The power plant in El Segundo, Calif. (Photo: Don Solomon, via Shutterstock)Nearly a decade after California’s landmark law curbing greenhouse gases was signed, a key author of AB 32 wants to dramatically boost the crackdown on climate-changing carbon emissions over the next 35 years.
The sprawling Central Valley of California, the world's richest farm belt. (Photo: ).As state attorney general, Kamala Harris has given key issues of the Central Valley particular attention, which could play politically well for her 2016 run for Sen. Barbara Boxer’s soon-to-be vacant seat. Rich in Latinos, most of whom are Democrats, the Central Valley could prove to be a decisive battleground, especially if a Latino enters the fray.
Three seats on the powerful board that governs California’s multibillion-dollar health insurance exchange are up for grabs, giving the Brown administration – whose allies already comprise a majority on the five-member board — an opportunity to name two new directors. Two seats held by appointees of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expired last week. A third became vacant following the resignation last month of Robert Ross, the president of the nonprofit California Endowment.
Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announced today the standing committee chairs for the lower house’s 2015-2016 regular session. Earlier this week state lawmakers came to Sacramento to take their oath of office and to officially elect Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, as their leader. Her committee chair lineup is a peek at which members will play a key role in this session’s legislative process
The UC Board of Regents’ decision to increase tuition over the next five years brought a swift – and negative – reaction from Sacramento, signaling a fiscal showdown when the state budget is unveiled in January. “To UC students and their families, please know that the fight over this nearly 28% fee increase is not over,” said Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins.
The coast at La Jolla. Photo: Dancestrokes)Under an unusual agreement reached between Senate leaders and a number of environmental groups just before the end of the legislative session, the period of time to consider the submitted list of candidates has been extended indefinitely. Such an extension is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.
The bicycling competition at Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Photo: Rodolfo Arpia)For years, the California Coastal Commission has sought the power to impose fines on people who violate the state’s coastal protection laws. But the high-profile efforts – at least three times in five years — were defeated in the Capitol by business interests, developers and property rights activists, among others. But beginning July 1, in what environmentalists described as a “sea change,” the Coastal Commission will have the authority to fine property owners who block the public’s access to beaches.
State Capitol, Sacramento. (Photo: David Monniaux)ANALYSIS: Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez of Los Angeles are both Democrats, but the two are hardly friends. The events of the last week captured the uneasy, though often productive, working relationship between the two leaders.
Toni AtkinsFor Toni Atkins, a coal miner’s daughter and the first in her family to graduate from college, the road from Virginia coal country to San Diego to Speaker of the state Assembly has been long and winding. She’ll be leading the lower house despite concerns – at least in the north state – that an old tradition over equitable leadership distribution between Northern and Southern California. (Photo: League of California Cities)
CAPITOL WEEKLY INTERVIEW: Assembly Speaker John Pérez would like to stay in the Legislature but he’s got a problem: The law won’t let him. He’s termed out next year under voter-approved term limits and it’s time to move on. Pérez heads into the controller’s race with a $1.5 million campaign war chest. He likely will face fellow Democrat Betty Yee, a former chief deputy in the Finance Department, the office that writes budgets for the governor. Yee currently serves on the state Board of Equalization.