The state Christmas tree in front of the Capitol in Sacramento. Photo, taken with fish-eye lens: Robert Schlie, via Shutterstock)The Christmas season tells us that there are only a few days remaining in 2020, California’s anno horribilis. It also means political types begin to harbor fantasies about what they would like Santa to bring them if they’re very, very good.
The chamber of the state Senate in Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, via Shutterstock)In simplistic terms, lobbying the state Senate and Assembly floors is similar to lobbying legislative committees, except that the scale is much larger. For example, some committees have as few five members (elected officials), while others have over 20 members. As you would assume, most committees in the 40-member Senate have fewer members sitting on them than do their counterparts in the 80-member Assembly.
The headquarters of the California Public Employees Retirement System in Sacramento. (Photo: Sabrina Clare)OPINION: The U.S. health care system is in a moment of reckoning. No one pretends to have the perfect solution. But there is something consumers can agree on: More transparency is needed. Consumers and their employers, which insure 49 percent of American health coverage, are demanding to know exactly what goes in to their health care costs.
A union supporter carries the California flag at a rally in Capitol Park. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)OPINION: You’d be hard pressed to find a more challenging threat to America’s labor movement than the Supreme Court’s recent Janus decision—which overturned 40 years of established legal precedent and the laws of 23 states in forcing public sector unions to represent non-members for free.
A photo illustration of drug costs, with prescription medication atop a dollar bill. (Image: Video_Creative)OPINION: The Golden Years for senior citizens across the Golden State are longer and more active than for the generations that preceded us. This is a real gift, but it does mean most of us are battling age-related medical conditions, often dealing with them for decades. Prescription drugs are a big part of our healthcare toolbox, and today, almost 40 percent of senior citizens use five or more medications.
Paul V. Horcher during his years as a member of the California Assembly. (Photo: Assembly)That year, 1994, Assembly Republicans gained their first majority in a quarter century only to have one of their own — Paul Horcher — break away and vote to keep Willie Brown, a Democrat, in power. It was one of the most amazing moments in the history of the Assembly.
A stem cell researcher at work. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)The California stem cell agency has awarded $33 million for clinical trial research, but not before some governing board members questioned the appropriateness of backing an effort to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. The awards on Thursday bring to 43 the number of clinical trials funded by the stem cell agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
Carmela Coyle, incoming president of the California Hospital Association. (Photo: CHA)<Carmela Coyle is the incoming president of the California Hospital Association, a major player in the state’s intensifying debate over health care. Capitol Weekly caught up with Coyle recently in the midst of her hectic schedule relocating to Sacramento from Maryland.
People at a 2016 political rally in Anaheim for Republican presidential contender Donald Trump. (Photo: mikeledray, via Shutterstock) Throughout the 2016 election cycle, Capitol Weekly conducted several polls. Two of them, one during the primary and the other during the general, were targeted to voters right after they had mailed in their ballots. In total, more than 80,000 Californians participated in these surveys. Now, we’ve gone back asked these voters how they feel about the candidates they backed and about the issues, and we sought their perceptions about the political climate. We’ll start with the Trump voters.
A photo illustration of prescription drugs. (Photo: txking, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The public debate around the cost of prescription drugs has unfairly turned on the one player in the system reducing drug costs – pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs.