This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In March, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco introduced a measure that would have made it more expensive for Californians to obtain government records. Amid opposition from transparency advocates and public access concerns from her own Assembly colleagues, though, the Downey Democrat diluted her proposal to […]
California Legislature
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CA Lawmakers Want to Tax Guns and Ammo
With adjournment edging ever closer next Thursday, legislators are continuing to push through bills to beat the deadline. On Thursday: Gun tax: After years of failed efforts, the Legislature sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a measure to tax firearms and ammunition to fund gun violence prevention in California, CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff reports. Assembly Bill 28 by […]
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Will This Be the Most Diverse California Legislature Ever?
Leading up to Election Day, advocacy groups were predicting — or at least hoping — that California voters would elect record numbers of women and LGBTQ people to the Legislature. Based on the results so far, it appears that history will be made — and that the state Assembly and Senate will look more like […]
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California’s Fast Food Bill Could Link Chains to Wage Theft and Other Workplace Violations
California lawmakers this month are considering a fast food bill that would significantly shift the relationship between restaurant workers and the corporate chains whose products they sell. If Assembly Bill 257 passes, California would be the first state to assign labor liability to fast food corporations and not just their individual franchise owners. The bill’s […]
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Suspense File: Which Bills did California Lawmakers Kill?
On most days, California lawmakers deliberate, debate and decide bills out in public for every Californian to see. Aug. 11 was not one of those days. In simultaneous marathon hearings, the appropriations committees in the Assembly and Senate rattled through hundreds of bills in a single discharge of rapid-fire legislating. Many proposals lived to see […]
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Can Californians Afford Electric Cars? Wait Lists for Rebates are Long and Some Programs have Shut Down
When Tulare resident Quentin Nelms heard California was offering a hefty state subsidy to help lower-income residents buy electric cars, he applied right away. But it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. Nelms spent four months on a waitlist before he was accepted into one of the state’s clean-car incentive programs in […]
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Buckle Up for a Busy Month in Sacramento
Welcome to the final countdown. Today, state lawmakers will reconvene in Sacramento after a month-long summer recess — during which some traveled abroad on trips funded by special interest groups that lobby them on various issues — for the final, frenzied month of the legislative session. Legislators face an Aug. 31 deadline to determine the […]
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The Great Culling: Which California Bills did Legislators Kill?
California lawmakers won’t be creating a state Election Day holiday this year. Nor will they be providing grants to local governments to convert public golf courses into affordable housing, or forcing health insurers to cover fertility treatments. All of these proposals were victims of the seasonal culling of bills known as the suspense file. This […]
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State of the State: Will Gov. Newsom do More to Reduce California Inequality?
Gov. Gavin Newsom is an unlikely champion of California’s down and out. Yet the wine entrepreneur, who built his political career and fortune with help from the state’s wealthy elite, campaigned on a promise to address California’s disparities – and do so boldly. From his first day in office in January 2019, Newsom called the […]
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The California Legislature is back: What to expect in 2022
Another coronavirus variant spreading like wildfire, and another huge state budget surplus: In some ways, 2022 is off to a similar start as 2021. That could carry over to the state Legislature’s new session that started Monday. In addition to the pandemic and surplus, California is dealing with some of the same big issues it […]
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Here’s What’s Ahead for California Businesses in 2022
Clogged supply chains. Hiring struggles. New mask rules. A virus that trampled right over return-to-work schedules. Last year was chaotic for many businesses across California. What does 2022 hold? Layered on top of pandemic uncertainty is the question of what policymakers might do for — and to — businesses. “2022 is going to be a […]
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Full Speed Ahead on Overhauling California Recalls
With the wreckage of the failed recall attempt against Gov. Gavin Newsom still smoldering, California Democrats have reached a new consensus: They really don’t want to do that again. On the morning after voting ended and recall candidates conceded, the chairpersons of the election committees in the state Assembly and Senate said they’re kicking off […]