50. As sheriff, Bianco earlier this year seized hundreds of thousands of ballots in his county for what he says is an investigation. Did you believe the Results of Prop 50. We’re not doing anything with Prop 50. We’re not. There’s not one single thing I’m doing to overthrow Prop 50. Your question was around the investigation was around the way Riverside County’s elections officials were handling that. No. This is probably the one of the most basic, easy investigations you could ever believe in your entire life, and law enforcement investigates crime. And so when someone comes to us and says we believe there’s possible crime and election fraud is *** crime. It’s all out there. I didn’t make it up, but who is the suspect, if I can we don’t know. Daily records of ballots that were returned. There’s 611,000 ballots. That’s how many ballots they say came back into the ROV. But when you add up the yes and the no votes, it comes up to 658,000. So if you only have 611,000 ballots by your own count, how do you have 658,000 yes and no votes? So when we went and asked, there was no answer. He had no answer. You’re still committed to investigating that, of course I am. But now we have to fight it in court. We talked *** lot about Democrats here, but I mean, given the electorate, what is your message to Democrats who realize you’re not part of their political party, but how will you represent them? I’m part of California with them. I don’t want to be part of their political party. I don’t want them to be part of mine. I want us all to be Californians. What are three words that you would use to describe California under Governor Chad Bianco? The absolute best. Right now on Calpolitics 360.com you can watch my full 30 minute conversation with Chad Bianco. Well, California accusing the state’s largest home insurer, State Farm, of violating the law in their handling of insurance claims after the 2025 LA wildfires. The state senator who called for the investigation explains what she’s hearing from survivors. California is looking to find the state’s largest home insurer millions of dollars and possibly prevent them from writing new policies in the state for *** year. Insurance regulators claim State Farm was slow to investigate an underpaid claims from the 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires. 31 people died in the Palisades and Eaton fires, and more than 16,000 structures were destroyed. State Farm is calling the move to suspend the insurer from writing new policies, *** reckless, politically motivated attack that could ultimately cripple California’s homeowners insurance market. I sat down with Senator, the state senator who called for the investigation into State Farm, Pasadena Democratic State Senator Sasha Rene Perez. Here’s part of our conversation. What do you think needs to happen in the near term moving forward? Well, I think it would be my preference that the Department of Insurance come in and really take over the handling of these cases to make sure that all fire survivors are getting their claims resolved immediately, especially after these findings. In addition to that, I. I think that the Department of Insurance needs to look at more claims past the 200 and something claims they looked at so that we can see that penalty amount be increased. Right now, *** $2 million fine does not match the crimes that have been committed, in my opinion. We talk about this in numbers, but these are fire survivors. Those dollars have *** direct impact on whether or not somebody is able to recover, somebody is able to go home. I know people that were living out of their cars, desperate with their children. It is utterly unacceptable. State Farm in their statement noted that they’ve paid out $5.6 billion. They are. Fulfilling claims, how would you respond to that? Certainly, and that is the case, and there are folks that we’ve seen get results in the process of seeking out their claims, and our office has been incredibly involved in many of those cases. That is how we became aware of this issue is because we had individuals who were customers of State Farm reaching out to my office for assistance. With navigating their claims process, but we still have hundreds of people that have not seen their claims resolved. That’s *** problem. So yes, it’s good that folks got results, but we still have *** whole population of people who still desperately need help. And people who weren’t on State Farm, from your understanding, are they not having these kinds of problems with other insurers? I will say. That there are other insurance companies where there have been challenges as well, and even with our own, the fair plan has also presented *** challenge too for its customers, and there are insurance companies that have done very well too. I mean we’ve heard really positive stories, so I’m very mindful of this, that this isn’t just about *** single company or *** single corporation. But really in my opinion, about making sure that we have laws in place to enforce that these companies are treating their customers fairly and equitably. Just taking *** step back from all of this, I mean right before the fires broke out. The California insurance commissioner had just implemented this sweeping set of regulations that were meant to make it easier for the insurance market to come back to California with catastrophe modeling with negotiations around what wildfire areas were being covered. Are we seeing the effects of that or where does that effort really stand in all of this? You know, I know that there have been efforts to try to improve and stabilize the insurance market here in California. I personally, as somebody that’s new to the legislature, legislature, feel as though there has been more of an emphasis on protecting industry rather than protecting the consumer, and. What I have seen is that insurance companies are consistently delaying and denying payments out to those that have survived *** disaster, which is utterly ridiculous. It’s one of the most fundamental things that you depend on your insurance company being able to do after you’ve paid into them for decades in some cases. So I, I, I do think that there is *** lot more work that we need to do as *** legislature um and you know frankly it’s, it’s past time for us to implement new laws to hold this industry accountable. Senator Perez and I also talk about the current insurance market where *** few companies have been writing policies in the state which she thinks specifically needs to change. Well, supporting the mental health of mothers, the efforts to improve care and support the well-being of women during pregnancy and the first years of their baby’s life. About 1 in 5 mothers experience symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy or within the first year of their baby’s life. Andrea Flores talks with the co-founder of the California Perinatal Wellness Alliance about the action the state can take. Here’s part of their conversation. California Perinatal Wellness Alliance recently facilitated *** conversation with state officials and advocates trying to address the perinatal mental health crisis. So, what were some key takeaways from that conversation that you had? Yeah, so we were so proud to bring together 40 leaders across state agencies, health systems, and community members, and there was real alignment that we have as *** state made *** lot of progress, uh, and screening has improved, but the biggest gap is around implementation being fragmented and really making sure that. Screening translates into diagnosis, treatments, and follow up. So what we heard clearly is that California has all the pieces, but they’re not working together yet. There is real momentum across state agencies, health systems, and community leaders, but it’s really that gap around what happens after someone screens positive around the follow-up care and navigation. And accountability, you know, families experience the system as one journey, but we’ve really built it in pieces. So we’re trying to align systems and make sure that families don’t fall through the cracks unnecessarily. Cassie and Andrea also talk about the state’s initiative to reduce maternal mortality rates by 50% by the end of the year. It’s part of what’s known as the Strong Start and Beyond program. Right now on Call Politics 360.com you can watch this week’s full interviews. We also wanna hear from you what issues do you want us to cover. Send us an email at contact@calpolitics360.com. Thank you so much for joining us for this week’s California Politics 360. See you next week.

