State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)Substantive amendments deal with the core of the bill. But there are also important technical amendments that need to be made to legislation, often to ensure that the bills are properly enacted into statutes.
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont addresses a May 2016 rally in Ventura. (Photo: Joseph Sohm) For California’s “Berniecrats,” the fire’s not out yet. Nearly a year after propelling Sen. Bernie Sanders to a close second finish against Hillary Clinton in California’s presidential primary, some of his most ardent supporters are still organizing – this time within the state Democratic Party itself.
Assembly GOP Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley, during an August 2016 floor session. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli) Chad Mayes, the affable leader of Assembly Republicans, says he wakes up every morning thinking about the low state of his party in California. Mayes has plenty to ponder. Republicans have no statewide officeholders, a paltry 26 percent of registered voters (just a bit higher than the 24 percent who decline to state a party affiliation) and Mayes himself has to deal with a 25-55 Democratic supermajority in his Assembly.
Motorists along the Ventura Freeway in Sherman Oaks. (Photo: Oscity, via Shutterstock)A California transportation plan of historic proportions has been approved – but what happens next? First, is the 12-cent increase in the fuel tax, starting in November. Then, other taxes and fees will kick in to help finance the $52 billion package in Senate Bill 1, which includes $34 billion over the next 10 years for repair and maintenance of roads, highways, bridges and culverts.
Former legislator Adrian Fondse in the orchard near his home in Ripon. (Photo: Alex Vassar)Just over an hour south of Sacramento on Highway 99 is the small farming town of Ripon. East of town are miles after miles of almond groves. Driving past rows of trees on a nearly empty road, you may come to a small clearing with a sign noting that you’ve arrived at “Fonz’s Place.” And it literally is.
The Assembly chamber in the state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, Shutterstock)It’s hard to be a Republican in the California Legislature. Earlier this year when Sen. Janet Nguyen was removed from the Senate chamber, it was clear that Senate Republicans were upset for their colleague but also thrilled – thrilled – to be in the spotlight for a change.
The CalPERS board of governors during a meeting at the pension system's headquarters. (Photo: CalPERS)New York state pension systems are better funded than California state pension systems, currently take a smaller bite out of state and local government budgets, and still provide pension benefits well above the national average. How do they do it?
A portion of the hundreds of thousands of people who protested federal immigration policies in Los Angeles in 2006. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)California’s growing Latino population is numerically strong but traditionally under-performs at election time – and that may have as much to do with economics as with politics. “The bottom line: If you see a growing Latino middle class, you will see a growing Latino representation in government,” said Mike Madrid, a veteran political strategist and author of a study by the newly formed California Latino Economic Institute.
State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)In the Legislature, there are several types of amendments — amendment is a fancy word for “change” — that can be made to any number of measures, including bills, resolutions and constitutional amendments.
A Black Panther Party member brings a shotgun into the state Capitol, May 2, 1967. He was one of two dozen armed Panthers who entered the building. (Photo: Walt Zeboski/Associated Press)It’s largely forgotten now, but 50 years ago, it created a national sensation. It even caused the National Rifle Association and Ronald Reagan to back a gun-control bill authored by a Republican. Tuesday is the 50th anniversary of the May 2, 1967 “invasion” of the state Capitol by two dozen gun-toting Black Panthers.