A professionally operated drone heads into the sunset. (Photo: Concept W, Shutterstock)A squadron of drone bills that emerged from the Legislature wound up crashing on the governor’s desk. Gov. Brown vetoed three measures over the weekend that sought to block drones from flying over schools or prisons, and which would have allowed emergency personnel to shoot down a drone if it came into a fire zone.
A professionally operated drone heads into the sunset. (Photo: Concept W, Shutterstock)Drone bills are buzzing the Capitol and making a beeline for the governor’s desk. At least four measures to curb their use already have flown out of the Legislature with bipartisan support. A fifth, approved in the Senate, awaits action in the Assembly. The governor has not disclosed his position on any of the bills, the remnants of a dozen pieces of legislation that have targeted drones during the past two years.
GOP Assembly members, from left, James Gallagher, Shannon Grove, Ling Ling Chang and Marie Waldron confer prior to a recent budget vote. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/AP)The California Legislature faces a lengthy to-do list for the final days of this year’s session and little time to get it done. In what promises to be one the busiest sessions in recent memory, the lawmakers convene Monday and finish by midnight on Sept 11. In addition, Gov. Jerry Brown has called two special sessions to deal with transportation and health care costs.
State Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: Wikipedia)California state government does not operate in a vacuum. Federal laws, programs and funding decisions are implemented by the state and have a huge effect on the state and its local communities. In addition, the state does not have exclusive control of the policy-making agenda. The federal government and California’s local governments are constantly considering and adopting policies that are of concern to those working with—or in connection with—state government.
For the first time since 2009, more than 1,500 Assembly bills were introduced in the first year of the session. Meanwhile, in the Senate, the last bill introduced on the Feb. 27 deadline was SB 793, marking the lowest number of bills introduced in the Senate since 1989.
Newly elected Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a former Assembly speaker, gives a kiss to fellow Democratic Sen. Cathleen Galgiani. Both, along with other lawmakers, were officially sworn in Monday. (Photo: Steve Yeater/Associated Press)California lawmakers, many elected by razor-thin margins in districts where the turnout was historically low, were formally sworn in Monday for the two-year session. Even on the first day, the battle lines were being drawn for the 2015-16 session.
Birds take flight in the Pacific Flyway near Sacramento. (Photo: Department of Fish and Game) OPINION: Summer is a relatively quiet time for birds in California’s Central Valley, as most of the ducks and geese are breeding in the north. But this year is more quiet than usual. According to a recent survey conducted by the Department of Fish Wildlife, the number of breeding ducks remaining in California this season is 23 percent below the long-term average. The decline speaks to the significant degradation of habitat in the Central Valley due to lack of precipitation.
A computer keyboard flanked by the elements of traditional poker. (Photo: Pedro Sala)As negotiations intensify over establishing internet poker in California, a study commissioned by several casino-owning tribes says online gaming could result in $845 million in revenue and more than 2,600 new jobs by 2020. The figures stem in part from an analysis of legislation that was considered – and rejected — by lawmakers last year. Similar legislation is the focus of negotiations this year, but so far an agreement has proven elusive.
Gov. Jerry Brown, acting before a weekend deadline on an array of major gun bills, signed into law measures to ban lead in ammunition and require tougher screening to keep weapons from the hands of the mentally ill.
The Democratic governor signed 11 of the gun bills on his desk, including a ban on lead
This time, it’s the Arts Council that benefits