California Politics 360 Full Episode | Uncertainty amid rise in gas prices

This week, Energy Commissioner Siva Gunda told lawmakers that the state has enough oil and gas supply for the next six weeks

Updated: 8:25 AM PDT May 10, 2026

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Californians are grappling with high gas prices across the state. Now, state leaders are warning prices can get even higher if the war in Iran persists. This week, Energy Commissioner Siva Gunda told lawmakers that the state has enough oil and gas supply for the next six weeks. After that, there are concerns about whether the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. On California Politics 360, Ashley Zavala sits down with the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, Jodie Muller. This year, California voters will decide who they want to be their next Governor. Every week leading up to the June primary, we will hear from one of the top candidates running for the state’s highest position. This week, Ashley Zavala sat down with Republican Chad Bianco to get his thoughts on the major issues impacting Californians. State Farm is accused of violating state law in its handling of insurance claims of the 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires. Ashley Zavala sits down with Pasadena Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, who called for the investigation into State Farm. California leaders and advocates recently met to talk about how the state can address the perinatal mental health crisis. Andrea Flores talks with the co-founder of the California Perinatal Wellness Alliance about the key takeaways from the conversation.KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.

Californians are grappling with high gas prices across the state. Now, state leaders are warning prices can get even higher if the war in Iran persists.

This week, Energy Commissioner Siva Gunda told lawmakers that the state has enough oil and gas supply for the next six weeks. After that, there are concerns about whether the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.

On California Politics 360, Ashley Zavala sits down with the president of the Western States Petroleum Association, Jodie Muller.

This year, California voters will decide who they want to be their next Governor. Every week leading up to the June primary, we will hear from one of the top candidates running for the state’s highest position. This week, Ashley Zavala sat down with Republican Chad Bianco to get his thoughts on the major issues impacting Californians.

State Farm is accused of violating state law in its handling of insurance claims of the 2025 Los Angeles area wildfires. Ashley Zavala sits down with Pasadena Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, who called for the investigation into State Farm.

California leaders and advocates recently met to talk about how the state can address the perinatal mental health crisis. Andrea Flores talks with the co-founder of the California Perinatal Wellness Alliance about the key takeaways from the conversation.

KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.