The Great Seal of the State of California on the floor of the State Capitol Building. Image by Sundry Photography.This week’s Capitol Briefs features leadership changes, new PPIC survey results, California’s slow growth, the Planned Parenthood annual legislative scorecard and the sad passing of a California musical icon.
Image by Liudmila Chernetska.. People who menstruate use thousands of tampons and pads over their lifetimes, yet the safety and accessibility of these products have received relatively little regulatory attention. Since 2017, California lawmakers have introduced a series of bills expanding access to feminine hygiene products as well as increasing transparency about and now regulating chemicals contained in those items.
Image courtesy of California State Parks Foundation. OPINION – As Prop 4 moves forward, a key priority for our state leaders must be to ensure these funds are additive to the state budget; they should not be used to backfill and replace General Fund appropriations. To put this more simply, California voters approved Prop 4 with the expectation that these funds would add resources to the state’s climate efforts — not replace existing commitments.
Image by FahroniOPINION – As a repeat tech founder, I’ve built my career at the intersection of technology, policy, and innovation. But proposals like the wealth tax championed by Rep. Ro Khanna threaten to undermine the very environment that made my success possible.
Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. Photo by Joha Harrison, Capitol WeeklyThe Capitol kicked back into gear this week with the ceremonial swearing in of new Senate pro Tem Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara) and a smattering of bill introductions and information hearings. But of course, all eyes on focused on Thursday and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of the State address and Friday’s budget reveal. But that is hardly all that has been happening this week.
California's historic Capitol dome. Image by :WallentineA trio of proposed ballot measures are cleared to begin signature gathering, more AI battles and a few coming and goings around the Capitol community.
Image by kuarmungadd. OPINION – California produces nearly half the nation’s fruits and vegetables. Yet this holiday season, more than one in five California households face food insecurity. Among households with children, it’s one in four.
Image by JJ GouinOPINION – California Democratic leadership, from Assembly leader Robert Rivas to Governor Gavin Newsom, have pledged to address Californian’s kitchen table economics. But they continue to ignore one of the most powerful tools available to provide immediate relief to millions now—rent caps.
Image by SeventyFour.OPINION – Two recent federal lawsuits challenging an online safety law in Texas show that Big Tech doesn’t want to do its part to protect our kids. Far from being unconstitutional, Texas’s new law has charted the most privacy-protective and constitutionally sound approach to youth online safety that exists today.
Image by Andrzej Rostek. OPINION – Increasing costs for infrastructure development, regulatory and environmental compliance and climate resilience have made essential services such as water, energy and wastewater more expensive than ever.