California lawmakers kicked off a special session of the state Legislature on Monday. The reason? To fund a $25 million war chest for anticipated legal battles with incoming President Donald Trump’s administration. As nearly 30 new state lawmakers were sworn into office at the state Capitol in Sacramento, legislative leaders gaveled in a special session … Read more
A landmark court case involving an Orange County family and local school districts that helped bring about the end of segregation laws in schools around the country will be a mandatory element of history and social science classes in California public schools. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday, Sept. 20, requiring public schools in … Read more
By SOPHIE AUSTIN SACRAMENTO — California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday. California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids … Read more
California has allocated more than $20 billion to alleviate the state’s homelessness crisis since Gavin Newsom became governor in 2019, but there’s precious little data on how the money was spent and what effect it’s had, other than the number of unhoused people has continued to climb. Despite the absence of hard information, Newsom has been highly critical … Read more
California could become the fifth state to ban private colleges and universities from giving preferential treatment to applicants who have ties to alumni or donors under a bill lawmakers have sent to the governor’s desk. “Equal opportunity is the name of the game here,” said the bill’s author, San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting. “Everyone should … Read more
State lawmakers have dismissed a bill by a Santa Clara County senator that would have provided a chance at release for some inmates serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder. Sen. Dave Cortese, a San Jose Democrat, authored SB 94 in 2022 in hope of offering inmates who were convicted of murders … Read more
By Wendy Fry, Alexei Koseff and Sameea Kamal | CalMatters A last-minute protest failed to win two Senate-approved bills a chance to be voted on in the Assembly. The chair of the Black Caucus promised they would be re-introduced next year, and called reparations “a multi-year effort.” Years of effort went into making California the … Read more
By Alejandro Lazo | CalMatters An eleventh-hour proposal by California lawmakers to offer some small relief from rising electric bills is likely dead. Assembly Bill 3121 was pulled from a key Senate committee this afternoon. A source told CalMatters that means it will not be voted on before the legislative session ends Saturday. The bill’s … Read more
California would become the fifth state to require public schools to restrict or ban student smartphone use on school grounds under legislation Gov. Gavin Newsom has supported and is expected to sign. The bipartisan Phone-Free Schools Act — Assembly Bill 3216 — would require school districts to enact smartphone restrictions by July 1, 2026, and … Read more
A two-year bipartisan effort by California lawmakers to make big internet search and social media companies — Meta and Google — pay publishers of newspapers struggling in the digital age for using their reports ended Wednesday in a negotiated deal in which Google will contribute toward $250 million over five years to support newsrooms and … Read more
