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Scheduling note: WhatMatters will observe the Juneteenth holiday on Monday and be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. From CalMatters politics reporter Alexei Koseff: As legislative leaders continue to negotiate a budget deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom ahead of the start of the fiscal year on July 1, expansive “trailer bills” proposed by the governor […]

Is the tide turning in favor of California’s renters? Some signs say yes. On Wednesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that a San Jose-based developer and property manager must refund more than $331,000 to 20 tenants in overpaid rent. It’s the first use of a 2019 law, explains CalMatters’ housing reporter Ben Christopher, but “it […]

From CalMatters politics intern Rya Jetha:  In the aftermath of the police killings of Stephon Clark in Sacramento and George Floyd in Minneapolis, California passed a law requiring the Attorney General’s office to investigate every fatal use of force by police officers against unarmed people. The 2021 law was meant to take power away from […]

From CalMatters’ state Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal and climate policy reporter Alejandro Lazo: The budget agreement that legislative Democrats plan to pass Thursday partly addresses the major concerns facing some public transit agencies in California, which have pleaded for state assistance as they continue to deal with a statewide $6 billion deficit due in large […]

The state’s 2023-24 budget has been subject to a lot of political wrangling this year as California faces a $31.5 billion spending gap. The constant push and pull of balancing the budget means that if one program, agency or proposal receives funding, something else could lose out.  The Legislature plans to pass its budget by […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Thursday he will crusade for a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on gun control — and if he wanted more national attention, he certainly got it as  supporters praised and critics slammed his bold ambition. As CalMatters colleagues Ben Christopher and Alexei Koseff explain, the amendment is pretty straightforward: It […]

Other than a contentious debate in one of the largest public hearing turnouts for any bill before the Legislature this session, the proposal by Sen. Aisha Wahab to ban caste discrimination sailed through the Senate with relative ease (and a 34-1 vote).  But the first-term Democrat from Fremont and her bill will still face a […]

From CalMatters reporter Marisa Kendall: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration took credit Tuesday for shipping 36 asylum-seeking migrants to Sacramento over the past week, prompting another round of political shots between Florida officials and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.   In a written statement, a spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management characterized the migrants as […]

When a bill dies in the Legislature, a hail Mary move is to try to get lawmakers to put it before voters and enshrine it in the state constitution. It’s a tall order that requires a two-thirds vote in both houses — but it’s not impossible. It’s the route Assembly Republicans will take when they […]

President Biden signed on Saturday a last-ditch bill to raise the national debt limit that includes Republican-forced provisions for stricter work requirements on welfare recipients. But California is headed in the opposite direction. And that could lead to the state losing a big chunk of the federal grants that fund its CalWORKS program. As Jeanne […]