Programming note: There will be no California Playbook next week. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in your inboxes Jan. 2. We hope you all have a lovely holiday and we’ll see you next year!

THE BUZZ: PLANTING A FLAG — A different sort of influencer has been popping up in California’s policymaking arenas: the British diplomat — and they aren’t just here to share tea and crumpets.

The United Kingdom has more than doubled the number of diplomats posted in San Francisco since 2018 and now has 40 in its Northern California consulate — including policy and trade experts who offer expertise to lawmakers and agency employees writing state policies. It’s comparable to the size of an embassy in a medium-sized country.

California and the U.K. have always had a close relationship; the country is one of the state’s largest sources of foreign direct investment, rivaled only by Japan. Britain’s attention to California reflects the state’s growing influence in the global economy and partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. that has made the Golden State a de facto regulator for major industries.

“If you influence the state of California, that has significant heft at the federal level, too,” Consul General Tammy Sandhu told Playbook during an interview on a fall evening at her office in a high rise off San Francisco’s Market Street. “What we recognize is that you can actually achieve a lot — sometimes more — at the state level.”

Moments later, Sandhu walked briskly down the hall to host a reception for Matt Clifford, a top artificial intelligence adviser to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The event drew local tech executives and elected officials, including San Francisco Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Ahsha Safaí and advisers to state Sen. Scott Wiener. Clifford, who was in town to tour Artificial Intelligence labs, mingled with the group as they sipped California wines and snacked on appetizers in a conference room decorated with British flags.

Clifford, coincidentally, flew into town on the same day that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order outlining California’s approach to shaping the safe development of AI. He is one of several U.K. cabinet-level officials who’ve visited San Francisco in recent months, including Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps.

What they’re watching: The United Kingdom has beefed up its presence in many parts of the world since leaving the European Union, as the country is no longer represented by EU diplomats. In California, it’s looking to build relationships with state leaders and help shape legislation in areas like artificial intelligence, data privacy and electric vehicles.

Clifford, a tech executive, has stressed the need to develop safety rules for AI that don’t stifle innovation. Staffers from the consulate have recently met with Wiener’s office to discuss a bill he’s carrying to curb safety risks in AI development.

But the role of a foreign diplomat is generally unlike that of others at the state Capitol. British envoys don’t typically support or oppose legislation and instead focus on sharing technical expertise that could make it easier for companies to comply with the rules in both countries, said Christopher Cambises, the U.K. consul’s head of political affairs in Sacramento. They’re intermediaries trying to ensure that the rules play well with industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

Shared sensibilities: Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, noted the EU, Singapore, Ireland and Italy are also sending more diplomats to California, which has been more than happy to receive them.

Four days after she and Newsom were sworn into office in 2019, Kounalakis said, the governor called and asked her to lead an effort to expand California’s international outreach. Many nations have been receptive, she said, perceiving California as a stable partner amid dysfunction in Washington, and better aligned on issues like climate change and women’s rights.

“Our foreign partners are deeply concerned about Trumpism, and it’s clear California is nowhere near going down that path,” Kounalakis said.

GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Have a lovely holiday! We’ll see you in the New Year.

PLAYBOOK TIP LINE — What is your most memorable/funny/cringy political moment from 2023? Give us a ring or drop us a line.

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WHERE’S GAVIN? Back in California after a personal vacation.

DOUBLE THE FUN — We have an exciting update for California Playbook readers: Starting Jan. 2, all Playbook subscribers will also receive Playbook PM every Monday through Thursday. As a member of the Playbook community, you will get a double dose of scoops, storylines and analysis in the new year as the Legislature returns. No need to take action: You will receive your first PM edition on the 2nd if you aren’t subscribed already. Thank you for being a part of the Playbook community.

GAVIN’S BIG YEAR — Newsom had a headline-grabbing year as he embraced the role of top Biden surrogate and laid the groundwork for a potential future presidential run. Here are six breakout moments that POLITICO’s California team noted:

1. DeSantis meets his nemesis: Newsom went into the lion’s den willingly as he took on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a prime time debate on Fox News. Moderator Sean Hannity was hardly neutral, and Newsom had some tough moments as the network peppered him with slides that framed the Golden State in a negative light. Still, Newsom threw out plenty of zingers as DeSantis depended on Hannity to bail him out of sticky arguments. Also, the phrase “poop map” entered the political lexicon in ways we couldn’t have predicted.
   
