My-turn

Senate Bill 772 by Sen. Steven Bradford, a Gardena Democrat, would force publicly-owned utilities and their ratepayers to pay for pumped hydropower storage, even if the utilities and their ratepayers don’t need it and would receive no benefit from it.

In 2016, fewer than 6% of California adolescents reported trying cigarettes, down from 19% in 2003. Why on earth did legislators feel the need to intervene in such a hugely positive youth trend? For no apparent reason, they did. The results aren't pretty.

Some California legislators are considering a sales tax on services. A services tax won't reduce California's budget volatility and would worsen the state's affordability crisis. With record budget surpluses, talk of new taxes should be political malpractice.

Smart speakers and tech companies have the capability of recording your conversations, even when you may think the device is turned off. Privacy in the home is at risk as this exciting technology proliferates.

Rather than focusing on a decades-old political fight between charter and district schools, the Legislature should work on reforms that would help traditional public school districts by removing barriers that prevent schools from innovating and improving.

As our border becomes more of a battleground, it is high time for a set of Justice Department-style news media guidelines for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to give journalists the protection they need to keep the public informed.

Being a pregnant woman in California, in America, is fraught. I don’t feel supported, even as our society romanticizes motherhood. That's why Senate Bill 135 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson is so critical. It would expand our family leave laws to cover nearly all workers in California.

Good government is open, clear government. Citizens who are not accountants also should be able to easily read government financial documents. Senate Bill 598 encourages the adoption of a readily accessible digital reporting standard. Legislators should approve it.

Stockton did not fall behind by accident. Years of redlining, tax structures that undercut development and missed opportunities led to California's fragmented economy. It doesn’t have to be this way. One way we can spur a resurgence of economic prosperity is to use a new tax incentive called opportunity zones.

Difficult negotiations on how to efficiently and fairly share water among farmers, cities including San Francisco, and fish and wildlife have been underway since 2012 with little resolution in sight—until last month. With the leadership of the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, representatives of farmers, cities and conservation groups are having productive negotiations.