Capitol

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.

Democratic leaders in the Legislature unveiled their California budget agreement, but Gov. Newsom must sign off for a final deal. There are some significant differences with what Newsom proposed in May.

When budget season arrived in 2022, state lawmakers enjoyed the excitement and possibilities over how to spend a record $97.5 billion budget surplus, a shocking figure coming at the end of a bruising COVID-19 pandemic. But the two ensuing years have played out like a mirror universe as the state stares down a budget deficit […]

As extra pandemic benefits end, food banks say that they're becoming long-term supermarkets for Californians facing food insecurity. Several bills to boost CalFresh are before the Legislature, but the state budget deficit may get in the way.

A bill to ban caste discrimination in California brings a global conflict to the Legislature. While many South Asian groups support the measure, some say it could backfire.

A bill to tax Airbnb and other short-term rentals to fund affordable housing projects could be voted on by the Senate as soon as today. The proposal has revived the debate over Airbnb and its role in the housing crisis.

Gov. Gavin Newsom went on a four-day policy tour, but it cost taxpayers five times more than making a State of the State speech, according to public records obtained by CalMatters. The governor's office says it was important for Newsom to take his message across California.

Sen. Catherine Blakespear appears to be the only member of the California Legislature who has a legal defense fund. She is using it to cover bills from a lawsuit from the time she was Encinitas mayor.

California's public transit agencies are seeking $5 billion over five years to keep buses and trains running, but time is running out in the budget process at the state Capitol. To address criticism, they submitted a new accountability plan.

In their twice-a-year exercise, legislators killed hundreds of California bills in the process known as the suspense file. They included ones on abortion access, climate and homelessness. The state budget deficit also made an impact.