Posts Tagged: legislative
Opinion
OPINION: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently released the latest quarterly allowance auction results for California’s cap-and-trade program. While demand rose compared to the previous auction in May, a majority of allowances still went unsold due to uncertainty over the program’s future past 2020 – suggesting policymakers should take action, not solace, from better August auction results.
News
California’s fledgling top-two voting system, which creates an open primary for all statewide candidates, could prove costly to Democrats in liberal districts while rewarding Republicans who lose. In heavily liberal areas in Northern California, voters could be presented with the choice of two Democrats and no Republicans in the general election.
Analysis
Elizabeth Hill became the first woman to head the California Legislative Analyst’s Office in 1986 when she was eight months’ pregnant with her second child. For 22 years, she held one of the most important positions in state government — advising the 120-member Legislature during fractious times and sometimes clashing over policy recommendations in an increasingly partisan environment beset by the passage of term limits, deep budget cuts, and recession.
News
Build it and they will come. A surge in state government office construction looms for downtown Sacramento, including the replacement or renovation of the Capitol’s 64-year-old annex.
News
Hawaii last month became the first state to establish a goal of relying 100 percent on renewable energy, setting 2045 as the year to reach this ambitious target. Meanwhile, legislation moved forward in California that would significantly expand its pioneering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. The Golden State has an economy larger than all but six nations in the world, and almost anything it does has the potential of having global impact.
News
Calpensions: President Obama said he has directed his labor department to propose rules showing states how to create what in California could be an “automatic IRA,” a payroll deduction that puts money into a tax-deferred savings plan unless workers opt out. The rules are expected to answer a key question: Is Secure Choice exempt from a federal retirement law, ERISA, that not only has employer administrative costs but may also expose employers to liability for failed investments and other problems?
News
Summer and the Thanksgiving-Christmas holidays – prime time for people to relax. But in the intense, politics-driven culture of the Capitol, by far the most popular time to sign up for vacation or leave is during period surrounding the general election, when the staff members’ bosses may be up for reelection. Then, some two-thirds of the Assembly’s work force put in for at least some amount of vacation time during 2014, according to Assembly figures reviewed by Capitol Weekly.
News
ANALYSIS: The 2014 Legislative Session produced a number of bills that would have substantially changed the rules that affect lobbying activity. The Legislature passed legislation that would have zeroed out lobbyist gifts and lowered the gift limits for all public officials to $200, as well as eliminated gifts of golf, spa treatments and a host of perks for public officials. However, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed all these bills.
Opinion
OPINION: Late last year, the Legislature passed a fiscally irresponsible law that prevents local school districts from maintaining prudent budget reserves necessary to prepare for future economic downturns, to invest in classroom improvements, and to protect our students. As ridiculous as that sounds, unfortunately that’s the reality. That’s why thousands of educators, including school board members, school district officials, community members, parents and others are calling for the Legislature to repeal the local school district reserve cap.
News
ANALYSIS: Now that we’re in the middle of March Madness and nearing the opening of the 2015 Major League baseball season, we see the sports data geeks take center stage. Ever since the book, and subsequent movie, “Moneyball,” fans have been intrigued by the data that appears to be a major driver in sporting decisions, from the players chosen for a team, to the offensive and defensive formations, where and when the percentages suggest shooting or passing, and so on.
A powerplant at sunset. (Photo: David Crockett)
