Politics

President Trump's action to rescind Obama-era protections for transgender school children drew quick rebuke from California lawmakers, but the dispute at this point is more symbolic than substantive.

Cozying up to the new administration might not be a good political look for most state Democrats—but if President Trump wants to make due on his campaign promise to direct up to $1 trillion towards new infrastructure projects, well, California lawmakers might just make an exception.

California Democratic leaders upset over the Trump administration's more aggressive crackdown against illegal immigration have sent a flare aimed at Washington D.C.—a Freedom of Information Act request for information about immigration raids and policies.

Democrats in the California Legislature, wary of as-yet unknown environmental polices to come from the Trump White House, have moved to preempt potential federal rollbacks by introducing a trio of bills to maintain existing state protections—both for the environment and for the scientists who study it.

Single-payer healthcare is once again up for debate in Sacramento, as two state senators push a bill to establish a plan before the federal government repeals the Affordable Care Act. Supporters say this bill may have a better chance given the anxiety created by the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle Obamacare, insisting "we’ll never get 100 percent health care in California unless we lead.”

In response to President Trump's campaign to build a wall along more of the southern border, one California Democratic lawmaker is trying to throw up a barrier of his own: a bill that would require state voter approval of any federally funded project worth more than a billion dollars, and prohibit the state from contracting with any company that also provides goods or services to the federal government in its efforts to construct a new wall.

The federal government widened its reach for the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants in two memos issued Tuesday, while California leaders continue to scramble to create some protections for those who may get arrested.

President Trump is a big booster of the country’s fossil fuel sector, pledging to revive the coal industry and advance oil and gas drilling. But given his outspoken skepticism about the dangers of climate change, questions abound about whether he'll be inclined to keep allocating federal dollars to either support large scale renewable energy projects or to incentives consumers to buy electric cars and install rooftop solar system. California is depending on this kind of federal support to meet its clean energy goals.

The California Assembly passed a symbolic resolution rejecting President Trump's controversial executive order temporarily banning immigration and travel from several predominantly Muslim countries.

With the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress gearing up to make America's tax code great again, one of California's biggest tax breaks might be on the chopping block: the deduction on state and local taxes.