News
Perception is often reality in politics and, fairly or not, a series of viral videos showing criminals brazenly shoplifting from California stores has some people thinking the Golden State has become lawless. So with law enforcement and retail interests eyeing another ballot measure to reform Proposition 47, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative Democrats have opted to take on the state’s perception problem themselves, and they’re inviting Republicans along for the ride.
News
There is a growing acceptance in mental health circles that some psychedelics – particularly psilocybin, MDMA, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and mescaline – have great promise for treating certain mental health disorders, including post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. But some observers fear legalizing it could kick off a psilocybin Gold Rush that emphasizes profits over patient care.
News
OPINION – California’s overdose crisis has ignited fear in the hearts of parents across the state. The thought of our youth being exposed to substances like fentanyl causes anxiety and concern. While Governor Newsom and the California Department of Public Health have taken steps to address the overdose crisis through the statewide standing order for naloxone, it’s clear that this alone is not sufficient.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: California has set ambitious climate goals, including phasing out the use of fossil fuels and becoming carbon neutral by 2045. Laurie Wayburn is the lead author of a recent report suggesting the state should invest “as much in nature-based climate solutions as it has in clean energy and transportation.” With proper forest management, California could capture 400 million tons of carbon each year, lower wildfire risk and vastly improve flood protection in the state. But, the $10 Billion price tag may be a hard sell in a down budget, even in climate-conscious California.
Micheli Files
Occasionally I have been asked whether the Legislature’s adopted rules – the Assembly Rules, Senate Rules, and Joint Rules – have equal standing as legislative process rules found in the California Constitution. This question is particularly relevant because these three sets of legislative rules flow from a specific grant of authority in the state Constitution.
News
Today is Election Day and while we won’t be certain who is moving onto the general until after the polls close this evening, there is one group of people we already know are big winners: the campaign consultants. Campaign consultants for state-level races have pocketed more than $10.7 million so far this election cycle, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of expenditure data downloaded last week from the California Secretary of State’s website, Cal-Access.
Podcast
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest today is Assembly Speaker Emeritus Anthony Rendon. Rendon joined us for a fascinating conversation that looked back over his seven year tenure as Speaker, through some of the most turbulent times in the state’s history, and forward, as he outlined his goals for the remainder of his time in office. In an in-depth and roaming conversation that ranged from the Water Bond to Waiting for Godot, Rendon spoke plainly about the joys and challenges of creating meaningful policy, in contrast to what he called “Fashion Show Politics.”
News
After effectively rewriting the rules of American college athletics with her SB 206 in 2019 – a bill that made California the first state to give student athletes the right earn money from the use by their schools of their name, image and likeness (NIL) – Sen. Nancy Skinner has introduced new legislation (SB 906) seeking to bring some transparency to what has become a Gold Rush for some college athletes and their schools.
Rising Stars
Julie Cravotto, Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo), originally thought she would pursue a career in the public health field, but that ambition quickly came to a halt when she was assigned to a cadaver lab in high school as part of a medical school preparation program. Nonetheless, she learned the invaluable lesson that there are various avenues to serve people in this world besides attending to cadavers.
Micheli Files
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 9 of the California Constitution, there is a requirement for each bill to have a title. The constitutional provision states: “A statute shall embrace but one subject, which shall be expressed in its title. If a statute embraces a subject not expressed in its title, only the part not expressed is void. A statute may not be amended by reference to its title.”
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymembers Rick Zbur (left) and Kevin McCarty (right). Photo by Rich Ehisen
