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Covered CA adds greater complexity to tax system

Tax time has become even more of a challenge under the Affordable Care Act, and in California, taxpayers have found matters especially difficult. Despite racking up relatively big successes in enrollment and implementation, the Covered California exchange has struggled in

Southern CA chafes under water squeeze

James Poulos April 18, 2015

Despite a long track record of conserving water, Southern California has had to scramble to find new ways to scale back even further. Gov. Jerry Brown’s statewide decree of a 25 percent cut in municipal water use has triggered a wave

CA vaccine bill placed in intensive care

James Poulos April 17, 2015

Faced with an unexpected new source of opposition, California lawmakers trying to tighten up vaccine exemptions have been thrown back on the defensive. “In requiring vaccinations as a prerequisite for enrolling children in school, detractors said, the bill would legalize institutional

Records of lawmakers a step closer to transparency

Steve Miller April 17, 2015

A judge has found that the records of lawmakers can be subject to open records requests, making California one of 28 states in which the records of state lawmakers are open to the public. The April 3 ruling interprets a part

Environmental Views: Gray Davis vs. Pete Wilson

Joel Fox April 17, 2015

Town Hall Los Angeles hosted a discussion between former California governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis yesterday with the two disagreeing over environmental law regulations and touching on other policy issues and state politics. Wilson argued that the reason California

CA poll: Public schools good, tenure bad

James Poulos April 16, 2015

A new poll indicated that Californians broadly supported public school reform, even among respondents whose support for public education remained strong: “Californians trust their public school teachers and want to spend more money supporting public schools, according to a recent poll. […] California

BOE Study: Proposed tax on services would take in $122.6 billion

Joel Fox April 15, 2015

Just in time for Tax Day, the Board of Equalization issued a study requested by the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance estimating the revenue take from taxing untaxed services would be $122.6 billion. The study will become fodder in

CA Senate wades into police videotaping controversy

James Poulos April 15, 2015

Faced with mounting criticism over civil liberties abuses, lawmakers in Sacramento greenlit a so-called clarification of Californians’ right to videotape and photograph police officers on the job. Senate Bill 411, introduced by state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, protects the practice so long

UCLA Study: 35% water reduction order in Palm Springs may backfire

Wayne Lusvardi April 15, 2015

Gov. Jerry Brown’s recently announced Executive Order B-29-15, mandating statewide water use reductions will hit the Palm Springs area of California the hardest with 35 percent cuts in water usage. But a new UCLA study of outdoor watering restrictions in

CalChamber plans another successful year of defeating “job killer” bills

John April 14, 2015

Sacramento’s been taking care of business. Last week, the California Chamber of Commerce, known simply as CalChamber, announced a preliminary draft of its “job killer” bills, an annual list of proposed legislation that will hurt the state’s business community and