State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)The prospect of ACA repeal has triggered a mixture of speculation, caution and dread among California policymakers. One way or another, California intends to take care of those among its people dependent on government for their health care, but how the state will pick up the pieces if Obamacare disappears is the question.
The State Capitol in Sacramento, looking toward the West Steps on N Street. (Photo: Timothy Boomer)As the California Legislature commences its 2017 Session, the following is a quick look back at historical numbers for bill introductions and gubernatorial bill actions. Over the last half a dozen years, as a general rule, the Legislature has introduced about 2,100 bills per year, about 1,000 of those measures get to the Governor’s Desk, and he signs roughly 850 of those bills.
A mid-1930s truck on a Kern County highway. (Photo: Joseph Sohm, Shutterstock)OPINION: They blew it. Fifteen months ago, Governor Brown called the Legislature into special session to find new ways to pay for the state’s aging transportation system.
AN electric car takes juice at the L.A. Auto Show. (Photo: Juan Camilo Barnal)A hasty attempt to boost electric vehicle sales in California – an idea the governor likes – died in the final days of the legislative session amid intense lobbying and fast-approaching deadlines.
Sutter Brown at the state Capitol. (Illustration: Judd Hertzler/Capitol Weekly. Photo: Scott Duncan/Capitol Weekly)“Lists like the one you are about to read are a lot like most hairpieces: They’re probably a bad idea, but they do get a lot of people talking,” we wrote in 2009. Eight lists later, we’re still having fun – okay, not as much as before – but we think this list has value and is becoming something of an institution. At least, that’s what people tell us.
An elderly man in his wheel chair, taking a a breath of fresh air. (Phboto: Kazoka, via Shutterstock_)Many seniors and people with disabilities who need services through Medi-Cal and Medicare struggle every day to navigate complex health and long-term care decisions. Dealing with a serious illness is difficult enough without having your doctors, specialists, long term care providers, and other health care providers disconnected with no overall attention to the holistic needs of the individual.
A high-resolution image of human egg cells. (Jezper, via Shutterstock)If you are interested in the buying and selling of human eggs, you might want to take in a California legislative hearing tomorrow in Sacramento. Up for action in the state Senate Health Committee is a measure that would permit paying women who provide the eggs if they do so for the purposes of research.
An electric vehicle powers up in San Francisco. (Photo: Dan Schreiber)OPINION: Even though 2015 was a record sales year for automakers, the percentage of ZEV sales decreased eight percent year over year in California. The Northeast states lag in ZEV sales behind California – presently accounting for less than half of one percent of the regional market – despite some states’ offering consumer incentives and efforts to build convenient refueling stations.
A VW bus converted to electric power, displayed last year in Beverly Hills. (Photo: Phil Pilosian)If you’ve ever been behind the wheel of an electric vehicle, you know that they’re really fun to drive. Many Californians have discovered the joys of electric drive, as our state is nearing 200,000 plug-in vehicles sold, and accounted for more than half of all the EVs sold in the U.S. last year. But we need to ramp up sales of these advanced technology vehicles in order to clean up our air, reduce our dangerous dependency on petroleum, and stabilize the climate.
The state Capitol in Sacramento, viewed from 10th Street toward the West Steps.(Photo: Timothy Boomer)Build it and they will come. A surge in state government office construction looms for downtown Sacramento, including the replacement or renovation of the Capitol’s 64-year-old annex.