Kim Delfino, photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyKim Delfino, an environmental attorney and consultant, is known for her vast knowledge of land use law, wildlife law, water law and energy law. The president of Earth Advocacy, she has led her campaigns while balancing the needs of her family (she and her husband have two adult children) and surviving breast cancer.
Image by dwporterCalifornia lobbyists could see one of their annual fees rise as much as 900 percent if an under-the-radar bill by Sen. Steve Glazer survives Suspense Day.
California Governor's sealIn talking with staff from executive branch state agencies and departments the past few weeks, there are some practical tips that were shared with me for those working with the staff members of the Governor’s agencies and departments.
Image by Stuart Miles via ShutterstockSen. Aisha Wahab’s Senate Bill 573 would have originally prohibited legislative staff from working for lobbying firms for two years after leaving the capitol.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: With nearly five decades of advocacy under his belt, there are only a handful of people who have lobbied in Sacramento longer than John Norwood. A lawyer as well as a lobbyist, Norwood has earned a reputation as a hard worker and a straight shooter. We asked him about the changes he’s seen, and the biggest challenges facing California.
Environmentalist Heidi Sanborn.(Photo: Screen capture via YouTube, from California insider)California recently approved three sweeping environmental laws: SB 54, SB 343, and AB 1201. Hopefully, this game-changing legislation will shape national policy about recycling, composting, plastic pollution, and human health. We have many people to thank for the recent measures to reduce plastic pollution and increase plastic recycling, but we citizens rarely know who. Heidi Sanborn is one of those people.
A sign in Yorba Linda advocating Gov. Gavin Newsom's recall. (Photo: Matt Gush.)Deeply divided California voters will go to the polls on Sept. 14 — earlier, if they vote by mail — to decide whether Gov. Gavin Newsom should be recalled and who should replace him. The polls are tight. A July 24-27 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies has 47 percent of those most likely to vote wanting to boot Newsom out of office, while 50 percent want to retain him. So what helps Newsom and what doesn’t?
Chris Micheli. Photo by Tim Foster, Capitol WeeklyLongtime lobbyist Chris Micheli stops by the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk with Tim Foster and John Howard about his new book: A Practitioner’s Guide to Lobbying and Advocacy in California.
The state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: N.F. Photography) ANALYSIS: Influencing legislation is a complicated business. There is no high-tech computer model that can predict whether a bill introduced in the California Legislature will become a law and, if so, the form it will take. However, there are many, knowable influences that regularly shape state legislation in California.
David Quintana (Photo: Tim Foster)We kick off 2017 with a visit to lobbyist David Quintana, the brains behind the Back to Session Bash – the hottest political party of the season – which is on track for Thursday, Jan. 12. We get the lowdown on the origin of the bash, the best and worst moments of past Bashes, what, exactly, Coolio was buying at Rite Aid while he was supposed to be performing — and unsuccessfully dig for details about this year’s SPECIAL GUEST.(Spoiler: NOT Beyonce.) Also featuring Viviana Becerra as official BtSB fact checker!