California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara at California Insurance Crisis, May 14, 2025. Photo by Ellie Appleby, Capitol WeeklyOur Capitol insiders are back to answer another pressing question: Should California return to having the Insurance Commissioner be an appointed position rather than being chosen by voters?
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Image by SCM Jeans. As the popularity of e-bikes has grown, so too have the instances and severity of crashes involving the motorized bicycles. With that in mind, lawmakers this session have pondered several bills seeking to balance expanding e-bike use and road safety.
Image by Volkan ISIK. Due to a massive backlog in our queue, effective immediately Capitol Weekly is imposing a moratorium on new op-ed submissions through at least June 24th.
California Assembly. Photo by Capitol Weekly. In his continuing review of 2026 legislation in the California Legislature, intrepid legal scholar, lobbyist and law professor Chris Micheli offers some additional observations on the dos and don’ts of drafting legislation.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Our guest today is Steve Frisch, President and CEO of the Sierra Business Council (SBC) and a founding member of the Wildfire Solutions Coalition. With the devastating impacts of wildfire becoming more evident with each fire season, the Coalition advocates for funding and implementation of wildfire resilience strategies. While acknowledging California’s budget woes, he argues that preventing fires will save the state money, and that “this is not the year we should be reducing wildfire funding.”
Haifaa Abdulhaq, photo courtesy of UCSF Fresno. Questions about inherent conflicts of interest continue to dog the $12 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the largest such state enterprise in the nation.
Workers are constructing wooden frame beams for new building under roof trussesOPINION—Within the crowded field of candidates running for governor, California’s housing shortage dominates every campaign agenda. Voters are right to demand action on this issue.
Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome.
Image created by The Poison PenCAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: California’s Top Two Primary, also known as a Jungle Primary, was approved by voters as Proposition 14 in 2010. Sixteen years later, California voters are beginning to sour on Top Two. Fears of a GOP – or Democratic – lockout in this year’s race for governor have led many to call for a change. Recent polling by Capitol Weekly found the 79% of respondents wanted to revise or repeal the jungle primary. Longtime Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio has heeded that call, filing a ballot initiative proposing to repeal Prop. 14. He joins us today to talk about the race for governor, the legacy of the Top Two and why it needs to change.