ICU IOU: If there’s anything that unites lawmakers — Democrat and Republican, urban and rural — it’s the fear of answering to constituents who’ve just lost their hospital.

That could be why a Newsom administration proposal to get quick cash to ailing hospitals is sailing through legislative budget committees despite bipartisan skepticism that the stopgap will actually keep hospitals open — and a $22.5 billion state budget deficit.

The loan proposal, which is expected to pass both chambers tomorrow, frees up $150 million to dole out in interest-free loans to desperate hospitals willing to open up their books to the state.

Which hospitals will get loans? We don’t know yet. How long will it keep them open? Unclear. Why $150 million? It’s the most the state can afford right now.

“You start with, ‘There’s an emergency,’ but we don’t get the evidence to back that up,” said state Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles). “We don’t know anything, and now we’re being asked to approve millions of dollars to be pulled out.”

Keep an eye out for more hospital money going out the door this budget season. The California Hospital Association is asking for $1.5 billion to keep facilities’ doors open, but lawmakers seem loath to write such a big check without some strings attached, especially as other programs are facing cuts. Senate Democrats are proposing $400,000 per year over four years.

CHA has made its members’ financial problems the centerpiece of its agenda this year. It spent $935,000 on lobbying in the first three months of the year, significantly more than they spent in any quarter over the last two years.

The closing hospitals, especially in rural areas, is a national problem. At least nine have closed in California since 2005, and 20 percent of hospitals are at risk of closing according to a report commissioned by the association and cited regularly by lawmakers. The report says that since the pandemic, the cost of labor and supplies have gone up, while the flow of patients remains low, contributing to a cumulative $20 billion in losses over the last three years.

The recent closure of Madera Community Hospital in Fresno casts a long shadow, and no lawmaker wants their local community hospital to shutter next. Beverly Hospital in Montebello filed for bankruptcy last month, and at least four others have recently cut staff or services.

Ultimately, the hospital lobby and many legislators want to fix the underlying problem of hospital financing by raising the rates paid by Medi-Cal, funded by a tax on health plans. It’s another idea that’s both bicameral and bipartisan. More Medicaid spending paid for by a renewed tax is a bipartisan idea that feels uniquely Californian.

“Our reimbursement rate for Medi-Cal is the huge issue that’s impacting providers,” said state Sen. Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican. “This is just kind of throwing good money after bad if they’re just going to go bankrupt.”

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to anieves@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!

STEP OUT OF THE CAR: State Sen. Dave Min spent last night in jail after he was arrested by the California Highway Patrol for suspected drunken driving. Min was downtown when the CHP stopped him for driving without his headlights on and not stopping at a red light, then arrested him for being over the legal limit for alcohol. It could have political repercussions since Min is running for Congress, hoping to replace Rep. Katie Porter in an Orange County district that went only narrowly for the Democrats in 2022 and could be key to determining which party controls the House. Critics were quick to pounce, with the National Republican Campaign Committee saying “voters will rightfully question” the senator’s judgment. For his part, Min apologized in a statement, saying “I will not let this personal failure distract from our work in California and in Washington.” — Jeremy B. White

STRIKE WATCH: California is on the brink of a second major school strike this year. Oakland teachers have threatened to walk off the job Thursday if their district fails to meet demands that include a 23 percent pay increase for all members. The district has offered between 13 and 22 percent wage hikes based on employee seniority, and the sides have been negotiating around the clock this week. A walkout would keep 34,000 students out of class.

A strike would put increased pressure on a district that’s already contending with learning losses from prolonged school closures earlier in the pandemic. But district officials say they can’t afford all of the union’s demands as school enrollment shrinks and per-student funding plummets along with it. Leaders in the shrinking Los Angeles Unified School District offered some of the same warnings ahead of a three-day support staff strike in March, in which teachers walked out in solidarity. The district eventually inked a deal with both unions — offering more than 20 percent pay boosts to each. And other members of the California Teachers Association’s network of powerhouse affiliates, such as the one in Oakland, were certainly watching. — Blake Jones

PAYING FOR POT: Cannabis retailers are asking the state to ease their tax burden. They didn’t get what they wanted today, but still have a chance. Pot shops say they are being double taxed because the state’s definition of gross receipts includes money that’s already been subject to local and state excise taxes. Senate Bill 512, by state Sen. Steve Bradford, would change the definition of gross receipts to benefit retailers – helping an industry has struggled to get off the ground in California. The measure received a 4-4 vote in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee, falling one vote short of the threshold to pass, with Democratic state Sen. Catherine Blakespear absent from the hearing. The bill will get another shot next week and stands a chance of passing – if everyone shows up.

– “California’s population decline is slowing. These counties added and lost the most people,” by The Sacramento Bee’s Lindsey Holden: “California continued to lose residents in 2022, but the state’s population decline is slowing as immigration ramps up again following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state is currently home to about 38.9 million people, down more than 138,400 year-over-year, according to the California Department of Finance. The 0.35% decline from 2022 to 2023 is an improvement over the 0.53% decrease that occurred between 2021 and 2022, when California lost more than 200,000 people.

The Department of Finance calculates the population numbers using data collected from birth and death records, driver license address changes, tax return information, Medicare and Medi-Cal enrollment, immigration reports, school enrollments and other sources.”

– “California homeless: Fast food workers on streets,” by CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang: “Low wages and unpredictable hours make fast food the industry with the highest percentage of homeless workers in the state, according to a new union-sponsored report that is sure to stoke debate this year amid the latest contentious legislation over the industry’s labor practices.

The report released Tuesday — conducted by the think tank Economic Roundtable in Los Angeles and using five years of Census surveys — estimates that of homeless individuals in California who work or have worked in the past year, nearly 11% were employed in fast food.

Fast food workers made up 6% of the state’s overall homeless population, according to the study. Researchers pointed to both low wages and precarious hours: On average, “frontline” fast food workers — cooks, food preppers, dishwashers, cashiers and counter service workers — were only employed about 26 hours a week. That’s compared to an average of 35 hours across all other industries, the state’s definition of full-time employment.

The report concludes better pay in the industry could have prevented more than 10,000 people from becoming homeless in California since 2014, amounting to a fifth of the state’s jump in homelessness.”

– “Facing California deadlines, automakers race to produce electric cars,” by CalMatters’ Nadia Lopez.

– “Elon Musk’s giving out Twitter Blue for free. Experts say this could mean legal trouble,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jaimie Ding.

– “S.F. Chronicle building faces 60% vacancy rate with looming departures of Yahoo, Autodesk,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Roland Li.

Compiled by Matthew Brown

CORRECTION: A previous version gave the incorrect amount that Senate Democrats are seeking for hospitals.