Loupe one hundred dollars banknotes on keyboard. Finding financial earnings on the internet conceptWhile California campaigns and election regulators like the California Fair Political Practices Commission have generally succeeded in providing transparency to the contribution side of the campaign finance ledger, they’ve fallen comparatively short when it comes to expenditures.
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Sen. Janet Nguyen, Sen. Josh Newman, Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, and Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva. Photo by Senate Republicans. A trio of bills aimed at improving care for animals at shelters cleared the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development on Monday. The trio of bills collectively aim at reducing shelter overcrowding and improving record keeping around animal care while requiring more shelters to publicly report data on a variety of care issues, including the number of animals euthanized.
Capitol Weekly Editor Rich Ehisen and SEIU CA Govt. Affairs Director Jess Bartholow. Photo by Tim Foster Capitol WeeklyCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Longtime poverty fighter Jess Bartholow surprised many when she left her longtime gig with the Western Center on Law and Poverty in 2020 to become East Bay Senator Nancy Skinner’s Chief of Staff. The move made sense: Skinner has long been an outspoken advocate for California’s poor, and was a personal inspiration for Bartholow. But with the senator terming out at the end of this year, Bartholow recently opted for a new post: Director of Govt. Relations for SEIU California, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state and across the country.
Open source image of denim jeansLobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.
Loyal Terry, photo by Scott Duncan PhotographyThe newest Capitol Weekly Rising Star, Loyal Terry, Assembly Fellow for Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), takes inspiration from the lived experiences of his late father, his aunts and uncles, and himself. Terry approaches policy from a holistic perspective, having experienced how housing, transportation, health, and more intersect to impact working-class people.
The concept of carbon credit, sustainable energy. Carbon neutrality and net zero emissions. Top view of lush trees in the forest Using renewable energy from wind and sunlight Clean energy.OPINION – Earlier this month, the California Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 1036 (SB 1036), a bill that would cause far-reaching damage to the ability of California – and the world – to fight the climate crisis. Despite its good intentions, in practice, SB 1036 opens individuals and firms engaging with the voluntary carbon market in good faith to increased legal risk and potential civil litigation and misinformed, frivolous lawsuits.
Image by Marko AliaksandrIt might be a bit of an understatement to say the November 5 election is clouded by uncertainty. But there is one thing we know for certain: two years after the most expensive ballot campaign in U.S. history, California voters will not be considering another sports betting measure in 2024. Two more proposed sports wagering initiatives were submitted to the Attorney General’s office last fall. But the effort was abandoned, ensuring that the issue will not come before voters this year, according to tribal leaders.
On occasion, readers can find bills in the California Legislature that make “continuous appropriations.” What are these types of appropriations? Why are they used? How are they drafted by the attorneys at the Office of Legislative Counsel?
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: We’re joined today by longtime journalist, and co-founder of CalMatters, David Lesher. Last year David stepped down as editor-in-chief to direct a new project at CalMatters: Digital Democracy. Using the latest technology, including AI, Digital Democracy will gather a tremendous amount of data from California’s state government: “every word uttered in public hearings, every dollar given to a politician, every bill introduced, every vote taken and more.”