Posts Tagged: lawmakers
News
On Wednesday, May 14, Capitol Weekly hosted “California’s Insurance Crisis,” its first in-person gathering of the year and second conference of 2025. Held at the University of California Student and Policy Center, the event featured three panels and a keynote address from the California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Discussions ranged from the overall state of the insurance industry to the impact of the Los Angeles wildfires and the path forward.
Micheli Files
The California Government Code provides for aspects of the Legislature and the legislative process in this state. There have been many court decisions over the past century interpreting key provisions of the Government Code. The following cases highlight some of the key decisions interpreting these statutory provisions. This is Part 1 of a two-part series.
Opinion
OPINION – In order to protect Californians and provide the type of transparency our residents expect and deserve, we must bring lawsuit financing out of the shadows and start to regulate it like any other risky financial product.
News
We’re a long way off from the 2026 gubernatorial election, but 14 candidates – nine Democrats and four Republicans – have already kicked their campaigns to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom into high gear. Some are familiar names and faces; others are not. And of course all of them are, like the rest of us, waiting to see if former California Attorney General, U.S. Senator and Vice President Kamala Harris adds her name to the list. While Harris ponders her future, over the next few months Capitol Weekly will take a brief look at how the current candidates shape up.
Capitol Spotlight
Nobody can ever accuse Sen. Scott Wiener of only taking on the easy fights. The San Francisco Democrat has in fact developed a reputation as someone almost allergic to tackling any bill – from housing to health care, from psychedelics to artificial intelligence – that doesn’t promise a bare-knuckles brawl to get passed.
Opinion
OPINION – It’s been nearly two decades since the groundbreaking law, AB 32, established our state’s ambitious goals for reducing climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions. But there is much more to do.
Opinion
OPINION – We can no longer ignore the needs of our state’s medically fragile patients – nor should we.
News
Special interests, or as the California Secretary of State calls them “lobbyist employers,” paid lobbying firms more than $66 million to lobby state government in the first quarter of 2025, according to a Capitol Weekly analysis of lobbying firm reports.
Capitol Spotlight
The Capitol’s Fellows programs are considered some of the toughest to break into, and Erica Costa is no stranger to that challenge. A graduate of the Assembly Fellows Program, followed by over 15 years of public service experience, she was recently named director of the Senate Fellows Program at the Center for California Studies at Sacramento State University.
Opinion
OPINION – Despite what many think, California spends a mere 1% of its total budget on housing and homelessness. Until we take bold action by dramatically increasing public investment and strengthening tenant protections, this crisis will only worsen.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol Weekly. 
