California Legislature

Andy de Leon thought he was the only one. Deported to Mexico, the Vietnam-era Army cook struggled to find a way to live in Tijuana—landing in the sprawling border city after serving time for a drug conviction. At age 65 he lost his home in Madera, his car and his family. It’s been years since […]

“Trailer bills,” said Sen. Richard Roth—referring to pieces of legislation tied to the budget but often bearing little connection to it—“are a box of chocolates. And you never know what you’re going to get.” Surprises abound each year as lawmakers craft the annual budget that keeps the state running. While most of the budget involves big-ticket items such as how much to spend on public education ($74.5 billion) or health care for the poor ($105.6 billion), a few extra nuggets are always thrown in that don’t involve much money but make significant policy changes.

California’s Democratic legislators want to extend health benefits to undocumented young adults, the continuation of an effort that ushered children without legal status into the state’s publicly funded health care system last year. It is unclear when the program would start or how much the state would spend if the proposal, which could cost up […]

Amy Woods got a call last year from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, informing her that the mother of her 2-and-a-half-year-old foster son had just given birth to another boy. The newborn needed a home: Would she take him in? Woods was given 24 hours to make the decision, but […]

The day after Democrats in the California Senate passed a proposal for a universal health care system, RoseAnn DeMoro took to Twitter to call out those who voted against it. Her tweet read: “23 CA senators stood up for guaranteed healthcare, 17 did not – some of whom are Dem. Check if your senator is […]

(Update: On Oct. 15, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law SB 258. Manufacturers will now be required to list chemical ingredients on cleaning-product labels.) Nail polish and hair dye. Cleaning products. Plants and flowers for the garden. California lawmakers have been considering new labels for them, triggering an annual conflict in the state Capitol over […]

As Sacramento kicks off its yearly scramble to pass a state budget, lawmakers have yet to agree whether one controversial provision will make the cut: an untested $6 billion scheme that the governor says could save the state billions more but that some analysts warn has received too little scrutiny. As part of his revised […]

A new generation of legislators and the growing clout of eco-advocates from urban communities is changing the focus of environmental debates in California. Once sidelined as a fringe voice of activism, the “environmental justice” perspective—focused on how environmental decisions impact poor communities and people of color—is now at the center of high-profile deliberations.

“Make-up money” is what it’s called in Sacramento—the contributions that flow to newly-elected officials from interest groups that backed a losing candidate during the campaign. It’s a completely legal way of saying, in political terms, “Let’s kiss and make up.”

The right-leaning Democrat, Sen. Steve Glazer, and the left-leaning Republican, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, represent overlapping suburban districts some 40 miles east of San Francisco. Once opponents who ran for the same seat (she won), the pair have forged an unusual bipartisan alliance driven by their centrist approach to politics.