California Legislature

A mental health staff member speaks with an inmate through their cell door in an inmate housing unit at the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Facility on Sept. 18, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Commentary

New California law will stop sheriffs from medically examining deaths in their own jails

Many jail deaths are preventable. To reduce bias and coverups, independent doctors will investigate deaths in custody, starting in 2027.

By Gregg Hart • March 4, 2026

Politics

These public documents are hidden from view. Two California lawmakers want to change that

The letters lobbyists submit to the Legislature are public documents, but they are hidden from view. Two California lawmakers want to change that

By

Ryan Sabalow

• March 3, 2026

An aerial view of vehicles driving through a highway surrounded by farmland on both ends.

Politics

California GOP lawmakers are incensed over a gas tax study. Rural groups say they need it

California’s gas is so radioactive, even a bill to study alternatives is fraught. Rural officials are frustrated over the partisan fight because their local industries depend on well-maintained roads.

By

Yue Stella Yu

• March 2, 2026

A person, wearing a green shirt and gray pants, stands in front of a row of gray voting booths as they fill out their ballot.

Commentary

California can sidestep scandal and banish bias while counting votes

Open source voting systems are more transparent and cheaper than the state’s current contract with Smartmatic, which is facing bribery charges.

By Trent Lange • February 18, 2026

A lawmaker — with salt-and-pepper colored hair and wearing a black suit — looks straight forward as the silhouettes of two people cover the foreground of the frame. Other people and the American flag can be partially seen behind the lawmaker.

Commentary

Here’s how Newsom’s spending binge outstripped revenues, creating California’s chronic deficit

Obscure charts show how California's spending exploded under Newsom, far outstripping its stagnant population growth, inflation and a hefty increase in revenues.

By

Dan Walters

• February 13, 2026

A silhouette of a person standing in a dimly lit prison cell with white walls, cabinets, and a mirror hanging.

Reader Reactions

Good behavior musn’t determine if a California prison inmate lives in a safe environment

An incarcerated person's constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment in a single occupancy cell cannot be withheld on the condition that she or he be good.

By Arthur Jackson • February 12, 2026

A close-up view of a person's hand holding a sign that reads "We wants answers! No more deaths!" and they stand at the front steps of a building surrounded by other people holding signs.

Commentary

California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.

Lawmakers passed a law creating a state department to review inmate deaths, but it hasn’t completed a single death review in its first year.

By David Myers • February 11, 2026

Commentary

Tax dollars should fund children’s education, not attorneys’ fees in child sex abuse cases

California school districts could be on the hook for about $3 billion in liability for child sexual abuse lawsuits. Up to 40% may go to trial attorneys.

By Edgar Zazueta • February 9, 2026

Backpacks hang in wooden cubbies inside an elementary school classroom, with several children in red shirts and khaki pants sitting on the carpeted floor in the background.

Commentary

Will California lawmakers break their promise to child sexual abuse survivors?

In 2019, the Legislature and Gov. Newsom closed a loophole that allowed schools to avoid liability for child sexual abuse. Now the law is under threat.

By John Manly • February 9, 2026

A person wearing sunglasses and a light shawl walks beside another person in a suit outside a courthouse, surrounded by reporters and TV crews holding microphones and cameras.

Commentary

California can’t shed a history of persistent government corruption

Prosecutions, referenda, recalls and regulatory agencies have, over the years, curbed some of California's government corruption, but not all of it.

By

Dan Walters

• February 6, 2026