Economy

As the first Tax Day without unlimited state and local tax deduction approaches, an estimated 1 million California families will pay $12 billion more to Uncle Sam. In a progressive state with high taxes, many are discovering the bite the $10,000 SALT cap is taking out of their wallets.

So far, the worst-case scenario has not come to pass, and some products, such as pistachios, have dodged Trump’s trade-war bullet. But the damage has not been insignificant to California's economy.

A closely watched bill in the California Capitol to end the "tampon tax" is one of several efforts to get the state to remedy "period poverty" and “menstrual equity.” Advocates also want the state to ensure tampons and pads are provided as freely as toilet paper in public schools and universities, government buildings and prisons.

If the plight of hungry and homeless college students has lately caught the national media’s attention, it’s in no small part due to the efforts of Temple University professor Sara Goldrick-Rab.  Goldrick-Rab, who describes herself as a “scholar activist,” has been trying to get policymakers to address the cost of college for years, advocating policy […]

As with plastic bags and plastic straws, California lawmakers are considering another first-in-the-nation crackdown on another ubiquitous, litter-creating product of modern existence—lookin' at you, paper receipts.

Some at-home child care workers who depend on state subsidies are hoping to join forces with an unlikely ally: organized labor.

California lawmakers pressure utilities to improve fire safety as Southern California Edison is blamed for the 2017 Thomas Fire and ensuing mudslides.

Democratic leaders at the state Capitol have pointedly cautioned against broad tax increases on working families. Whether their troops and the governor have gotten the memo, though, isn't clear.

If all sides are declaring victory in the California Supreme Court’s pension ruling on Monday, it’s because the decision had a little something for all the combatants in the state’s pension wars. In a much-anticipated decision, the high court upheld a major rollback initiated during Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration—a reform that rescinded a long tradition that had […]

California's landmark data privacy law won't take effect until 2020. In the meantime, lawmakers are fine-tuning it. Here's what to watch.