California Assembly Chambers. Photo by Capitol Weekly. With the final weeks of Session upon us, several procedural items that regularly occur on the Floors of the California Legislature may be in order. Today intrepid Capitol lobbyist, law professor and regular Capitol Weekly contributor Chris Micheli offers insights into understanding the session’s closing moments.
Xavier Becerra. Photo by AP. Xavier Becerra outraised his Republican opponent for governor by more than two to one in donations of $1,000 or more during the first half of August, as Sacramento’s inside players continued betting heavily on the Democratic frontrunner to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
I don’t have to tell anyone this is an election year. Between last November’s special election, the June primary and the impending mid-terms this fall, the winds of change – or not, depending on how a few things roll out – are everywhere. All of this is reflected in this year’s Top 100 list, and will assuredly be in the future. Because in this world change is the only constant.
Carl DeMaio. Photo by AP.If it wasn’t before, a California initiative to tighten voting requirements became nationalized when Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, one of President Donald J. Trump’s large donors, contributed $6.5 million to the Yes-on-Proposition 39 campaign.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: It has been a very busy last few years for Fair Political Practices Commission Chairman Adam Silver. In addition to the usual challenges of an election year, Silver has been working on numerous efforts to utilize artificial intelligence in how the FPPC addresses campaign finance issues. He joined us recently on the Capitol Weekly podcast to talk about these issues and more.
Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.
California Assembly Chambers, photo by Capitol Weekly. The California Legislature’s combined 57 standing committees (32 in the Assembly and 25 in the Senate) have addressed 1,846 bills (1,263 ABs and 583 SBs) during the 2026 Legislative Session.
Image by Panya Mingthaisong. As lawmakers race toward the end of the legislative session, AB 2575 is just one of many AI-related bills on the docket for them to consider. But amid the countless discussions currently surrounding AI, AB 2575 addresses one issue that may not immediately come to mind: the rights of healthcare workers using these systems.
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.