Image by Sandwish. For some, a common pricing algorithm is merely a good use of technology that allows a company to simplify its pricing structure. To others, it is a surreptitious way for businesses to get around federal and state antitrust laws that bar them from participating in price fixing schemes.
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA). Image by AP. The 2026 California gubernatorial race is as unsettled as ever. Who is the most likely to jump in next? Conversely, who is the most likely to drop out?
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: The National Conference of State Legislatures was created by state legislators and legislative staff in 1975. NCSL serves America’s 50 states, commonwealths, territories and the District of Columbia and hosts the annual NCSL Legislative Summit, the largest policy meeting in the US. We’re joined today by Tim Storey, who has headed the organization since 2019. We asked him what the ‘hot’ topics were at this year’s Summit, how his members feel about the Redistricting wave sweeping the nation, and how the organization has maintained its bipartisan status in a deeply partisan era.
Image by Tero Vesalainen. OPINION – California has ambitious goals to make health care more effective, efficient, and affordable. But there’s a hard truth: none of these goals are achievable without a clear, coordinated path for sharing necessary patient information across health and social care systems.
"Sensitive Habitat; Please Do Not Enter" sign posted on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay; marsh vegetation visible in the background; Palo Alto, California. Image by Sundry Photography.OPINION – Sacramento gets a bad rap for its slow bureaucracy. But when it comes to dismantling environmental protections, it can operate at lightning speed.
Photo by Sundry Photography. Design by Ted AngelHello everyone and welcome to the 17th edition of the Capitol Weekly Top 100. Unlike the heroine of Janis Ian’s classic song about the cruelties life can visit upon us at such a tender age, I’m looking at the seventeenth edition of this list with a sense of optimism.
Image by peterschreiber.mediaA quarter century after the California energy crisis, some supporters of energy deregulation have taken to a new idea: turning over control of the state’s energy grid to a West Coast nonprofit.
Rules an regulations. Image by Bet_Noire.Did you know that the Assembly and Senate Daily Files actually list some rule suspensions (often referred to as “rule waivers”)? While the respective Daily Files contain calendars, tables of information, committee hearings, and legislative measures on the two Floors, they each contain one set of rule suspensions.
Image by artisteer.OPINION – Senate Bill 41, pitched as “drug price reform,” isn’t serious reform. It’s a political play designed to give Sacramento lawmakers credibility to be on the good side of a universally hated issue, even if it comes at the expense of the very communities they claim to champion.
Cut down day. Image by :Pla2na. The two Appropriations Committees in the California Legislature have a unique procedure they each use called the “Suspense File.” Basically, any bill which has been keyed “fiscal” by the Legislative Counsel is referred to the fiscal committee in each house, called the Appropriations Committee. The vast majority of those bills are placed on the Suspense