Economy

In the last days of California's 2019 legislative session, hundreds of bills landed on the governor's desk. We're tracking the most consequential.

AB 5 would upend longstanding employment practices that have seeped into the Democratic presidential debate about how workers should be treated, particularly in today’s gig economy.

As California lawmakers start the last week of the legislative session, this year's to-do list includes some big issues — the future of work, for instance, and vaccine exemptions — and some arcane but high-stakes lobbying fights. 

PG&E is back where it started — searching for a way forward amid tens of billions of dollars in damages from past wildfires. And its narrowing options are driving the state’s largest utility into the arms of Wall Street investors, including a group led by major Republican donor Paul Singer, the billionaire known for his combative style and portfolio of distressed properties.

California is poised to pass a sweeping labor bill that would turn drivers into employees. Gig companies demand lawmakers forge a new path.

Pressure is increasing on counties to sign up more people for food stamps in a state with one of the nation’s lowest participation rates. But greater enrollment may require more money or more state intervention.

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash commit $90 million to fund a ballot fight unless lawmakers agree to a new employment model for gig workers.

The biggest federal housing program for low-income renters is failing to help many Californians because there aren’t enough landlords who accept Section 8 vouchers for rent. State lawmakers are considering two solutions, a carrot and a stick.

Farmworker families worried about immigration raids get food and household goods from a clandestine food bank.

In the past decade, PG&E rates have gone up 31% — faster than inflation — though not as much as San Diego Gas & Electric's.