Dan Walters

Much of California's November ballot is already decided given the state's political leanings, so the real action will come from as many as 15 ballot measures. Some could have massive financial impacts.

With deadlines looming for California lawmakers to pass a new state budget and finalize ballot measures, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders are trying to make deals on dozens of specific items.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to be carbon-neutral by 2045. However, it's uncertain how that will happen and equally uncertain what impacts it will have on major economic sectors such as Southern California's vital logistics industry.

The notion of bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move water from Northern California to Southern California has been kicking around for decades. It finally seems to be approaching the critical moment.

Two pending California Supreme Court cases have again raised the issue of whether there should be restrictions on the use of the initiative process to make new laws.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has publicly shunned tax increases to cover California's multibillion-dollar deficit, yet his budget proposal contains billions of dollars of indirect tax increases on businesses.

Public school funding is the largest chunk of California's state budget. It's also the most contentious, as a new squabble over Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget proposal indicates.

As California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators contend with a deficit-ridden state budget, they can't count on a booming economy.

A massive miscalculation in revenue forecasting allowed California Gov. Gavin Newsom to boast of a $97.5 budget surplus that ultimately never materialized. It has since become a $44.9 billion deficit.

California's Public Utilities Commission has approved a new electric power billing plan based on incomes. Its controversial mostly because of the sneaky way in which the Legislature authorized it.