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.
A troubled woman alone deals with issues alone. (Photo: Stokkete, via Shutterstock)A massive and highly critical state auditor’s report has given new life to legislation to deal with California’s notoriously troubled mental-health system. The shift comes as state lawmakers, convening amid the COVID-19 pandemic, face hundreds of bills in the closing days of the legislative session.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)In offices in and around the state Capitol, politicians, consultants, lobbyists, and the whole array of other political types have one thing on their minds: How do we conduct campaigns and politics in the face of the growing coronavirus pandemic? Will candidates make speeches wearing face masks? Are latex gloves going to be de rigueurat meet-and-greet events with supporters?
Assemblymember James Ramos, D-Highland, 40th Assembly District. (Photo: jamesramos.org)For California’s Native Americans, times change — but sometimes very slowly. One big change: the historic election of James C. Ramos, 52 to the state Assembly’s 40th District in the Inland Empire.
The state Capitol i9n Sacramento. (Photo: Susanne Pommer, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The California Legislature is currently more progressive than ever before, and the business community is adjusting its strategy in Sacramento accordingly. California has long been home to an extraordinarily active Legislature that routinely passes laws with significant and far-reaching impacts on businesses throughout the state, as well as national and international businesses, most of which have an economic interest in the world’s fifth-largest economy.
A map showing cities in a swath of northern California. (Photo: BestStockFoto, via Shutterstock.More than 7,100 people have applied to be on California’s independent redistricting commission, the 14-member panel that will draw new political boundaries based on population counts from the 2020 census. State Auditor Elaine Howle’s office said of the large applicant pool, nearly 6,000 were tentatively eligible.
Plastic garbage on the beach, tossed there or brought in by the tide. (Photo: Larina Marina, via Shutterstock)OPINION: You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat” a thousand times. It’s a motto usually used to encourage skipping the fries or chips for the recommended servings of veggies and fruits. But lately this phrase has a taken on an alarming new meaning. We are eating plastic.