California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and yet the state has experienced two mass shootings in the last few days. However, you are still 40 percent less likely to die by gun in the state than anywhere else in the country.
Prosecutors will no longer be able to use rap lyrics as evidence; it will not be a crime to loiter for the purpose of sex work; courts will be barred from disclosing someone’s immigration status; and inmates will be allowed to make free phone calls.
A handful of new state labor laws will go into effect on Jan. 1. With the new laws, employers will be required to include salary and wage ranges on job postings, minimum wage will rise and millions will receive greater paid family leave.
While some of the new policies’ impacts may not be immediate, the new laws will change the state’s future when it comes to oil and gas buffer zones, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy and more.
Years-long permitting processes across multiple agencies, community opposition and high costs can result in the state taking a decade to build new electrical infrastructure.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports move a total of $469 billion worth of freight a year and employ 175,000 workers. But if the industry continues to favor East Coast ports, the impact on Southern California ports could be devastating.
Amid a call to incorporate tribal knowledge in environmental protection, a state agency has set a standard for authentic consultation. A history of fights over water in Owens Valley embodies the tension between growth and stewardship.
As many expect another winter surge for COVID-19, cities across California are updating their policies and response to the virus. Meanwhile, former President Clinton tests positive, Paxlovid is safe for pregnancies and other updates.
Two million Californians lost unemployment benefits last September when pandemic-era programs ended a lifeline for many workers, specifically those who were less-educated, Black or over the age of 64.
The controversial proposal would also mandate that all new trucks operating around busy railways and ports be zero emission by 2024 and that all diesel trucks be phased out of those areas by 2035.
More than 10 percent of the incoming legislative class will be lesbian, gay or bisexual members, marking the proportionally most openly queer state legislature in U.S. history.
The state’s law imposes sweeping restrictions on Internet companies that serve minors by requiring that they design platforms with children’s well-being in mind. The law will go into effect in 2024.
States are sending billions out to households in one form or another. But states don’t print money; they just shuffle it around. The payments amount to a rounding error in the overall inflation picture.
Sure, more are moving from the Golden State to the Lone Star State. But California still attracts Texas’ talents — and drains brains — by the tens of thousands every year.
The state is on track to overtake Germany, surpassing the United Kingdom, France and Brazil. In the past three years, the state’s corporate revenues have risen 147 percent and the market capitalization has increased 117 percent.
The ongoing drought has raised costs, making it increasingly difficult for more than 13 million low-income households across the state to afford water. Many are looking for officials to take action.
