California Legislature

California’s state budget is the product of a multi-month, multi-step process that involves the governor, the Legislature, lobbyists, interest groups and the public — with lots of debate, number-crunching and negotiation along the way. This year, those deliberations are especially strained because the state is facing a budget deficit of at least $31.5 billion, a […]

Planada, a small mostly Latino town, was among the first to be flooded in January. Researchers say 83% of families suffered economic losses.

As groups representing landlords and real estate pour millions of dollars into political coffers to influence housing policy, tenant groups are celebrating recent victories.

State workers say their lower than private sector salaries were offset by pensions, better benefits, job security. Is the tradeoff still worth it?

As California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders work on a new state budget, they face a multibillion-dollar deficit, but don't really know how big it will become.

More than 170,000 people are homeless in California. Some Democrats want to make the state the nation’s first to declare housing a human right, but opponents worry it would be costly.

From CalMatters’ state Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal and climate policy reporter Alejandro Lazo: The budget agreement that legislative Democrats plan to pass Thursday partly addresses the major concerns facing some public transit agencies in California, which have pleaded for state assistance as they continue to deal with a statewide $6 billion deficit due in large […]

Democratic leaders in the Legislature unveiled their California budget agreement, but Gov. Newsom must sign off for a final deal. There are some significant differences with what Newsom proposed in May.

When budget season arrived in 2022, state lawmakers enjoyed the excitement and possibilities over how to spend a record $97.5 billion budget surplus, a shocking figure coming at the end of a bruising COVID-19 pandemic. But the two ensuing years have played out like a mirror universe as the state stares down a budget deficit […]

The state’s 2023-24 budget has been subject to a lot of political wrangling this year as California faces a $31.5 billion spending gap. The constant push and pull of balancing the budget means that if one program, agency or proposal receives funding, something else could lose out.  The Legislature plans to pass its budget by […]