California Legislature

CalMatters and Evident Media team up to investigate what happens to truck drivers in California after they kill someone on the road.

Tort wars are among the Legislature's oldest conflicts, pitting lawyers who file personal injury lawsuits and their allies against business interests and their insurers.

Voters in these nine legislative districts are weighing in on particularly competitive races, made even more competitive by the flood of outside money pouring in to sway public opinion.

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Indigenous Peoples’ Day off and will return to your inboxes Tuesday. With more e-bikes on roads and sidewalks, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed three new laws that aim to strengthen safety for riders and pedestrians. One of the laws sets sidewalk speed limits and another cracks down on electric […]

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills that would’ve given tribal governments a greater voice in water projects and in preventing the destruction of sacred Indigenous religious sites on state land.

Tech billionaires funding PACs have enjoyed recent growth in personal and corporate wealth and are spending it to handpick the California Legislature.

The bill was inspired by a CalMatters investigation.

The measure would have allowed the Office of the Inspector General that oversees the high-speed rail authority to hire more highly trained workers for audits and investigations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1776 on Wednesday, modernizing state antitrust legislation. However, former supporters argue the bill was defanged after a multimillion-dollar lobbying effort by business groups.

California’s high-speed rail authority wanted state lawmakers to cut red tape and raise more revenue to keep the train project on track. Only one of the policies it advocated became law this year.