State Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Shuttesrstock)Welcome to Part II of our deep dive into the myths and realities of legislation. This time we’ll take a look at how bills are amended and moved around. After our earlier piece appeared, one reader called to thank us – he said it helped him sleep at night. We’re glad we were able to help. And now to the bills: There’s a lot going on here …
An inmate gestures through the bars of his prison cell. (Photo: Sakhorn, Shutterstock)Gov. Jerry Brown and a number of church and law enforcement leaders said Wednesday they are launching a November ballot initiative that would ease parole restrictions on nonviolent prison inmates and provide incentives for prisoners to work toward an earlier release.
Protesters picketed the recent appearance of pension-change advocates Chuck Reed and Carl DeMaio at the Reason summit. (Photo: Ed Mendel, Calpensions) Calpensions: One of the two initiatives filed by a pension reform group last week would cap state and local government spending on retirement benefits for most new hires at 11 percent of pay, much like a Utah pension reform five years ago.
CalPERS has denied membership to nine charter schools, saying a proposed IRS rule could end crucial tax advantages if “even a single non-governmental entity” is allowed into the giant pension system. The association said the California Public Employees Retirement System is the only public pension system in the nation to deny membership on the basis of an IRS rule. (Photo: Coolcaesar, Wikipedia)
State officials have fined nine companies for violating California’s greenhouse gas law, which requires facilities to annually report their emissions.
The fines totaled $285,000, with the largest single penalty, $120,000, levied against ExxonMobil, the Air Resources Board announced.
“Accurate reporting of greenhouse gas emissions is the foundation of our efforts to reduce carbon pollution from