Economy

A customer looks at make-up products at a CVS store in Pasadena on Sept. 21, 2020. Photo by Mario Anzuoni, Reuters

Economy

California bans cosmetics chemicals, following EU (again)

A new California law will ban over two dozen chemicals from fragrances and cosmetics. It’s another first-in-the-nation law — and another instance of California following European Union regulators.

By

Levi Sumagaysay

• October 10, 2023

Fire damage to a neighborhood after a wind-driven wildfire burned through a canyon in Laguna Niguel on May 11, 2022. Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters

Politics

Can this plan fix California’s insurance crisis? What you need to know

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveils a plan to shore up the California insurance market for homeowners. Insurers would return to wildfire zones, but would have an easier path to rate increases.

By

Ben Christopher

• September 21, 2023

Fast food workers rally through the streets of Sacramento on Aug. 31, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Politics

How California lawmakers embraced hot labor summer

Unions won major victories this session on pay for fast food and health care workers, benefits for strikers and bargaining rights. Business groups say that labor has too much power at the Capitol.

By

Alexei Koseff

and

Sameea Kamal

• September 15, 2023

Economy

Will California’s largest pensions, CalPERS and CalSTRS, divest from fossil fuels?

Climate activists and some lawmakers want two of California’s pension funds to shed about $15 billion of fossil fuel holdings. They say the move would reduce oil and gas companies’ political power, but opponents say it would be a bad move financially.

By

Grace Gedye

• June 29, 2023

A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise on Nov. 8, 2018. Photo by Noah Berger, AP Photo

Economy

Four things California can do as home insurers retreat

After California’s largest home insurance provider said it wouldn’t issue new policies, consumer and insurance industry groups have ideas for what they’d like to see California do. Here’s the debate over four of those ideas.

By

Grace Gedye

• June 15, 2023

The offices of the Employment Development Department in Sacramento on Jan. 10, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Economy

California’s COVID unemployment reckoning goes national

As Congressional factions volley responsibility for pandemic breakdowns, Silicon Valley’s home state leads off a new book about “why government is failing in the digital age.”

By

Lauren Hepler

• June 12, 2023

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Economy

The new payday loans? California moves to regulate cash advance apps

Consumer groups say some new “earned wage access” services are similar to payday loans, but they’ve been operating in a legal gray area. A California department has proposed rules that would be the first in the country to systematically regulate the industry.

By

Grace Gedye

• June 5, 2023

Sharon and Nicolas Allen watch their two sons play in their home in Fresno on April 10, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Economy

‘I’m a hostage’: Why California’s COVID unemployment mess isn’t over yet

Workers denied pandemic-era jobless benefits are still struggling with debt and stress — collateral damage as they fight a state employment agency on edge about fraud and an appeals system facing a 'historic' backlog. What happens next with these and other legal battles will help decide who pays for a multi-billion-dollar debacle three years in the making.

By

Lauren Hepler

• May 16, 2023

The Silicon Valley Bank sign hangs above one of its branches in San Jose on March 13, 2023. Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy, AP Photo

Economy

Report: Regulators saw problems, but didn’t make Silicon Valley Bank fix them fast enough

A report from California’s department devoted to business oversight says state and federal regulators saw reasons for concern over Silicon Valley Bank’s financial practices, but didn’t force changes soon enough.

By

Grace Gedye

• May 8, 2023

A security guard stands outside a First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco on April 28, 2023. Photo by Loren Elliott, Reuters

Economy

After the collapse of two California banks, what can the state do?

After the demise of two regional banks, experts had some ideas for what the state could do differently. A clearer picture will emerge once the state’s regulator publishes a report, and lawmakers discuss options.

By

Grace Gedye

• May 4, 2023