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Just ahead of his constitutional deadline, this morning Gov. Gavin Newsom will present his initial spending plan for 2024-25, kicking off six months of negotiating, demanding and perhaps a little whining for good measure.  That’s particularly the case when the governor and state legislators must figure out how to cover a huge budget deficit. Some […]

California is often at the cutting edge of public policy, so it isn’t all that rare that one of its laws ends up before the nation’s highest court. But that doesn’t always mean the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court is quick to throw out these laws.  Monday, for instance, the court decided, without comment, not […]

When tenants are trying to avoid eviction, their success can depend mostly on one thing — whether they have a lawyer. It’s a narrative that plays out for many across the state and the country: Nationwide, fewer than 5% of tenants in eviction cases are represented by an attorney, compared to more than 80% of […]

While Day 2 of the California Legislature’s 2024 session wasn’t as eventful as the first, legislators wasted no time introducing new bills or revising measures that didn’t pass last year. Among the noteworthy put in the hopper Thursday:  Elections: To avoid another “Fong fiasco,” Assembly elections committee chairperson Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat, authored […]

The first day of the legislative session is usually brief. Wednesday’s kick-off in the Assembly was even shorter, interrupted then adjourned altogether after a protest by Jewish groups calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.  It occurred shortly after the Assembly gaveled in, explain CalMatters reporters Jeanne Kuang and Sameea Kamal. Before emptying the chamber, lawmakers […]

After three-and-a-half months at home, California legislators return to Sacramento today for a seven-month session where a budget deficit and the election will be top of mind. All 80 Assembly seats and half the 40 Senate seats are on the ballot, so many lawmakers will be pulling double duty between policy-making and campaigning. And they […]

Monday marked the day many new California laws went into effect, including the state’s new concealed firearm restrictions that, until Saturday, had been blocked by a federal judge.  The law bans Californians from carrying firearms in various public places such as parks, stadiums and places of worship. It was passed in response to a 2022 […]

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking a well-deserved holiday break and will return to your mailboxes on Tuesday, Jan. 2. At various times throughout 2023, California was at the center of the debate about how states should approach their migrant populations. In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis kicked off a political squabble with Gov. Gavin Newsom […]

From CalMatters politics reporter Yue Stella Yu: Steve Garvey, the Los Angeles Dodgers legend running for U.S. Senate, is finally campaigning in public. Well, kind of. This week, the first-time Republican candidate is making several stops in the Imperial Valley and near the U.S.-Mexico border — but with limited media access.  The events received little […]

The fumes that wafted through the Tecate streets gave people headaches and left children vomiting. Authorities warned the community it was from a chemical leak at a place called Recicladora Temarry de Mexico. It’s a recycling facility that’s one of the biggest destinations for California’s hazardous waste. Places like Tesla, Sherwin-Williams and Sally Beauty Supplies […]