The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: N.F. Photography) ANALYSIS: Influencing legislation is a complicated business. There is no high-tech computer model that can predict whether a bill introduced in the California Legislature will become a law and, if so, the form it will take. However, there are many, knowable influences that regularly shape state legislation in California.
Robert Klein addresses a meeting of two governing board committees of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. (Photo: David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report)Facing the likelihood of a slow and withering death, the California stem cell agency is edging gingerly forward on a path of “cuts” and risky fund-raising in hopes that its research results will soon generate voter support for more billions of dollars. Two governing board committees of the $3 billion agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), on Monday. Nov. 27, recommended that the full board “entertain” the proposals at its Dec. 14 meeting.
State Senate Leader Kevin de León at a conference last year in Mexico City. (Photo: Fernando Ramirez, El Universal, via AP)The contrast between Kevin de León and his political opponent Dianne Feinstein is stark. De León, the leader of the state Senate, grew up in the San Diego barrio of Logan Heights. His mother cleaned houses and did odd jobs to support the family. Feinstein grew up in a wealthy family in a posh section of San Francisco, the daughter of a prominent surgeon and a beautiful mother.
Bicyclists along the American River east of Sacramento. (Photo: rayvee, via Shutterstock)Hikers and bikers — a hefty portion of the population in California’s flat and leafy capital — may be in for some good times. Sacramento residents may see new and wider pedestrian and bicycle paths on local streets over the next few years, courtesy of a major infusion of state funding intended to improve safety and air quality, and encourage people to leave their cars in the garage.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County at Avila Beach. (Photo: Michael L. Baird, via Wikipedia) A final decision looms on whether to close California’s last operating nuclear power plant. The California Public Utilities Commission will hear closing arguments tomorrow, Nov. 28, on the fate of the controversial Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.
The state Capitol in Sacramento at night. (Photo: Susanne Pommer)Cutting deals is part of the Capitol culture — it’s how laws are made. But does this deal-making come close to the legal line, or even cross it? Let’s continue our review of California criminal statutes that might apply to the wheeling and dealing of the Legislature.
CalPERS headquarters, downtown Sacramento. (Photo: CalPERS)Monrovia’s city manager, Oliver Chi, told the city council the budget could absorb the CalPERS employer pension rate increases enacted in 2012, 2013, and 2014 — but a large fourth rate increase last December could push the city into insolvency.
A closeup of the hands of an elderly patient suffering from Parkinson's disease. (Photo: SpeedKingz, via Shutterstock)A “new era” in the search for a cure for Parkinson’s disease was heralded this month in an article in a prominent scientific journal that explored research involving more than $52 million and an organization called GForce-PD. The news was accompanied by a cry for more support for Parkinson’s research from the $3 billion California stem cell agency, which has pumped $49 million in Parkinson’s studies over the last 13 years.
Republicans gather at a 2016 rally in Costa Mesa for GOP presidential contender Donald Trump. (Photo: Mike Ledray, via Shutterstock)Encouraged by their Nov. 7 election victories in other states, Democrats now have even higher hopes of flipping the House in 2018, and a big factor governing whether they will succeed rests on outcomes in eight Republican-held California districts. The eight incumbent Republicans in Southern California and the Central Valley that Democrats hope to defeat a year from now make up one-third of the 24 seats needed to give Democrats control of the House.
The Assembly chamber in the state Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, Shutterstock)We often read about the “wheeling and dealing” among elected officials that occurs in state capitols across this country, including Sacramento. While some Capitol observers refer to it as lawful deal-making, others characterize it as improper, or even unlawful, vote trading. So which is it?