2. China trip successes — and a stumble: The governor made the biggest foreign policy foray of his political career as he traveled to China and Israel in October. The high-stakes trip was focused on signing new climate agreements with Chinese regional governments. It also allowed Newsom to bolster his foreign-policy resume. He was widely credited with helping smooth over tensions with the Chinese regime ahead of President Joe Biden’s meeting with President Xi Jinping at the November APEC summit in San Francisco. Newsom did, however, have one big stumble: A video of him tripping over a child on a basketball court in Beijing went viral.
   
3. Ingratiated himself to Biden: It seems like a distant memory now, but there was a time when people in Biden’s orbit were skeptical of Newsom. But the governor embraced the role of a top Biden surrogate this year as he campaigned for the president and Democrats in other states. He also forcefully defended Biden’s record during an hourlong interview with Hannity. Newsom went out of his way to tamp down speculation that he might run for president in 2024, instead pouring his energy into Biden’s reelection campaign. He won the administration’s praises as a result.
   
4. National gun-safety champion: Newsom launched a national campaign for a U.S. constitutional amendment that would enact gun-safety requirements. The gambit faces daunting — if not impossible — odds and has received a mixed reaction from some gun-safety advocates who are focused on more incremental change. But the campaign allowed Newsom to seize the mantle of a national spokesperson for stricter firearm laws, and to tout California’s lower-than-average rate of gun violence.
   
5. Moderating his profile at home: While Newsom emerged as a Democratic firebrand on the national stage, he shifted closer to the center in deep-blue California. The governor showed a more moderate streak as he vetoed bills that were progressive priorities, including unemployment benefits for striking workers, the decriminalization of magic mushrooms and protections for transgender children during custody disputes.
   
6. Driving the agenda in Sacramento: The governor wielded his political clout in Sacramento on multiple fronts. Newsom pushed lawmakers to pass a measure allowing state regulators to cap the profits of oil companies, though the final proposal was significantly watered down. He also convinced the Legislature to approve his plan to streamline climate-related infrastructure projects and to put a $6 billion bond on the March 5 primary ballot that would fund mental health treatment beds.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: ICE UNDER SCRUTINY — Pasadena Rep. Judy Chu is urging the Department of Homeland Security to close the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, raising concerns about the alleged mishandling of detainees and deplorable conditions at the hands of the GEO Group, the private prison corporation that operates the facility.

In a new letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, co-signed by 21 other lawmakers, Chu writes that members of Congress have not seen improvement since they first learned of the facility’s dire conditions more than a decade ago. Immigrants held at the center have allegedly suffered from delayed medical care and, in some cases, been denied treatment altogether. Investigations by ICE authorities have identified eight deaths that were preventable.

“It is long overdue for the Adelanto ICE Processing Center’s extensive and deadly track record to come to an end,” Chu said in a statement to Playbook. “Adelanto’s inhumane conditions, which have been widely investigated and reported by both governmental and nongovernmental agencies as well as in the press, are unconstitutional and put immigrants’ lives at risk.”

The letter comes as the Biden administration is reviewing its contract with the GEO Group, which is set to expire in February.

RED STATE RETIREMENT: Retired police officers and firefighters are taking their pension money and moving to Idaho in droves. Some local Republicans question the GOP street cred of these so-called conservative newcomers. (Los Angeles Times)

DISTRICT DILEMMA: California’s Voting Rights Act of 2002 encourages local governments to move away from at-large elections in hopes that district elections would empower communities of color. But the law’s impact has been mixed — and has generated business for a small group of plaintiffs’ attorneys. (San Francisco Chronicle)

ROAD BLOCKED: Senate Bill 2, California’s new law to restrict concealed weapons in many public places, won’t take full effect on Jan. 1 after all. A federal judge blocked parts of the law, but the state plans to appeal. (Los Angeles Times)

Thank you to everyone who sent in a photo of their pets in holiday getups this week! Pictured above, Rep. Jay Obernolte’s cat, Kyrie, who is “18 years young and travels back and forth to DC” with the congressman’s family; and yellow and black labs Maverick and Louie, courtesy of Marathon Petroleum Corp.’s Gary Link.

Catch more of your furry festive friends here. See you in the new year!

BIRTHDAYS — Scott Pellegrino … (was Thursday): Jeffrey Katzenberg … Zev Yaroslavsky

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