Capitol

Speaker Rivas shuffles the leadership deck and YIMBYs win

Assembly Speaker Rivas puts key allies into leadership posts and shuffles the top posts on committees heading into the 2024 session of the Legislature. One big winner: Pro-housing advocates.

By Ben Christopher • November 22, 2023

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Capitol

Oil companies top big year in lobbyist spending

With three months left to go, more than $358 million has been spent this year on lobbying California’s Legislature, agencies, and Public Utilities Commission

By Jeremia Kimelman • November 9, 2023

Gov. Gavin Newsom during a press conference where he signed new gun legislation into law at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on Sept. 26, 2023.

Politics

Bashing Republicans for ‘rights regression,’ Newsom sidesteps protections for marginalized Californians

Gov. Newsom vetoed bills to outlaw caste discrimination and to consider gender affirmation in child custody cases. Advocates wonder if he’s thinking about his national political profile.

By Alexei Koseff • October 16, 2023

Supporters of SB 403, a bill that would ban caste discrimination, protest outside of the Capitol Annex on O Street in Sacramento on Sept. 26, 2023. The group urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the bill, as he was inside the building for a press conference on separate legislation. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Politics

Newsom blocks a bill to ban caste discrimination in California

Gov. Newsom vetoes what would have been a first-in-the-nation law banning caste discrimination in education, housing and the workplace. The bill divided South Asian communities in California.

By Sameea Kamal • October 7, 2023

Capitol staffers at work on the Assembly floor on April 24, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Politics

For more than 20 years, California lawmakers wouldn’t let their staffers unionize. That’s about to change

Legislators sent to Gov. Newsom a bill giving their staff the right to unionize. But a final change allows new lawmakers to dismiss their predecessor’s staffers.

By Sameea Kamal • September 12, 2023

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Politics

This bill could give Californians an ally on public record requests

A bipartisan bill would create a state ombudsperson to intervene when public records requests are denied. But an advocacy group is concerned that it will encourage state agencies to go to court.

By Sameea Kamal • September 12, 2023

Fast food workers rally at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 31, 2023.

Politics

Last-minute deal: Wage hike for fast food workers, no ballot measure in 2024

A deal announced today by labor groups and the fast food industry would give workers a $20 minimum wage and pull a measure off the 2024 ballot. The Legislature has until Thursday to approve it.

By Jeanne Kuang and Alexei Koseff • September 11, 2023

The TikTok application on a phone on July 25, 2023. Photo by Felix Schlikis, Imago via Reuters

Politics

TikTok ban on state worker phones won’t happen in California this year

A bipartisan bill to prohibit TikTok on state phones is shelved until 2024. It had breezed through the state Legislature, but Gov. Newsom asked for the delay. It's the latest social media regulation to get stalled in California.

By Sameea Kamal • September 7, 2023

Capitol

Ending the suspense: Child trafficking, fentanyl bills can still become law

In rapid-fire votes in suspense file hearings, lawmakers determined the fate of hundreds of bills on crime, transgender students and more.

By Alexei Koseff and Sameea Kamal • September 1, 2023

The California Air Resources Board meets at the California Environmental Protection Agency building in Sacramento on June 23, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Politics

California boards want to keep pandemic rules for public meetings. Critics call it bad for democracy

State boards are backing a bill to continue carve-outs from California’s open meetings law. An unusual coalition of good government, press, taxpayer and industry groups is fighting back.

By Sameea Kamal • August 23, 2023

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