Posts Tagged: July 1

News

Tiny budget piece could have huge impact on $12B stem cell agency

An illustration of the molecular structure of human cells and a researcher with vaccine. (Image: Billion Photos, Shutterstock)

A crack opened last week for the first time in 17 years in the firewall between state politicians and the $12 billion California stem cell agency. It involves only $600,000 — at least for now — and is buried deep in the 1,069-page state budget bill that was introduced June 8. But its implications are far-reaching. They range from opening the agency to major changes — wanted and unwanted — to creating a basis for the agency’s currently dubious, long-term financial sustainability.

News

‘Laura’s Law’ okayed in 30 counties — a major statewide turnaround

Nick and Amanda Wilcox of Penn Valley with a portrait of their daughter Laura, whose murder inspired "Laura's Law." (Photo, Laura Mahaffy, The Union)

In a significant policy shift spanning nearly two decades, 30 counties in California – including all of the larger counties with an estimated 80 percent of the state’s population – have now adopted a 2002 state law giving families a legal avenue to get severely mentally ill relatives into treatment.

News

Brown dismantles ‘powerful but obscure’ Board of Equalization

Board of Equalization headquarters in Sacramento. (Photo: BOE)

Ask the average Californian what the state Board of Equalization (BOE) does and you’re likely to get a blank look. That may not matter anymore. Much of what the 138-year-old agency does — which includes collecting some $60 billion in taxes — will be taken away from it amid a spate of recent reports about potential corruption and possible criminality.

News

Budget: Brown warily eyes federal impact

Gov. Jerry Brown, unveiling his revised state budget, is flanked by a chart showing billions of dollars of Medi-Cal cuts. (Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget draft is a no-frills document reflecting fears about the policies of the Trump administration, a Republican-led Congress and the likelihood of an economic recession. “The potential of a federal reduction in aid to California is real enough,” Brown noted, as he unveiled his revised $180 billion spending plan for 2017-18.

News

Inside the Capitol — procedurally

The California State Senate in Sacramento. (Photo: Trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)

This is the fourth in a series of detailed articles about the inner workings of the state Capitol relating to structure, rules and procedures — including a look at vetoes and the budget.

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