Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. (Photo: Rendon's Twitter feed.)Timing is crucial in politics, and the battle over the Assembly speakership is no exception. The clock is ticking. If Rendon continues through the end of the current two-year session, then any change in the speakership will be decided in the next session, following the November elections, when all 80 Assembly seats are up for election.
The Assembly chamber in the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)Once a bill has been passed by both houses of the California Legislature, the bill is sent to the governor’s desk. In order for the governor to act on a bill, it must be “presented” to the governor for final consideration. This means the governor must have the actual bill before him or her in order to either sign or veto the measure.
The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)ANALYSIS: One of the long-running points of contention when California courts examine what’s known as “legislative intent” is the judiciary’s general disdain for statements made by the authors of legislation. Those clear-language statements accompanying bills, common in the Capitol, seek to offer guidance and state the purpose and intention of an author’s legislation.
A view of downtown San Jose, a portion of Silicon Valley, the Tech Museum, and the McEnery Convention Center. (Photo: stellamc, via Shutterstock)OPINION: We have an opportunity for community voices to remind policymakers that our state’s technology sector has been a true bright spot as digital tools, platforms, and services continue to serve as a tide that lifts all boats.
Assemblymember Rob Bonta, an Alameda County Democrat, picked by Gov. Gavin Newsom as the next state attorney general. (Photo: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)Rob Bonta, the first Filipino-American to serve in the California Legislature, was appointed state attorney general on Wednesday, filling the vacancy created by Xavier Becerra, who left to join President Joe Biden’s administration.
An illustration of California cities that will become part of redrawn political districts for the 2022 elections. (Image: jmrainbow, via Shutterstock)California’s decennial battle to redraw the state’s political boundaries has moved into uncharted territory, a casualty of the pandemic and unprecedented delays in the release of census data. The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced its data – the foundation of political map-making — will be released to all states this year by Sept. 30, a full six months later than the original release date.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, home of the Senate and Assembly. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)One way to help figure out the legislative intent behind a particular measure is a letter written by the bill’s author that is published in the Assembly Daily Journal or the Senate Daily Journal.
The chamber of the state Senate in Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, via Shutterstock)In simplistic terms, lobbying the state Senate and Assembly floors is similar to lobbying legislative committees, except that the scale is much larger. For example, some committees have as few five members (elected officials), while others have over 20 members. As you would assume, most committees in the 40-member Senate have fewer members sitting on them than do their counterparts in the 80-member Assembly.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg at a 2018 City Council meeting. (Photo: Associated Press)When Darrell Steinberg first ran for the state Assembly in 1998, he made mental health the bedrock of his legislative agenda. Shortly after he took office, the former Sacramento city councilman introduced AB 34, which initially provided $10 million to fund pilot projects for community mental-health programs. The bill marked the first significant state investment in an increasingly troubled mental health system in decades, resulting in what Steinberg called “the beginnings of real success, with decreased hospitalizations and reduced homelessness.”
A close-up of part of Northern California from a map of the United States. (Photo: SevenMaps, via Shutterstock)The California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission has now seated all 14 members that will redraw the state’s legislative, congressional and Board of Equalization seats in 2021. This team is comprised of eight commissioners selected through a random draw among 35 finalists, and the remaining six are chosen through a selection process intended to balance out the commission on a number of factors, including race, ethnicity, gender, geography and skill sets.