The Tower Bridge in Sacramanto west of the state Capitol. (Photo: Tupungato, via Shutterstock)OPINION: “Amen to that, brother,” Governor Jerry Brown exhorted in his state of the state speech in support of President Donald Trump’s call for spending $1 trillion on infrastructure improvements. It was the only sense of cooperation the governor offered to the new president and some of his expected policies.
A photo illustration of pension protection. (Photo: Billion Photos, via Shutterstock)In a decision that could serve as a national model, Gov. Jerry Brown is considering legislation to allow millions of private-sector employees to steadily build their pensions without interruption — even when they change jobs.
A California voter casts a ballot. (Photo: Vepar5)One thing about California’s lineup of looming ballot propositions: You can’t say they aren’t interesting. From school bonds to the environment to condoms to drugs to plastic bags, and more, voters already are set to vote on seven propositions on the November ballot. And many more are in the wings.
CalPERS' headquarters in Sacramento. (Photo: Coolcaesar/en.wikipedia)Calpensions: After the CalPERS staff gave the board a correction last week for providing misinformation about private equity fees, the board member who has been grilling staff on the issue walked out of a private staff meeting because he was not allowed to record it.
As rush hour approaches, traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. (Photo: Frontpage)OPINION: The oil company partisans and their legislative allies apparently failed to read past the first five pages of the bill. Buried in the back pages of SB 350 is a full codification of the 2030 and 2050 climate targets that the industry thought it defeated, along with a powerful new set of directives to state energy agencies to meet those targets.
Voters in Los Angeles casting their ballots on election day. (Photo: Joseph Sohm)Bottled water, immigration, condoms, hospital fees, plastic bags, statehood, alimony – those are just a smattering of the issues on, or trying to get on, California’s 2016 statewide ballot. There are 36 proposed initiatives that are either awaiting review in the Attorney General’s Office or are being shopped around California’s 58 counties for signatures.
Downtown Los Angeles, as traffic zips along. (Photo: Sean Pavone)Gov. Brown’s call for a special legislative session to fix California’s crumbling roads, highways and bridges comes as music to the ears of those who build big projects. For months, groups representing labor, contractors, local governments, transportation interests and others worked on legislation to revamp the state’s roads and ease the movement of freight at the state’s ports. That legislation may serve as the centerpiece of the special session.
A pension reform initiative filed last week requires voter approval of termination fees, the big upfront payment demanded by CalPERS when a plan is closed to new members. CalPERS says it needs the money to ensure payment of the pensions promised members who remain in the closed plan. The termination fee is calculated by dropping the pension fund earnings forecast from the current 7.5 percent to as low as 2.98 percent.
As rush hour approaches, traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. (Photo: Frontpage)Gov. Jerry Brown, who got nailed for parking in a yellow zone, is pushing an amnesty program for millions of California drivers caught in what he called a “hellhole of desperation” from spiraling legal fines and fees. Some 4.2 million California motorists – one in six drivers across the state – have suspended licenses because they can’t afford the fines, according to a recent study. Hardest hit are low-income drivers.
California motorists in a traffic jam. (Photo: Shutterstock)With one in six California drivers – about 4.2 million people — having suspended licenses because they can’t pay court fines, a lawmaker has proposed reducing the suspensions in non-violent cases and setting up an amnesty program to help motorists.