Earlier this summer, California lawmakers including Gov. Gavin Newsom worked to close a multibillion-dollar deficit. But a closer look at “pork-barrel spending” raises questions about whether the state’s $325-billion spending plan is going to those who need it most, writes CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow. To win the favor of their constituencies and tip the scales for […]

California lawmakers faced a difficult budget year, but they still managed to put hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks in the state budget to benefit their districts — and help them get re-elected.

California is under pressure to embrace more temporary homeless shelters and programs that require sobriety, at the potential expense of long-term housing.

In recent years, California Republicans wielded far more influence in Congress than in the state Legislature, thanks to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But since his ouster, and now under Prop. 50 maps, the GOP is increasingly isolated.

Legal experts, including a former federal official and UCLA professor, say California could go it alone if the federal government stops regulating greenhouse gases. One reason to try is to protect the state’s clean-car economy.

The California Supreme Court upheld a law protecting the rights of LGBT people in nursing homes, including by forbidding employees from misgendering those patients.

Her retirement, which comes amid Democrats’ cries for a new generation of leadership, sets the stage for a showdown between a progressive challenger and a well-known moderate state senator.

From CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay: The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether President Donald Trump is exceeding his authority in imposing wide-ranging tariffs on imports from most of the rest of the world. The nation’s highest court heard arguments about the Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom has been looking for a way to win national attention. Proposition 50 puts him “light-years ahead.”

California voters passed Gov. Gavin Newsom's Proposition 50, which will tilt the state's congressional districts toward Democrats in the 2026 election. Now comes the scramble: Who runs where?