Incoming Governor Gavin Newsom swept into office on an ambitious and inclusive platform. But while the former San Francisco mayort will take office and preside over a state with a historic budget surplus and a Democratic super-majority in the legislature, Newsom's government will be faced with a number of potentially problematic issues as the legislative session gets underway.

Homelessness

California’s homelessness crisis is reaching catastrophic proportions: over 100,000 people live on the streets at any given time in this state, representing 25 percent of the nation’s total. Governor Newsom’s campaign focused on setting big-picture goals before setting out particular solutions. 2019 will see him, and the state legislature, proffering specifics.

Health Care

Nearly 3 million of California’s roughly 39 million people live without health insurance. While this puts the state lower than the national average of 8.7 percent uninsured, the health care debate looms large for 2019. Governor Newsom pledged single-payer, taxpayer-financed health care for all while running for office. He hasn’t specified how the state will afford this, given that a 2017 state financial analysis estimated single-payer health care would cost $400 billion.

Immigration

California has more than 10 million immigrants, over 20 percent of whom are undocumented. This represents one-fifth of the national total undocumented. While on the campaign trail, Governor Newsom fiercely defended California’s “Sanctuary State” status, expressing an intention to protect these immigrants’ labor and humanitarian rights.The Governor’s position puts him at odds with the Trump administration, one of several fronts upon which California and the federal government are likely to clash in 2019.