CalMatters - California Politics, Policy, and Political News
CalMatters is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California politics and policy.
New California laws taking effect in 2025: Get up to speed fast
19 hours ago · Welcome to CalMatters, the only nonprofit newsroom devoted solely to covering issues that affect all Californians. Sign up for WhatMatters to receive the latest news and commentary on the most important issues in the Golden State. Cannabis cafes and expanded outdoor drinking? An end to a banking ...
2024 year in review: How did California pay for everything?
19 hours ago · To understand what happened with the state budget in 2024, you have to go back to 2023. That year Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democrats who control the Legislature decided against raiding the state’s roughly $37 billion rainy-day fund despite a shaky fiscal picture. Those dollars came in handy as lawmakers grappled to plug an …
California's number of registered lobbyists jumps to record high ...
16 hours ago · Click to share on X (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Advocates and lobbyists in the Capitol Rotunda, during the final day of the 2023 session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Sept. 14, 2023. Photo by Rahul ...
Legislature gets used to special sessions: 2024 California year in ...
19 hours ago · Against the backdrop of the election, the Legislature’s year was marked by debates over retail theft policies, an 11th-hour special session called by the governor, and a dramatic shelving of two reparations bills.. On the final night of the session, Aug. 31, Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special session so the Legislature could pass bills intended to lower gas prices for Californians by ...
California election results: All 10 propositions - CalMatters
Nov 5, 2024 · Prop. 2, passed and Prop. 4, passed: The two bond measures, approved by voters, will allow the state to borrow $10 billion to repair K-12 schools and community colleges, and $10 billion to address climate change in a variety of areas including drinking water improvements and extreme heat and wildfire programs. Recent polling showing the climate bond likely to pass while the school repairs bond ...
What you need to know about California propositions - CalMatters
Oct 7, 2024 · To help you decide on the propositions, here are the recommendations from the state Republican Party and the California Democratic Party.. So far, public polls suggest the high-profile crime measure will pass overwhelmingly, but measures to raise the minimum wage, allow cities to impose rent control and to make it easier for …
2024 California ballot measures: What you need to know
Jul 4, 2024 · Assemblymember Evan Low speaks with fellow lawmaker Phillip Chen at the Capitol on March 27, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters. By Ben Christopher. By 2014, California voters were sick of ballots larded up with too many measures, many of them highly technical, specific to one industry or difficult to understand. So state lawmakers changed the rules.
California campaign finance investigations leave voters in the dark ...
Oct 14, 2024 · The commission, created by California voters through a 1974 ballot measure following the Watergate scandal, has policed campaign and ethics violations statewide and in local races for 50 years. The backlog was an open secret among staffers and commissioners, with some senior counsels arguing in 2022 the problem had existed for “at least 20 years.”
California laws: Are they working?- CalMatters
Feb 15, 2024 · Last year, Newsom vetoed 156 bills.In an Oct. 7 batch on health care, he blocked one to require Medi-Cal to cover medication abortion, which he called “well intentioned, but unnecessary,” and another calling for a state database of mental health providers for postpartum depression, which he said would be “duplicative of existing programs and resources.”