Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators this year made budget cuts and deferred spending as a way to address the $31.5 billion spending gap. But, as tax revenues were delayed by winter storms, the gap has grown to $68 billion.
The measure would grant unemployment benefits to striking workers by amending existing state law. Republicans oppose the measure, making the bill’s future in the GOP-controlled Senate uncertain.
For the last three decades, the General Assembly has passed an average of 66 bills each session. So far, the Legislature has only passed 12 bills this year. The least productive year on record was 2009, when only 17 bills passed.
The program also includes more funding for special education, teacher retention, per-student allotments and would revamp virtual education and public school accountability. But it would cost billions to implement.
This time next year, Americans will be casting votes in the 2024 general election. State and local races (and issues) will take place in the long shadow of a carefully watched presidential rematch.
Virginia Democrats have made abortion central to their campaign for legislative control. Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other Republicans believe they've come up with a rejoinder.
Dissident counties are joining quixotic efforts to secede from their states in much of the country. They’re a manifestation of real political resentments and a way to attract some attention.
The technology has great potential in the future of data analysis and policymaking. But it will only happen if the right guardrails are in place and best practices are developed and followed early on.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will make child sex trafficking a serious felony starting on Jan. 1, marking the first time the state has added to the strikable offenses list in more than 20 years.
Proposed legislation would make it mandatory for students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, which is necessary to secure federal grants, work-study jobs and loans, to graduate high school.
The state’s new law will take effect in 2027 and will prohibit the manufacture and distribution of brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye No. 3, which are common in processed foods and candy.
The attorney general’s office would participate in regular jail audits alongside a separate group of inspectors working with the County Sheriffs of Colorado, a nonprofit organization.
The county commissioners will likely file a lawsuit if a bill that would make it a state crime to illegally cross the border becomes law. Officials are concerned that the financial burdens of the law would fall on localities.
The nation’s agriculture industry is pushing for better protections for crops and the people who grow them against a changing climate, like the unprecedented drought that hit Illinois this summer.
Five bills headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for signature will ensure major health and civil rights protections inside the Affordable Care Act if they are ever stripped or repealed at the federal level.
Pre-emption of local authority has been a major concern over the past decade. Now, states are not only blocking specific laws but stopping cities and counties from addressing entire areas of policy.
