News
A once-heralded research venture by the state of California that targeted “don’t eat me” signals that protect cancer cells has now ended. The potential treatment’s obituary boiled down to one phrase repeated six times and buried deep in a corporate document.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Is the use of NDAs as sinister as critics make out? Our guest today, former Speaker Robert Hertzberg argues that confidentiality agreements are a key part of building trust in sensitive legislative negotiations between diametrically opposed parties – and are sometimes the only way to get warring sides to the table.
Micheli Minute
Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.
News
Delaine Eastin, an impassioned and feisty advocate for public education and the first – and only — woman ever to serve as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, has died at the age of 76. In a statement released after her death, Eastin was remembered not only as the state’s only female Superintendent of Public Instruction, but also only the fifth woman elected to statewide office in California.
Experts Expound
Everyone is talking about Proposition 47 this year. So with that in mind, it’s time for our panel of experts to weigh in. The question: Californians are fed up with crime, and – correctly or not – Proposition 47 is getting much of the blame. Will either lawmakers or voters eventually make substantive changes to this law?
Micheli Files
As part of California’s Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which is contained in the state’s Government Code, executive branch agencies and departments that adopt regulations are required to conduct an economic impact analysis. What is that economic impact analysis and how have the courts interpreted agency actions to comply with this statutory mandate?
News
While California campaigns and election regulators like the California Fair Political Practices Commission have generally succeeded in providing transparency to the contribution side of the campaign finance ledger, they’ve fallen comparatively short when it comes to expenditures.
News
Delaine Eastin, who was the first woman to serve as California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, died Tuesday. She served as SUPI from 1995 to 2003.
News
A trio of bills aimed at improving care for animals at shelters cleared the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development on Monday. The trio of bills collectively aim at reducing shelter overcrowding and improving record keeping around animal care while requiring more shelters to publicly report data on a variety of care issues, including the number of animals euthanized.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Longtime poverty fighter Jess Bartholow surprised many when she left her longtime gig with the Western Center on Law and Poverty in 2020 to become East Bay Senator Nancy Skinner’s Chief of Staff. The move made sense: Skinner has long been an outspoken advocate for California’s poor, and was a personal inspiration for Bartholow. But with the senator terming out at the end of this year, Bartholow recently opted for a new post: Director of Govt. Relations for SEIU California, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state and across the country.