Capitol Spotlight
The Capitol’s Fellows programs are considered some of the toughest to break into, and Erica Costa is no stranger to that challenge. A graduate of the Assembly Fellows Program, followed by over 15 years of public service experience, she was recently named director of the Senate Fellows Program at the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State University.
Micheli Files
Drafting criminal or penal code statutes is an important undertaking for any bill drafter because of the consequences for those who violate such statutes and because courts strictly construe these types of statutes. As a result, those who draft criminal laws must have taken a number of issues under consideration.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: First up, we chat with California Secretary of State Shirley Weber about The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, proposed federal legislation that would require all Americans to reregister to vote, in person, with either a birth certificate or passport. We also spoke with Trans activist Ebony Harper, founding executive director of California TRANScends, and the author of The Trans Manifesto.
News
An intense dispute between federally- and non-federally recognized California Native American tribes over a bill intended to give tribal governments more control over development that encroaches on their sacred lands has convinced the author to pause the measure.
News
California’s legal cannabis industry has struggled under heavy regulation and taxation while the black market has thrived. In an attempt to turn the tide, Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, has authored legislation to take some of the pressure off of California’s legal cannabis operators.
Micheli Minute
Lobbyist and author Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week in Sacramento.
Capitol Briefs
Lawmakers returned from their spring break bills in hand and loaded for bear. This week’s edition of Capitol Briefs takes a look at some of those measures.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Jeff Pearlman has been a sportswriter for three decades, and is the best-selling author of ten books on sports, including ‘Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s,’ which was adapted as the HBO series ‘Winning Time.’ In February 2025 he turned his attention to the ultimate contact sport: politics.
News
In late March, Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, amended a spot bill, SB 47, to order the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the February 2025 bar exam. The bill would direct the auditor to submit findings “as soon as possible” to the Bar’s board of trustees, the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and the Senate Judiciary Committee and its Assembly counterpart.
Micheli Files
What are the main component parts that comprise the California state budget? What is the “Budget Bill Jr.”? What is a Trailer Bill? The intrepid Chris Micheli, answers these and many other burning budget questions in this week’s Micheli Files.
Erica Costa. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly. 
