Via ShutterstockA growing chorus of critics say well-intentioned but archaic laws – designed to protect individual rights, with stiff restrictions on what constitutes “grave disability” – prevent desperate families from getting severely mentally ill relatives into treatment, leaving them to suffer and die on the street.
Shubhangi Domokos. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyIn just a few years out of college, Shubhangi Domokos became a chief of staff for first, a state assemblymember and then one of the largest labor federations in the country.
Joe Stephenshaw, left, the new director of the Department of Finance, takes the oath of office from Gov. Gavin Newsom.(Photo: H.D. Palmer, via Twitter.)As a budget analyst in the California Department of Finance in 2005-2008, Joe Stephenshaw never imagined that he would one day come back to lead the division. This month, Stephenshaw, 47, was sworn into the post, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announces Asian American Pacific Islander Day at City Hall in May. (Photo: Ringo Chiu)Asian American Pacific Islanders, or AAPI, is a rising political force, but it has yet to flex its full muscle. About 16 percent of the nation’s 22 million people identified as Asian and Pacific Islander Americans live in California, according to the latest census, but the community’s elected state officeholder are less than their numbers suggest.
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.