California Legislature

Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes’ tactical skills will be put to the test as she faces her first re-election campaign next year, a contest that could decide not only her own future in politics but also the balance of power in Sacramento.

As the oil industry worked to influence a landmark environmental policy in California this year, it had hired Democratic former legislators to lobby on its behalf.

Delay of a plan for more renewable energy in California could carry a price tag for consumers.

A powerful teachers union and advocates of charter schools, battling to shape the future of California schools, ended in a stalemate this year in Sacramento.

Voters passed a law last year barring lawmakers from acting on bills until they've been available to the public for 72 hours. It was a game-changer this year.

As befits a good murder plot, California lawmakers target potential victims by placing the bills on what they call the “suspense file.”

It should come as no surprise that when the California Legislature recently began the process of divvying up proceeds from the state’s cap-and-trade auctions, a cavalcade of local officials, community activists and lobbyists rushed to Sacramento, with hands out. Billions of dollars burning a hole in the state’s pocket has that effect on people, and […]

The very reason Arnold Schwarzenegger called GOP Assemblyman Chad Mayes the “future of the Republican party”—his work on climate change—was what ultimately cost Mayes his leadership post.

The underbelly of cap and trade: Letting industries buy carbon credits or offsets, rather than modernize old equipment, means pollution in many poor communities could get worse.

(Update: On Sept. 12, the Senate voted down AB 186. Its sponsor, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, said “I am committed to finding a way forward next year.”) Many California communities could open centers inviting addicts to shoot up hard drugs under a little-noticed bill that has cleared the state Assembly and now awaits a vote on the Senate […]