Jesse Gabriel

Proponents say Prop. 2 would allow the state to shore up its reserves for an economic downturn. Critics say it would only allow state leaders to spend more in the future.

The state’s boom-and-bust economy leads to budget volatility. Prop. 2 would double the state’s rainy day fund, lessening the need to chop costs.

The California Legislature's secretive earmark process allows lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to dole out money for projects with little public scrutiny or notice, raising transparency and equity concerns even among some lawmakers.

Lawmakers could tackle climate money, wildfires and California Forever before they adjourn for the year and hit the campaign trail.

State lawmakers’ budget plan would reject or delay many of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s social service cuts. Now, the budget negotiations begin in earnest.

Homelessness prevention shows promising results in California, as advocates push to spread it statewide and nationally.

Last year, conservative podcaster Shawn Ryan gave Gavin Newsom a SIG Sauer handgun, which the governor has yet to take home. To do so, Newsom would have to navigate a complicated web of California gun laws.

More than half of California's Democratic legislative caucus called for a government shutdown and introduced bills to hold federal agents accountable

California lawmakers only spent just a few minutes discussing in public the hundreds of bills they introduce. But these 10 measures had hours of intense debate in 2025.

California’s independent legislative analyst is warning that the state faces a nearly $18 billion deficit. It is “critical” for lawmakers to rein in spending and increase revenues long term, he said.