May 13, 2019

Force of Law host Laurel Rosenhall moderated a panel in Sacramento on police misconduct and transparency in California.

Inside the Capitol’s corridors and pro-development quarters around the state, the California Environmental Quality Act is increasingly disparaged as a villain in the state’s housing crisis. But the act’s environmentalist defenders are pushing back, saying many projects slip too easily through—leading to overdrawn groundwater tables and disappearing forests. And whatever the urgency to build more housing, environmentalists say there’s nothing to preempt a rigorous review of commercial proposals—even ones as visually appealing as vineyards in the Napa Valley.

Loans of less than $10,000 with rates of over 100% have swelled to nearly one-third of California's non-bank consumer lending market. Consumer advocates say that lenders are profiting off of borrowers’ desperation or lack of financial sophistication, and often make a bad situation worse. The lenders say the charge up to 200% to cover the risks they incur. The Legislature is considering a bill to cap the interest rate for such "small dollar" loans.

In the past decade, California has adopted more than a half-dozen laws intended to prevent bullying, strengthen suicide prevention and cultivate inclusive learning environments for LGBTQ students in the state’s public schools. But the state’ school districts are implementing these new laws inconsistently, according to a new sweeping report-card style analysis from the Equality California […]

California has struggled to cut cigarette butt litter for decades. But with the rise in popularity of small cigars with plastic filters and e-cigarettes, the waste problem is getting worse.

Join us and First Amendment Coalition for a discussion that will explore the policies, the legal battles and the perspectives raised by these recent changes.

An inside look at Californians' tax bills, tech giants face antitrust, privacy scrutiny, retired judges claim age discrimination

Los Angeles Unified School District wants voters to approve a new tax, but it's undermining its pitch by incompetent—or duplicitous—actions.