Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Republican Suzette Martinez Valladares was elected to the California State Assembly in 2020 and served for two years, narrowly losing a reelection bid for the newly drawn 40th Assembly district, then winning a seat in the Senate in 2024. She spoke with us about pursuing policy goals during a year that has been, to put it mildly, a wild ride, (with no end in sight) and offered her perspective on the Immigration raids in Los Angeles and elsewhere.
News
Without emergency legislation, a little more than two dozen disabled people, including veterans, who work as janitors at a state prison facility in Vacaville are poised to lose their jobs at the end of this month due to a protest lodged by the Service Employees International Union Local 1000.
Micheli Minute
Lobbyist and author Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week in Sacramento.
Capitol Briefs
Things have slowed down a bit now that we are past the house of origin deadline, but there is still plenty going on in California politics.
News
In contrast to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget, the Legislature’s budget proposal includes $31.5 million in bridge funding to help California’s private foster care agencies navigate a fast-moving insurance crisis that developed around the time lawmakers were leaving Sacramento last year.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined by California Manufacturers and Technology Association head Lance Hastings, who began his career as a capitol staffer and has a long history with California trade associations. Hastings probably thought that the COVID pandemic would be the biggest disruptor of the state’s manufacturing industry in his time, but President Trump’s ‘on again, off again’ tariff policy may give COVID a run for its money. He gave us the lowdown on the state of California’s manufacturing industry, tariffs, and just how long it might take to reshore production.
Micheli Minute
Lobbyist and author Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week in Sacramento.
News
In the fifth installment of our ongoing look at candidates to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom when he terms out next year, we look at Republican candidate Steve Hilton.
Capitol Briefs
It was an intense day in California politics, starting with California’s senior U.S. Senator Alex Padilla being forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference in the morning and then U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer agreeing to California’s request for a temporary restraining order to wrestle control of the state National Guard back from President Donald Trump in the late afternoon.
Micheli Files
Both the Legislature and the Governor in California play critical roles in the development and adoption of the state budget. Relevant provisions of state law related to the budget process are contained in Article IV of the state Constitution.
Senator Suzette Valladares, Photo by Ellie Appleby for Capitol Weekly
