SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom recently completed his “State of the State” tour where he highlighted the important issue of homelessness and shared how California is taking it on, along with other important areas such as mental health, insulin prices and prison reform.

The tour was designed to break away from the typical State of the State speech the governor is required to give every year.

While the tour was a way for Newsom to highlight new investments and progress the state is making, California Republican leaders believe the state is going in the wrong direction under Newsom’s leadership.

Assembly minority leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, sat down with “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen to discuss Newsom’s tour along with the new investments he announced.

“The problem with this tour is it’s the governor out there making new promises and announcing new initiatives, but he hasn’t really followed up on the promises that he made when he became governor the first time,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher adds the governor’s initial promises haven’t worked, as both homelessness and public safety concerns have increased since Newsom took office.

“The fundamental problem here is going around the state with not much really to tell is, really, you know, problematic for him,” Gallagher said. “What are you doing to remedy the problem of not being able to follow through?”

Newsom’s tour included stops in Sacramento, the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego. Gallagher criticized the governor for not visiting any rural areas.

“I think it also shows that he’s not really attentive to the needs of all of California,” Gallagher said. 

Public safety was the center of one stop on Newsom’s tour. He announced the transformation of San Quentin State Prison into a rehabilitation center.

“We have a very flawed system. He’s part of that, he’s championed Proposition 57 and these other reforms that have led to no accountability for crime,” Gallagher said.

Gas prices have also been a major point of focus for Newsom. He recently proposed a new independent watchdog committee in the California Energy Commission to monitor California’s oil market.

This is following the governor’s first proposal to empower the California legislature to impose a penalty on oil refiners. The legislature denied that proposal.

Newsom believes the compromised proposal is stronger than his initial plan to go through the legislature.

The new watchdog group in the CEC would provide year-round monitoring on the oil prices, and would be empowered with the ability to implement a price gauging penalty on refiners.

“We’re making major progress with the Legislature to hold Big Oil accountable for fleecing Californians at the pump. With a coalition representing hundreds of organizations and local leaders backing our proposal to impose strong and effective oversight measures on oil companies, the momentum is on our side to get this done for California families,” said Newsom in a statement.

However, Gallagher feels the new proposal is just a way for democrats to shift away from themselves and onto the CEC.

The proposal passed through the State Senate this week and will now be heard in the Assembly.

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