Assemblymember Buffy Wicks. Photo by Scott DuncanIn our latest survey conducted in partnership with Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., we polled thousands of Capitol denizens on their favorite and least favorite legislators. As with the Top 100, this is sure to spark some controversy.
Image by hapabapaAs I make my way through bills in the second house policy committee, I continue to run across interesting provisions contained in these bills. Here is a short explanation of some recent examples from 2025 bills that the “legislative geek” in me finds interesting.
The California State Capitol Building in Sacramento. Image by t:Marcopolo9442It has been a big budget week, with lots of ups and downs. In today’s briefs we look at some of those as well as a few more happenings in and around the Capitol.
OPINION – The story of the Digital Age is one of rapid innovation, with people quickly adopting new tools while institutions meant to ensure everyone shares in the benefits often lag behind.
AI continues to advance at astonishing speed. More than 500 million people around the world—including 80,000 developers representing the next wave of business
The California state Capitol at dusk. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)This was crossover week, and both chambers considered hundreds of bills that only a few days before had cleared their respective suspense hearings. Here is a smattering of some of the significant action under the dome this week.
Image by HalfpointOPINION – As states, organizations, and individuals across the nation continue to brace for potentially devastating cuts to Medicaid programs from the federal level, it remains vital that the California State Budget preserve funding that supports critical and necessary services for more than 450,000 Californians with developmental disabilities.
Image by Png-StudioIn this edition of Capitol Briefs we take a quick look at final numbers from the suspense file hearings and note a few bills that will be moving on and one that won’t be.
Image by photobyphotoboy. 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.
Image by PromesaArtStudioIn late March, Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, amended a spot bill, SB 47, to order the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the February 2025 bar exam. The bill would direct the auditor to submit findings “as soon as possible” to the Bar’s board of trustees, the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court and the Senate Judiciary Committee and its Assembly counterpart.
Image by cagkansayinIn our system of government lawmakers make laws and courts are tasked with interpreting those statutes. That process is based on a surprisingly large number of factors.