California State Assembly . Photo by Capitol Weekly. In this week’s Capitol Briefs we look at a handful of bills lawmakers have under consideration as we head toward the April 24th deadline for policy committees to hear and report to fiscal committees fiscal bills introduced in their chamber.
Jessica Caloza. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly. The first Filipina elected to the Legislature, Assemblymember Jessica Caloza represents Los Angeles, serving a working-class, immigrant-heavy district. She has built her career on a simple idea shaped by her own experience: that government can transform lives when it works.
Image by george tsartsianidis. We sometimes hear statements around the California State Capitol about codified versus uncodified laws. What’s the difference? In today’s Micheli Files Capitol lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli explains it all for you.
Image by Thawatchai Chawong. OPINION – As AB 1709 moves to the California State Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, lawmakers have an opportunity to get this right. Strengthen the definitions. Close the loopholes. Protect student privacy. And most importantly, ensure that parents—not tech companies—remain at the center of decisions about their children’s digital lives.
California State Capitol building in the warm light of the setting sun. Image by rschlieThis week was the legislative spring break so there’s not a lot to report on, but we do have a few nuggets for you…in brief.
Image by romkaz. If a bill by Assemblymember Diane Dixon becomes law, tattoo artists would join a long list of professionals required to be trained in spotting signs of human trafficking, including first responders, healthcare workers, educators, hospitality staff, transportation workers, social workers and more.
Image by ismagilov. Faced with growing concerns that California’s higher education system is outdated and unresponsive to the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, lawmakers are considering more structural changes to the state Master Plan’s vision of university and college education.
Image by Love Employee. OPINION – Modern GLP-1 medicines are evidence-based therapies that help patients achieve meaningful, sustained weight loss and reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and orthopedic complications. For many patients, these medications can change the course of their health and prevent the very surgeries I perform.
The Langenhop family. Photo courtesy of the Langenhop family and the CIRM. After 21 years of “prospecting,” the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has fetched up its first “nugget” – federal approval of a one-and-done gene therapy for a life-threatening disease.
The California Assembly in session. Photo by APOn occasion, if you listen to the proceedings on the Floor of the California State Assembly, you may hear either a legislator seeking “permission to read on the Floor,” or you might hear a legislator raise a point of order that a colleague is reading on the Floor. What is the basis for either of these two statements?