California Voices

A new bill would water down the requirement that local governments be upfront on the taxation effects of their tax and bond ballot measures.

Nicole Haynes and Mai Mizuno: AB 1510 would give Dr. George Tyndall's 'patients' a choice: Join the federal class action, or fight it out alone in state civil court, a venue that could more fully hold Tyndall and USC accountable. We are fighting to put the past and our shared secret behind us and move forward with our lives. We hope California legislators will understand, and not suppress our individual voices and rights.

Terry Tamminen: Federal agencies plan to ignore new state requirements in order to deliver more San Francisco Bay-Delta water to powerful San Joaquin Valley farmers in the Westlands Water District.  This would do more than harm salmon fishermen and the West Coast’s largest estuary. An elegant solution lies in Senate Bill 1 by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins.

Carolyn Coleman: There is no single or easy solution to address homelessness, but building more affordable housing is a major part of the answer. That is why the League of California Cities strongly supports Gov. Newsom’s budget proposals which provide more resources, and Senate Bill 5 to help support the construction of more housing for low- and very-low income Californians.

Once a decade, powerful interests do battle over the system compensating workers for job-related disabilities and a new clash may be on the horizon.

Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar: My responsibility goes beyond deciding cases. We must help the public understand what we do and share our collective knowledge. Nowhere is that mission more urgent than when it comes to improving the lives of our state’s children.

While politicians tout the state's new budget, there are some very large caveats attached to it.

Lenny Mendonca: Government officials don't do a good job of engaging the public as we grapple with big, complex challenges. Today, my team at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development is launching a new podcast called Made in California to change that dynamic.  

A collection of commentaries by Dan Walters over the past week.

Lori Freedman and Rebecca Griffin: We’re facing an unprecedented sweep of abortion bans across the country, a frontal attack that we must fight back. A new Trump administration regulation puts the full force of the government behind individuals and institutions that refuse to provide care in the name of religious beliefs. This unnecessary overreach emboldens people to discriminate and has dangerous implications for people’s health. California is not immune.