News
AB 3024, The Stop Hate Littering Act, would expand the definition of “intimidation by threat of violence” under the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 to include “distribution of hateful materials on the private property of another without authorization for the purpose of terrorizing the owner or occupant of that private property or in reckless disregard of the risk of terrorizing the owner or occupant of that private property.”
News
While the GOP’s California drought is unquestionably bad – Republicans have lost 38 consecutive statewide contests since 2008, the worst active streak for the party in any state – it actually pales in comparison to the Democrats’ current ineptitude in more than half a dozen states.
News
Perception is often reality in politics and, fairly or not, a series of viral videos showing criminals brazenly shoplifting from California stores has some people thinking the Golden State has become lawless. So with law enforcement and retail interests eyeing another ballot measure to reform Proposition 47, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative Democrats have opted to take on the state’s perception problem themselves, and they’re inviting Republicans along for the ride.
News
There is a growing acceptance in mental health circles that some psychedelics – particularly psilocybin, MDMA, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and mescaline – have great promise for treating certain mental health disorders, including post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. But some observers fear legalizing it could kick off a psilocybin Gold Rush that emphasizes profits over patient care.
News
OPINION – California’s overdose crisis has ignited fear in the hearts of parents across the state. The thought of our youth being exposed to substances like fentanyl causes anxiety and concern. While Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health have taken steps to address the overdose crisis through the statewide standing order for naloxone, it’s clear that this alone is not sufficient.
News
Today is Election Day and while we won’t be certain who is moving onto the general until after the polls close this evening, there is one group of people we already know are big winners: the campaign consultants. Campaign consultants for state-level races have pocketed more than $10.7 million so far this election cycle, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of expenditure data downloaded last week from the California Secretary of State’s website, Cal-Access.
News
After effectively rewriting the rules of American college athletics with her SB 206 in 2019 – a bill that made California the first state to give student athletes the right earn money from the use by their schools of their name, image and likeness (NIL) – Sen. Nancy Skinner has introduced new legislation (SB 906) seeking to bring some transparency to what has become a Gold Rush for some college athletes and their schools.
Rising Stars
Julie Cravotto, Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo), originally thought she would pursue a career in the public health field, but that ambition quickly came to a halt when she was assigned to a cadaver lab in high school as part of a medical school preparation program. Nonetheless, she learned the invaluable lesson that there are various avenues to serve people in this world besides attending to cadavers.
News
California’s $12 billion stem cell agency is under “’unprecedented strain” and is ready to impose a five-month hold on applications for the key, $15 million research awards that support the final steps in bringing revolutionary treatments to patients.
News
Lobbyist employers, otherwise known as special interests, paid firms a little more than $77 million to lobby California state government in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of lobbying firm reports. That figure doesn’t include all of the funds spent on lobbying during the fourth quarter. Lobbying firm disclosure reports don’t include wages and expenses for in-house lobbyists, for example.
Photo courtesy of California Assembly Democrats via YouTube
