Posts Tagged: senator

A first-in-the nation bill to regulate hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in the exploration for underground oil and gas deposits was approved by the Legislature and sent to the governor’s desk.

Sen. Noreen Evans’ recent announcement that she would not run for re-election sent shock waves through the Capitol.  In an era of term limits, where legislators’ time is limited in the state Capitol, it’s rare that a member decides to bow out early.

But representing the 2nd Senate District can be quite an arduous

Victims are entitled to equal justice and equal protection. Until SB 131 is amended by Sen. Beall to allow public sector victims access to the courts under the same terms and conditions as private victims, we believe anyone concerned about fairness should oppose this bill.

Less than a month after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the Senate Judiciary Committee discussed restoring the protections.

“I was particularly disappointed with the statement in the oral arguments that Congress passed the Voting Rights Act only because it had a nice name,” Minnesota Sen. Al Franken

Although U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin serves as poster ogre for anti-Communist crusades of the early 1950s, Congress’ most notorious “Red Scare” investigations took place under the purview of the House Un-American Activities Committee. HUAC, as it was known, pre-dated McCarthy by 14 years and continued for more than a decade after his demise.

Reliable sources are among a journalist’s most valuable assets. In California, an effort is under way to strengthen their protections, a move prompted by the federal government’s recent efforts to abruptly seize reporters’ telephone records.

“A free democracy depends on the freedom of the press,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Long Beach. Lieu, a former prosecutor,

For a while, at least, it appeared that state government was pitching a perfect game.

Proposition 39, a ballot initiative to change corporate state income tax policy by closing a $1 billion loophole approved years before during the Schwarzenegger administration, won 61 percent of the vote, despite the dim odds confronting any measure that

As California’s cap and trade auction moves forward, ethical people of all viewpoints should be able to agree that citizens deserve an open and transparent process.  Assemblywoman Shannon Grove and Senator Ricardo Lara have introduced important accountability measures, AB 245 and SB 726 respectively, that would place the cap and trade auction back in the

Apparently 2012 wasn’t a banner year for California cemeteries, particularly the one maintained by the Kern River Valley Cemetery District.

It’s not that there isn’t a market for plots. The U.S. Census Bureau says 242,848 Californians died last year alone.

People are just dying to get in somewhere else.

A measure — 

When state Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat, announced his support for a constitutional amendment to roll back a critical piece of tax-cutting Proposition 13, the reaction was swift: There were catcalls, praise and at least one satiric newspaper cartoon.

Leno’s SCA3, which requires voter approval, would allow passage of local parcel taxes