Opinion
Lawmakers should approve gender, economic equity bills
An illustration of the lack of equity between men and women. (Image: Thapana Studio, via Shutterstock)OPINION:
Posts Tagged: transparency
An illustration of the lack of equity between men and women. (Image: Thapana Studio, via Shutterstock)News
Lawmakers eye the push for pay equity, transparency
A restaurant worker prepares to take orders. (Photo: SaiArLawKa2, via Shutterstock)A broad coalition is lobbying California lawmakers to pass a bill called the Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act., which would require the phased-in publication of pay data for private employers with 250 or more workers.
Opinion
CA’s new privacy rules should eye costs to grocers, consumers
Keys on a computer representing the state of California. (Image: Per Bengtsson, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Over the past two years, California’s grocer community has overcome supply chain complications, unprecedented demand, and workforce challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now contending with record inflation, the last thing grocers and their customers need are unintended consequences from the state’s new online privacy regulations, which pose a threat to how consumers access savings opportunities and e-commerce shopping tools like curbside pick-up and delivery.
Opinion
FPPC’s rule-making needs a dose of transparency
The state Capitol in Sacramento, surrounded by Capitol Park. (Photo: Merge Digital Media LLC, via Shutterstock)OPINION: The Legislature should enact legislation to require the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to fully comply with the current California Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
While the FPPC takes the position that it is only bound by the version of the APA that was in existing in 1974 (when the FPPC was created by the voters in their adoption of Proposition 9 that also enacted the Political Reform Act), we believe the FPPC should be bound by the current version of the APA.
Opinion
Lawmakers: Make fixing broken drug program a top priority
Prescription medication available through hospitals and pharmacies. (Photo: Andy Dean Photography, via Shutterstock)OPINION: California is committed to the health of its residents. Nearly a quarter of Gov. Newsom’s state budget for 2022-2023 is allocated to health care expenditures. Amid their focus on improving health care access and affordability, however, policymakers should also reexamine existing programs that are failing to properly protect vulnerable California communities.
News
‘DearCAStaffers’ shuts down as quickly as it began
Illustration of DearCAStaffers account, now defunct, on Instagram. (Image: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)In its brief, giddy existence, the anonymous Instagram account “DearCaStaffers” attracted thousands of followers and shared scores of secrets about lawmakers and their staff, before suddenly going dark. Beginning last week, each day brought hundreds of new followers, many of whom wrote anonymous posts about bad bosses and abusive work environments.
Opinion
Greater transparency crucial for sound state budgeting
The California state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Steven Frame) OPINION: Nearly two months into the new fiscal year. Four budget bills and approximately 50 budget-related policy bills later, Californians continue to wait for solutions to our state’s most pressing crisis — drought, water storage, and wildfire mitigation. Meaningful reforms to fix state agencies like EDD, or the replenishment of the $7.8 billion borrowed from the state’s Rainy Day Fund last year have not yet been addressed.
News
Greater transparency urged for CA redistricting commission
A view of the east side of the state Capitol through the trees of Capitol Park. (Photo: Colin Braaten, via Shutterstock)A former member of the voter-approved commission that draws maps for California’s legislative and congressional districts said the panel should operate more in the open as it crafts the new boundaries.
Opinion
Capitol Annex Project: No transparency and too costly
California's state Capitol in Sacramento, viewed from the 10th Street side. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)OPINION: Have you heard of the Capitol Annex Project? Probably not, though with a price tag of more than $1 billion (coming from taxpayers’ wallets), you should have. It’s no surprise the general public isn’t aware since this plan to uproot the Capitol grounds has been mired in secrecy since its inception.
Opinion
Billions more of public money for stem cell research?
A scientist with a pipette doing cellular research. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)OPINION: At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have, on a bureaucracy we don’t need, in pursuit of cures no one can guarantee. Specifically, Prop. 14 would refinance the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), also known as the state stem cell agency.