June 2015 | Page 4 of 9 | CalWatchdog.com

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Legislation to improve CA water storage introduced in House

Improvements to and modernization of water storage capabilities in California and the rest of the U.S. will be made easier thanks to new legislation introduced in the House. Last week, Congressman David Valadao, R-Calif., introduced H.R. 2714, dubbed the “Dam

House votes to repeal medical device tax

Josephine Djuhana June 18, 2015

In a bipartisan vote of 280-140, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 160, dubbed the “Protect Medical Innovation Act,” which essentially repeals Obamacare’s 2.3 percent medical device tax. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a prepared statement:

CA Uber driver ruled employee

James Poulos June 18, 2015

Navigating the choppy regulatory waters of America’s 50 states just became more difficult for Uber. The fast-growing startup that has roiled the taxi and livery industry was dealt an adverse ruling by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office. As the New York Times

Gov. Brown seeks ‘permanent’ funding for Medi-Cal, infrastructure

Joel Fox June 18, 2015

In announcing the budget deal with the Legislature, Governor Jerry Brown announced two special sessions to deal with transportation and Medi-Cal funding. Call them the “special tax sessions.” In the press release announcing the sessions, the governor stated that the sessions were to

Covered California suffers financial drought

Josephine Djuhana June 17, 2015

California’s health insurance exchange is running out of money, and without federal grant assistance, may go bottom-up in the near future. Last week, Covered California released its June budget revision, unveiling a $335 million budget, up $2 million from a

Trailer bills seek to expand CA Water Board authority

Josephine Djuhana June 17, 2015

Two drafted trailer bill proposals seek to change regulations for water program fees and water systems. Draft Trailer Bill 807 would expand the State Water Resources Control Board’s authority by allowing it to impose operating fees paid by public water

Brown prevails over legislative Democrats in budget negotiations

James Poulos June 17, 2015

Notching another victory against Democrats to his left on spending, Gov. Jerry Brown rebuffed party legislators pushing him to add last-minute items to the state’s budget. “The final budget is $61 million more than Brown’s proposal in May,” the San Francisco

CA high court upholds affordable housing requirement

James Poulos June 17, 2015

Many Golden State developers must now include so-called affordable housing units in their sales plans. The California Supreme Court sided against the builders, who brought a contentious, high-profile suit against municipal policymakers. “At issue was a 2010 San Jose law that requires some new residential

Legislature passes record $117 billion budget

Josephine Djuhana June 16, 2015

On Monday, the California Legislature passed a $117 billion state budget on a 52-28 vote, meeting the June 15 deadline to send the bill to Governor Jerry Brown. The Legislature’s version of the budget allocates $117 billion in expenditures and

CA Dems pass budget, forcing talks with Brown

James Poulos June 16, 2015

Challenging their own governor for budget supremacy, California Democrats passed an ambitious state budget with just hours to spare before the deadline. Dueling Democrats “California lawmakers on Monday approved a budget with $2.2 billion more in spending than proposed by Democrat