Ben Christopher
CalMatters-
For a bill described by its author as “the most significant political reform of the last 50 years,” Senate Bill 1439 sure didn’t get much attention when it was working its way through the Legislature last year.
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For the first time, a new state report offers a bird's-eye view of how much the state has spent to halt homelessness — nearly $10 billion over three years. Of the half-million Californians who made use of those services, more than 40% ended up housed. Which also means the majority did not, or the state lost track of their whereabouts.
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In 2021, it was big news — the “California exodus.” Now, it just looks like the new trend: California’s population is still shrinking.
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For northern California housing politics, judgment day has come.
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In its first formal response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $297 billion spending plan, the Legislature offered some pointed feedback on Wednesday: The governor’s fiscal forecasters are being too optimistic and the state needs to prepare for a worsening budgetary outlook.
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The fast food and oil industries are only the latest to seek a referendum to stop, or at least delay, a law passed by the state Legislature. The return on investment can be huge — so much money that some are calling for changing the referendum rules in California.
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After a flurry of called races, victories proclaimed and concessions offered across 52 congressional districts, 100 state Assembly and Senate contests, nine statewide races for constitutional offices and seven propositions on the California ballot, it can be hard to wrap your head around what exactly happened.
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In one of the highest-profile California election results, Proposition 30 failed despite the state’s commitment to climate action and its history of taxing the wealthy. But the ballot measure also was complicated and divided Democrats, a recipe for failure.
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Of all the ballot measures put before California voters this fall, Proposition 30 — which would raise taxes on the rich to support electric car deployment and combat wildfires — is perhaps the most confounding.
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As business interests lose policy battles in the California legislature, they're increasingly resorting to voter ballot measures to try to get their way.
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In a state known for its strict gun laws, a concealed carry bill failed in the final hours of the legislative session. Its supporters rolled the dice with a proposal that would take effect quickly, but that required two-thirds approval.
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California lawmakers have less than two weeks to wrap up their work before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31. And so begins the final legislative traffic jam, as bills line up for final votes.