Politics

Gov. Jerry Brown is famously enigmatic, a difficult-to-predict politician who said decades ago that he likes to “paddle a little bit on the left side, then… a little bit on the right.” But every year he drops clues to his governing approach in a raft of letters he writes to the Legislature detailing why he’s vetoed certain bills. Together, they offer a window into the governor's mind.

The Trump administration will cut off health care subsidies to insurers that help cut health care costs for low-income Americans, the White House announced yesterday. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra responded promptly, threatening to sue the administration to protect the health subsidies.

As the oil industry worked to influence a landmark environmental policy in California this year, it had hired Democratic former legislators to lobby on its behalf.

The Trump administration is rolling back a contraceptive mandate that required nearly all employers to provide birth control to employees at no cost through employer-provided health insurance—and California immediately vowed to sue to retain the Obama-era regulation.

The Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 dead and hundreds wounded has renewed attention on federal legislation supported by the Trump administration that could undermine California's strict gun control laws.

When Gov. Brown signed the closely watched 'sanctuary state' bill today, he set California on course to further limit how much cooperation state and local law enforcers can give to federal immigration agencies.

California voters have twice rejected private school voucher initiatives, but a new poll shows a majority favor the concept, which has been touted by the Trump administration as a way to lift struggling students’ achievement.

A federal judge in San Francisco has ruled that the Trump administration must immediately begin enforcing rules restricting methane emissions, a legal win for California, which had filed suit in July.

There’s sometimes a fine line between good governance and trolling. One of this year’s most controversial—if not quite as consequential—state bills is a proposal by Democratic Sen. Mike McGuire of Healdsburg that would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns before they can appear on a California ballot. Proponents insist this is simply about providing voters with necessary information about any and all presidential candidates. Did you have one in mind?

You can also subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Overcast. What makes or breaks good housing policy? The wonky details. This week, Matt and Liam break down the ins and outs of all 15 bills in the state housing package: where the new affordable housing revenue will be spent (6:00), whether the so-called “streamlining” bills will […]