Image by Ritu Manoj JethaniMICHELI FILES: Despite no constitutional provision allowing them (or prohibiting them), many California Governors have used “signing messages” to accompany a Governor’s signature on a bill. U.S. Presidents also have long used signing messages.
Image by Mameraman via ShuterstockOPINION – Following decades of activist struggle, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made our state the first to outlaw caste discrimination, an ancient form of ancestry-based social stratification endemic to South Asia but also unfortunately upheld by diasporic communities in California. In vetoing SB 403, Newsom has not only blocked vital protections for this marginalized community, but also played into the broader political agenda of a group of powerful Hindu nationalist organizations who drove opposition to the bill.
Laura Wilcox, whose shooting death in Nevada County inspired "Laura's Law." (Family photo)Ever since Ronald Reagan signed the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act in 1967 granting people with severe mental illness greater rights and speeding the emptying of state asylums, governors have been sidestepping the issue, until now. Unlike governors before him in this state or perhaps any other, Newsom is confronting the issue of untreated mental illness.
Phil Isenberg, photo courtesy of the Public Policy Institute of CaliforniaPhil Isenberg, a former Sacramento mayor and one of the most influential Democratic members of the Assembly in the 1980s and 1990s, died Thursday after a short illness. He was 84.
Image by Salivanchuk SemenMICHELI FILES – Hearings are a regular part of life in the California Legislature. But as with all things under the dome, nothing is a one size fits all. There are, in fact multiple types of hearings in the effort to educate legislators and staff about the subject matter at hand.
Image by Jo Panuwat DOPINION – Each breast cancer patient has their own story. For some of us, breast cancer runs in our family and we’ve had family discussions about our risk. For others, the diagnosis comes out of left field and there’s nowhere to turn.
Diversity image by Master1305Earlier this year Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 447, which among several things overturns California’s travel ban to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws and replaces it with the Bridge Project, short for Building and Reinforcing Inclusive, Diverse, Gender-Supportive Equality Project.
Image by Cagkan SayinOPINION – Since my suggestion of reducing bill limits in the California Legislature does not appear to be taking hold, I have a new proposal to stimulate some discussion about this topic and would welcome feedback. Here is my proposal: How about requiring bills to be introduced at least one month earlier in the year?
Image by Owlie ProductionsIn October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 253, a first in the nation bill that will require public carbon disclosures from large corporations – defined as those “with total annual revenues in excess of $1 billion” – that do business in California. So what happens next?
Image by MehaniqMICHELI FILES: It is not the role of the legislative or executive branches of government to determine a statute’s constitutionality. Rather, that role is reserved to the third branch of government – the judicial branch.