Alexei Koseff / CalMatters

Legislators weren’t able to reach a compromise that helps insurers with wildfire risk while also protecting homeowners. Interest groups hope to find one in meetings this fall.

A deal announced today by labor groups and the fast food industry would give workers a $20 minimum wage and pull a measure off the 2024 ballot. The Legislature has until Thursday to approve it.

Under a system that has long prioritized local control for school districts. state officials now are fighting some recent board decisions regarding LGBTQ students.

American Medical Response has poured more than $3 million into a November 2024 initiative to raise requirements for levying taxes and fees. The company says it’s looking out for patients, but local officials say it’s about the money.

Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who say the commercial market created by Proposition 64 in 2016 isn’t meeting their needs.

After weeks of negotiations, the governor and top Democrats in the Legislature say they have a budget deal. Legislators will start voting today on bills related to the agreement, which sets spending and policy across a wide range of issues affecting Californians.

Gavin Newsom’s proposed US constitutional amendment includes four popular gun control policies, but it faces an extraordinarily difficult path to succeeding.

A bill to tax Airbnb and other short-term rentals to fund affordable housing projects could be voted on by the Senate as soon as today. The proposal has revived the debate over Airbnb and its role in the housing crisis.

In their twice-a-year exercise, legislators killed hundreds of California bills in the process known as the suspense file. They included ones on abortion access, climate and homelessness. The state budget deficit also made an impact.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says his plan to cover a budget shortfall that has grown by $9 billion protects investments in education, health care and housing. But it also relies on more borrowing and doesn’t include asks for child care and public transit.

Tax increases are sensitive business in politics. So it didn’t take long Wednesday — all of two hours — for Gov. Gavin Newsom to swiftly and decisively reject the latest idea from Democratic lawmakers to balance California’s budget by pumping businesses for more cash.

A bill to phase out all tobacco sales in California has been shelved, and anti-tobacco groups won’t say why they didn’t offer support. The bill was amended to focus on enforcing an existing ban on flavored tobacco.