Image by cagkansayinThere are two areas of confusion regarding properly addressing the presiding officer of a legislative committee or on the floor. The rules of the California Legislature provide some guidance, as do Mason’s Legislative Manual.
Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil, Sen. Roger Niello, Sen. Brian Jones. Photo via Alvarado-Gil X account. California’s Fourth Senate District covers 25,000 square miles, basically 1/6th of the state. It stretches from Death Valley in the South to Truckee in the North and juts out West to grab Modesto, the district’s largest metropolitan area. Now the region’s representation in the Senate over the next legislative cycle could severely compromised because the decision by its senator, Marie Alvarado-Gil, to jump political parties.
Seal of the State of California, image by Aaron KohrANALYSIS – Both the Assembly and Senate of the California Legislature, like other legislative bodies, utilize several rules, as well as customs and practices, for the purpose of ensuring that legislative deliberations and debate operate in a civil and orderly way. The individual house rules, as well as Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure, provide guidance in this regard.
Faith Colburn, Sam Chavez and Ruth Ferguson of @SHiP. Not pictured, Catie Stewart. Photo by Scott Duncan, Capitol WeeklyIt has been over five years since more than 140 women in the California Capitol community signed a letter calling for an end to what they termed a “pervasive” atmosphere of sexual harassment and “dehumanizing behavior by men with power in our workplaces.”
The state Senate in Sacramento, where appointees of the governor face confirmation. (Photo: trekandshoot,via Shutterstock)OPINION: Women in this country have always had to be liked in order to survive. Prior to 1848, American women weren’t permitted to own property or work outside the home. Instead, they were forced to rely on men to determine their worth and much of that depended on whether or not they were found to be likeable.
Farm worker illustration by Quentin Lueninghoener/FairWarningAs an attorney representing California Central Valley farmers and labor contractors who rely heavily on undocumented workers, Anthony Raimondo has become widely known for performing a sort of magic trick. He can sometimes make legal complaints against his clients – and the people who file them – disappear.
In at least seven cases where workers
Aliso Canyon in Southern California, site of an unprecedented methane gas leak. (Photo: trekandshoot, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Aliso Canyon was the biggest methane well blowout in U.S. history, and we still don’t know why it happened. The California Public Utilities Commission and Brown administration regulators just reopened the facility without the necessary environmental and safety reviews, so we have no way of knowing if it will happen again.