Politics

People listen to testimony at the Assembly Judiciary Hearing for SB 403 at the state Capitol in Sacramento on July 5, 2023. Photo by Semantha Norris, CalMatters

Politics

California caste discrimination bill stays alive

The first-in-the-nation measure to add caste to state anti-discrimination laws, which passed the state Senate, survives the Assembly judiciary committee. The bill’s author refused to water down the measure further.

By Sameea Kamal • July 5, 2023

Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, sits in attendance as he awaits his inauguration to the role of Assembly Speaker at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 30, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Capitol

Robert Rivas takes charge as California Assembly speaker

After a prolonged transition, the Salinas Democrat was sworn in as Assembly speaker today, taking over from Anthony Rendon. They’re ideologically similar so the differences may be more in leadership style than policy.

By Alexei Koseff • June 30, 2023

Gov. Gavin Newsom unveils his budget proposal for the 2023-24 fiscal year during a press briefing at the California Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento on Jan. 10, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Politics

What you need to know on the California budget deal

After weeks of negotiations, the governor and top Democrats in the Legislature say they have a budget deal. Legislators will start voting today on bills related to the agreement, which sets spending and policy across a wide range of issues affecting Californians.

By Sameea Kamal and Alexei Koseff • June 27, 2023

An IN-N-OUT fast food restaurant in Encinitas on May 9, 2022. Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters

Politics

Is California using an old labor board to get around a fast food industry referendum?

An obscure 1910s-era labor board once regulated everything from canneries to film sets to sheep farms. Why is California trying to revive it now?

By Jeanne Kuang • June 27, 2023

Forced and child marriage survivors arrive at a protest, organized to support a ban on child marriage, at the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 22, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Politics

Child brides: A campaign starts to ban underage marriages in California

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.

By Rya Jetha • June 23, 2023

Ojai City Councilmember Suza Francina in her 140-square-foot temporary home provided by a friend after she became homeless in Ojai on June 13, 2023. Photo by Lauren Justice for Cal Matters

Politics

She lost her home. She doesn’t want to lose her city council seat

An Ojai City Councilmember moved out of her district after losing her home and is in danger of losing her seat. She and her supporters say it’s a dramatic demonstration of California’s affordable housing crisis.

By Alexei Koseff • June 22, 2023

A customer picks produce at the farmers' market in Fairfield on June 15, 2023. Photo by Semantha Norris, CalMatters

Politics

How fresh will CalFresh be? Food benefits on the table in state budget talks

A popular program doubles CalFresh benefits to buy fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. It is among the California food benefit programs on the table in the budget negotiations between legislative leaders and Gov. Newsom.

By Rya Jetha • June 19, 2023

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock, Midjourney

Politics

California budget 2023: Key dates toward a deal

California’s state budget is the product of a multi-month, multi-step process that involves the governor, the Legislature, lobbyists, interest groups and the public — with lots of debate, number-crunching and negotiation along the way. This year, those deliberations are especially strained because the state is facing a budget deficit of at least $31.5 billion, a […]

By Sameea Kamal • June 15, 2023

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, at podium, and state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, front row, second from right, at a press conference in Sacramento, on May 25, 2022. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo

Politics

Let’s make a deal: Legislative leaders make California budget offer to Newsom

Democratic leaders in the Legislature unveiled their California budget agreement, but Gov. Newsom must sign off for a final deal. There are some significant differences with what Newsom proposed in May.

By Alexei Koseff • June 12, 2023

Explainers

California’s budget whiplash: From a record-setting surplus to a massive shortfall in one year

This time last year, there was excitement and possibility over how to spend a record $97.5 billion budget surplus, a shocking figure coming at the end of a bruising COVID-19 pandemic. But this year, excitement has turned into a fight over what not to cut as the state stares down a $31.5 billion budget gap. […]

By John Osborn D'Agostino and Jeremia Kimelman • June 12, 2023