Category: California legislature

California Bill to Expand Rent Control Voted Down in Senate

Legislation to expand rent control and allow local jurisdictions to limit the amount that residential landlords can raise rent each year was rejected by the California Senate on May 30. Senate Bill (SB) 466, sponsored by Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Hayward), failed on the Senate floor when 16 senators voted against it. Wahab decided to table…


California Laws Don’t Make Common Sense as Lawmakers Are Cornered by Ideologies: Former State Senator

“If [lawmakers] change how they are dealing with these issues, they’ll have to admit that they were wrong,” said former Republican California State Sen. Melissa Melendez regarding why she thinks the state Legislature keeps passing laws that don’t seem to work. Bills are passed not because they can solve the state’s issues, but because they…


California Lawmakers Propose Letting Voters Decide on Harsher Fentanyl Punishment After Setbacks in Legislature

Assemblymembers, law enforcement officials, and local representatives met on June 6 in front of the Capitol in Sacramento to announce a proposed constitutional amendment that would put stricter fentanyl enforcement on the upcoming 2024 presidential election ballot. “The fentanyl crisis is tearing our communities apart and devastating our family, friends and neighbors. No parent or…


California Spending Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on K–12 Education Without Getting Results: Experts

In recent years, California has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on K–12 education, and the governor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year maintains such numbers—but despite the state’s high education spending, reports show that its children are still struggling academically. The state’s funding reached a record-high $110.6 billion for the 2021–22 fiscal year and…


California Spends Hundreds of Billions of Dollars on K–12 Education Without Getting Results: Experts

California’s public school children continue to struggle academically, reports show, even as the state has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on K–12 education in recent years, and the governor’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year maintains such numbers. State funding reached a record-high $110.6 billion for the 2021–22 fiscal year and $110.4 billion for the…


‘Literally Impossible’: Trucking Companies Brace for California’s Electric Mandate

Logistics companies are scrambling to meet California’s upcoming 2024 mandate that all trucks servicing ports, railyards, and distribution centers in the state be zero-emission vehicles, with experts questioning limited access to charging stations and the viability of switching from diesel to electric fleets. Availability of electric semi-trucks is a concern, as is the price of…


California’s Plan to Ban Police Dogs for Crowd Control, Arrests Stalls in Assembly

California’s proposal to ban police canines was shelved in the Assembly on May 31 but is expected to return next year for consideration. Assembly Bill 742, authored by Assemblyman Corey Jackson (D-Perris) and Assemblyman Ah Kalra (D-San Jose), was introduced in February to end what they said was the deeply racialized and harmful practice of…


California Lawmakers Deny Newsom’s Proposals to Reform Environmental Laws to Speed up Big Projects

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent attempt to bypass environmental rules to speed up construction for certain projects was denied by the Senate Budget Committee 3–0 on May 25. “The only way to achieve California’s world-leading climate goals is to build, build, build—faster,” Newsom said in a press release on May 19 announcing his plan. “This…


California Bill Requiring Schools to Provide Free Condoms to Middle and High Schoolers Advances

A state Senate bill that would require schools to provide free condoms to all 7th to 12th grade California students passed the state Senate floor on a 31–9 vote on May 31. State Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced Senate Bill 541 in February to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among youth. The…


New California Bill Would Limit Rental Security Deposits to One Month’s Rent

California lawmakers are considering putting a limit on the amount of security deposit landlords can charge renters, drawing opposition from several of the state’s property owners and realtors’ groups. The legislation has recently crossed a major hurdle on its way to full approval. Assembly members on May 22 advanced Assembly Bill 12, sponsored by Assemblyman…