Image by putilich. A measure aimed at protecting people’s privacy has instead become one of the most heavily discussed bills of 2026 among California law firms as debate over the proposal has become focused on what some see as a surprising topic: immigration.
Capitol Weekly's 2026 Top 100 BookCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by Jenny Huh of ABC10 for a look at the 18th edition of Capitol Weekly’s Top 100, which published yesterday. Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 is our annual analysis of the unelected political power structure in California. We look at the mostly behind the scenes players who influence policy, elections and governance, including Capitol staff, lobbyists, Agency staff, donors, business leaders, activists, Labor leaders – and even journalists. Huh, Ehisen and Foster run through the Top 10, look at some of the new faces and discuss the themes running through this year’s list.
We are proud to announce our 2026 class for the Capitol Weekly Top 100 Hall of Fame: Carmela Coyle, Bob White, Paula Treat, Robbie Hunter and, in memoriam, Allan Zaremberg and Scott Lay.
Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.
Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo. Photo by AP. It was another busy week around the Capitol filled with intrigue and infighting as lawmakers lurch toward the end of session.
The state Capitol in Sacramento. Photo: Feoktistoff, via Shutterstock)Special interests paid contract lobbying firms more $93.4 million to lobby state government in the sixth quarter of the 2025-26 cycle, the most spent in a single quarter since Capitol Weekly started analyzing lobbying firm reports at the beginning of the last cycle.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. Photo by AP. The Republican National Committee is rolling in money, while the Democratic National Committee struggles. Not so in California.
Letter from the 9/12/25 Senate Daily Journal. Image courtesy of Chris Micheli. Because bills cannot be amended in the final three days of the Session, authors and interest groups have been utilizing letters to the Assembly and Senate Daily Journals in an effort to modify their “intent,” or even address concerns with explicit bill language that cannot be amended. Unfortunately, the use of these letters cannot be a substitute for making actual changes to the proposed statutory language.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: On the podcast we often joke about our “very special guests” but legendary California lobbyist Paula Treat truly fits the bill. Treat was one of our very first, and one of our most frequent, guests on the Capitol Weekly Podcast. Next week she will be inducted into the Top 100 Hall of Fame, so we invited her to talk about her Hall of Fame-worthy career, and about the other members of the Class of 2026: Allan Zaremberg, Bob White, Scott Lay, Robbie Hunter and Carmela Coyle.
Anika Bjork. Photo by Sydney Laird, Capitol WeeklyAlthough Annika Bjork’s professional entry into the California Capitol community began just last year, it is a role our newest Rising Star has been preparing for their entire life.