California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill March 28 that plans to target oil companies with a windfall-profits penalty law, after it was rushing through both chambers of the Legislature in a week. The law will create new regulations and extensive oversight for oil companies and allows an appointed commission to issue fines and penalties…

A bill that would have reclassified sex trafficking as a violent felony in California was blocked by the Legislature’s Assembly Committee on Public Safety March 14. Six Democratic Assembly members voted against Assembly Bill 229 authored by Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin). The measure would have expanded the Three Strikes Law—a state law passed in 1994 that…

California state lawmakers recently voted down a bill that would have repealed the state’s sanctuary state law that shields illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities. The Assembly Public Safety Committee voted down AB 1708 on April 19 in a 2–3 vote, with Assemblymembers Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) and Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) voting in support. “Sadly, I…