Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.

Jim Wunderman: From Bay Area Council to California Forever

by CAPITOL WEEKLY STAFF posted 11.17.2025

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest today is Jim Wunderman, who has been at or near the center of Bay Area Politics for four decades, starting with his time working in the office of then-San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein taught Wunderman to think of the larger San Francisco region as one interconnected entity, an approach that ultimately made him a perfect fit as the head of the Bay Area Council. Last month he announced that he will be leaving the organization to head up public affairs for California Forever, the ambitious project to create en entirely new European-style city on what is now cow pasture just outside of Rio Vista.

More insights on drafting legislation in California, Part III

California State Capitol building on a sunny day in Sacramento. Image by miroslav_1.

by CHRIS MICHELI posted 11.20.2025

During his recent review of the more than 900 bills sent to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom, intrepid McGeorge law professor, Capitol lobbyist and regular Capitol Weekly contributor Chris Micheli compiled a number of legislative drafting notes and decided to share them with our readers. This is the third of three parts. Part I can be found here and Part II can be found here.

Bracing for the fallout from weed tax suspension

Image by Diy13.

by LEAH O’TARROW posted 11.13.2025

When voters approved Proposition 64 and legalized adult use of marijuana in the state, there was hope that the illegal market would cease to exist and tax dollars would flow into the state to fund youth education programs and more. Seven years later, the industry says it’s struggling to stay afloat.

Dana Williamson, Newsom’s former Chief of Staff, three others, indicted for corruption

Dana Williamson, former Chief of Staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom

by CAPITOL WEEKLY STAFF posted 11.12.2025

Dana Williamson, Gov. Newsom’s former Chief of Staff, who stepped down in December last year, was indicted by federal officials today, charged with corruption.  Also cited in the indictment were Democratic consultant Greg Campbell, Sean McCluskie, former Chief of Staff to Xavier Becerra, McCluskie’s spouse, and an unnamed former public official, identified by Calmatters as Alexis Podesta, a former secretary at the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.

Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.

Practical tips for working with budget committee staff

Image by Worawith Ounpeng.

by CHRIS MICHELI posted 11.13.2025

In talking with both houses’ budget committee staff over the past few weeks, there are some practical tips that were shared with me for those working with these staff members.

Will race to replace Pelosi doom Wiener’s $23 billion bond proposal?

Sen. Scott Wiener

by DAVID JENSEN posted 11.11.2025

The race to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress, once the nation’s most powerful political woman, has scrambled the future of a proposal to create a $23 billion California version of the National Institutes of Health. However, the situation may augur well for the $12 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), whose fate will also be tied to the Golden State’s ballot box a few years down the road.

Proposition 50 passed: What now?

by CAPITOL WEEKLY STAFF posted 11.10.2025

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: After a lightning speed rollout and campaign, Proposition 50 passed decisively last week, with voters approving a partisan temporary gerrymander of the state’s congressional districts – and handing California Democrats a major win. The new maps will shift district lines and upend the seats of five Republican members of Congress, throwing them into distinctly less friendly territory – if Prop. 50 survives the GOP legal challenge filed the day after the election. Our guests today are two of the state’s foremost redistricting experts, Matt Rexroad and Paul Mitchell. Rexroad is a former Yolo County Supervisor and longtime GOP consultant. Mitchell, a lifelong Democrat, is the state’s best-known political data expert, and led the team that created Prop. 50’s maps.