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Last year during “hot labor summer,” unions, worker advocates and their supporters in the Legislature pushed, often successfully, for wage increases and more benefits. This year, they’re focusing more on enforcing worker protections. That was the message from an Assembly Labor Committee hearing on Wednesday, where farmworkers and their advocates complained that Cal/OSHA, the state’s […]

With more than $12 million in its war chest and the backing of Gov. Gavin Newsom, the campaign for Proposition 1 — the only statewide measure on the March 5 primary ballot — has all the money and many high-profile endorsements on its side. In comparison, opponents of Prop. 1 have raised only about $1,000 […]

It’s here: The CalMatters Voter Guide launched Monday — the deadline for county election offices to start mailing ballots to more than 22 million registered voters in California.  Some key components of the Voter Guide: Plus, you can also read the whole Voter Guide, including everything I just mentioned, in Spanish. The guide will also […]

These days, sexual harassment and other bad behavior are closely monitored at almost all workplaces. But what if the office is the state Legislature and the potential offenders are elected officials? For five years now, there has been a place for staffers and others to take their complaints. And late last week, California’s top two […]

A sweeping change to California elections took a big step forward Thursday — a measure to revise statewide recalls.  For Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021 recall election, voters were faced with two questions on the ballot: Should the governor be recalled? And if he is recalled, who should replace him?  But the proposed constitutional amendment, which […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu: Rep. Adam Schiff has a lot more money to burn than all his U.S. Senate primary opponents. The Burbank Democrat entered the new year with $35 million on hand — more than all his opponents combined, according to federal campaign finance reports filed Wednesday. Between Oct. 1 and […]

California’s big utilities promise that a proposed change in customer energy bills would help low-income families. But now Democratic lawmakers are joining Republicans in saying that the move is unfair to their constituents and will set back energy conservation. The debate centers on “fixed charges” — set fees included in your monthly electric bills that […]

It may not be long until Californians can order a beer at a bar to go, walk it straight out the door and drink it outside. Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener wants to allow California cities and counties to designate “entertainment zones” where bars and restaurants could serve alcoholic drinks that people can consume on […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom strong-armed the Legislature into making sure his signature mental health initiative stood alone on the March 5 statewide ballot. And now, he and his allies are raising orders of magnitude more money for the Proposition 1 campaign than the measure’s opponents to make sure voters approve it. As CalMatters’ health reporter Kristen […]

California’s homelessness crisis stares people in the face on the streets, and shows up as one of the biggest worries in poll after poll. This week, thousands of volunteers ventured across the state to find out how bad the problem is. The federally-mandated “point-in-time count” of the homeless population helps determine how state funds are […]