Board of Equalization headquarters in Sacramento. (Photo: BOE) Ask the average Californian what the state Board of Equalization (BOE) does and you’re likely to get a blank look. That may not matter anymore. Much of what the 138-year-old agency does — which includes collecting some $60 billion in taxes — will be taken away from it amid a spate of recent reports about potential corruption and possible criminality.
A San Francisco street scene. (Photo: Oneinchpunch, via Shutterstock)Part 3: As California grows, the shifts of population within the state can have a dramatic impact on the drawing of future political boundaries. These shifts can be broken into two different types of population counts: The absolute population counts as defined by the 2020 U.S. Census, and the citizen voting age populations, or CVAP.
Photo illustration of a nest egg. (Photo: Hidesy, via Shutterstock)If you don’t give city employees a pension, what happens? San Diegans voted five years ago this month to switch all new city hires, except police, from pensions to 401(k)-style individual investment plans, becoming one of the first big cities to take the plunge.
Drawing the political boundaries. (Illustration: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)We are just getting used to the current districts, but once again redistricting is about to rear its decennial head. To provide a preview of what is to come in California, we have created an interactive map of the state’s congressional districts using current census projections and voter registration data. This tool allows you better understand the mid-decade projections and project to what could be the factors in the 2021 redistricting.
The Assembly in session on June 15, 2017, the deadline to approve the 2017-18 state budget.(Photo: Anna Frazier, Capitol Weekly)A boost in the bill-introduction limit for members of the Assembly could allow up to 800 new pieces of legislation by the end of 2018. But a question arises: Will the crush of new bills, which likely would push the Assembly’s total above 3,000 per session, make it harder to meet the provisions of Proposition 54?
A top view of a VW diesel engine. (Photo: Shanti Hesse)The California Air Resources Board’s aggressive questioning of Volkswagen about emission test results led to the company admitting in 2015 that it used a “defeat device” designed to cover up diesel emissions that greatly exceeded legal limits. The massive fraud case — it included a $14.7 billion settlement in 2016 and $4.7 billion in civil and criminal fines this year — dramatically underscored California’s role as a national and international air-quality watch dog.
Photo illustration of a definition of legal terms, including "regulation." ((Photo: Ivelin Radkov)The 2017 legislative session is in full swing, but let’s turn our attention for a moment from laws to regulations. We have heard from legislators and others who would like to see California’s administrative agencies consider getting rid of expired and outdated regulations, or amending existing regulations that have become problematic for those being regulated. Regulations are the rules that define how laws are put into effect, and they are crucial to governance.
A woman fills nher bottle with spring water flowing over rocks. (Photo: Wollertz, via Shutterstock)For the past 5 years, parched Californians suffered through the state’s worst drought. Wildfires, reduced crop production, environmental damage, cities running dry – all were part of the misery. But with the drought now broken by an unprecedented wet season and snowpack, it’s possible to look back and see the positives, especially when it comes to the state budget.
The Amtrak station in Oakland. (Photo: Supannee_Hickman, via Shutterstock)We Californians frequently make assumptions about the rest of the country, especially the part that lies east of the Sierra up to the shores of Washington, D. C. Not all of them are true, at least not always. “You guys live in a little blue bubble out there on the coast,” says my son Patrick, an attorney in Washington whom we visited for a few days.
A demonstrator pauses to take a selfie at an anti-Trump demonstration in L.A. last month. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock)At a recent appearance before the Sacramento Press Club, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra defined his job in simple terms: “Anywhere I have jurisdiction to advance or protect the interests of the people of the state of California, you’ll see me there.” Judging by his activities this year, protecting the rights of Californians entails staunch resistance to the federal government.