Gavin Newsom won’t be delivering a State of the State speech this year. Here’s why

Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t be giving a formal State of the State speech this year. Instead, it will be more like a road show.

The California Democrat is planning a four-stop tour of the state next week, unveiling new policies and goals along the way, according to Anthony York, Newsom’s senior advisor for communications.

The tour is expected to run Thursday, March 16 through Sunday, March 19 with stops in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego. He’ll be joined by state and local legislators, as well as community members, at each stop, York said.

Under California’s constitution, the governor is required to “report to the Legislature each calendar year on the condition of the State and may make recommendations.” Newsom will be fulfilling the mandate this year by sending a letter to state legislators after the tour, laying out the policies he announced on the road, York said.

Newsom’s takes a different approach on governor duties

Newsom’s decision to forgo a formal speech to the legislature is unusual but not unprecedented.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown combined his swearing-in ceremony with his State of the State address in 2015 after winning re-election for a historic fourth term.

The move also falls in line with Newsom’s record of taking more theatrical approaches to basic ceremonial duties associated with the state’s highest office.

His first inaugural celebration in 2019 lasted two days, featuring a charity concert headlined by Pitbull and a luncheon at Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum. His second, which took place on Jan. 6, 2023, included a march down Sacramento’s Capitol Mall, offering a counterpoint to the attack on the nation’s Capitol two years earlier.

Past speeches center on homelessness, housing and Covid

Over the past four years, Newsom’s annual State of the State addresses have centered on the state’s most pressing issues — from wildfire to homelessness to the pandemic.

His very first address covered a slew of his priorities, from wildfires to job creation to holding local officials accountable for housing production. In 2020, he devoted the speech entirely to fixing the state’s homelessness crisis. A year later, he gave his speech to an empty Dodgers Stadium — one of the state’s largest COVID-19 vaccination sites at that time — where he defended the state’s pandemic response.

This time around, Newsom is expected to double down on policies involving some of his original campaign promises, including making housing more affordable to Californians and reducing chronic homelessness across the state.