California Voices

Sponsors of a "split roll" ballot measure to increase property taxes on commercial real estate are withdrawing it from the 2020 ballot and will seek to place a revised version before voters next year.

Chris Martin and Sharon Rapport, Housing California, and Corporation for Supportive Housing: Shelters are short-term responses, not the long-term solution to California’s homelessness crises. That’s why our policies and resources should focus on the right to housing, not a right to shelter.

The Legislature is now in the final month of its 2019 session and many high-profile issues are still pending.

Tim Edwards, Cal Fire Firefighters: Experts have recognized the benefits of microgrids, but regulatory roadblocks and resistance from investor-owned utilities have stymied their deployment. Gov. Newsom and the Legislature must seize their opportunity to establish California as an energy leader that can incorporate both sustainability and resiliency into its electrical power systems.

Jonah Busch, Earth Innovation Institute: Rather than merely brace for impact of climate change, Californians have the chance to act decisively to prevent the worst by embracing one of the biggest—and most overlooked—solutions: protecting tropical forests. Here's how.

Genevieve Abedon, Clean Seas Lobbying Coalition: We’re choking on plastic. California must take the lead in reducing its use, We in the Clean Seas Lobbying Coalition are asking Californians to contact their legislators to urge their support for legislation that would significantly reduce plastic waste.

Mike Madrid, former political director of the California Republican Party: In El Paso, Americans clearly saw what Latinos have been saying about what is happening to us in this country. Too many in the United States do not want our "kind" here. The silence from far too many is deafening.

John Kabateck, National Federation of Independent Business: The Legislature must fix the California Consumer Privacy Act. It riddled with unclear definitions, overly broad mandates, and small errors that will lead to unnecessary costs and confusion .

California is spending billions to close the "achievement gap" in the state's K-12 schools but we don't know whether it is having the promised impact.

Debbie A. Mukama and Robert Weisberg, Stanford Law School: As our nation takes steps to cure its addiction to mass incarceration and at a time when we recognize the benefits of diverse workforces, we should welcome—not discourage—qualified individuals with criminal records to join the legal profession.