Jennifer Siebel Newsom speaks at the bill signing ceremony for SB 106. Photo by Rich Ehisen, Capitol WeeklyIt has been another busy week around the Capitol. Her are some of the highlights, lowlights and one big eye roll…in brief!
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Image by SergZSV. Special interests paid lobbying firms more than $91 million to lobby state government in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of lobbying firm reports.
Image from Paul Mitchell's TWINS - California 2026 Governor Simulator site.The most intense parlor game in Sacramento is that of projecting the composition of June’s Top Two gubernatorial primary. Not who among the dozen leading candidates will win, per se, but what will be the partisanship of the two that make it to the General Election, and if that could actually be two Republicans.
Lobbyists crowd around video screen to watch the floor votes on the last night of the Legislature's session. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP)What should your lobby day participants know about California government before they embark on their lobby day at the State Capitol in Sacramento? This article sets forth those key items for them to get acquainted with regarding the Legislature and the legislative process.
Solar panels on rooftop in California. Image by Janice Chen. OPINION – California has demonstrated that ambitious climate policy and economic growth can move in lockstep as we have reduced carbon emissions and built one of the largest clean energy economies in the world. Today, this is at risk. We must adjust our model to ensure we support California’s forward progress.
Attorney General Rob Bonta (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)New regulations approved this month will dramatically change the operations of California’s cardrooms and are expected to take a sizable bite out of not only their revenues but that of several cities. The changes, however, are in line with what the state’s gaming tribes have been pushing for.
Bonanza Spring in Mojave Trails National Monument. Photo courtesy of Full Court Press Communications. OPINION – Cadiz, Inc., a Los Angeles based corporation that for 30 years has been targeting a Mojave Desert aquifer for pumping and profit has its way, 50,000 acre-feet (16 billion gallons) of groundwater would be pumped each year and exported for sale, desecrating our public lands in the process.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: This week we’re joined by lobbyist Jennifer Fearing of Fearless Advocacy. Fearing was a key player in the negotiations to pass SB 54, a landmark bill that regulates plastic waste in California. Governor Newsom signed the bill in 2022, but as we all know, passing legislation is one thing, implementation is another. Fearing walks us through the bill’s complicated journey, and gives us an updates on it, and other environmental actions in the state.
Image by GlaserStudios. With gifts to state officials capped at $630, no legislator should be accepting free tickets to Super Bowl 60, which start on secondary markets at more than $6,000 a piece. But that hasn’t stopped them from taking a lot of free tickets to other sporting events.