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Gov. Brown signs controversial farmworker overtime bill

By 2022, California’s agriculture workers will have the same overtime pay structure as most other employees in the state after Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure into law on Monday. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, took to Twitter to

New report alleges work abuses by Apple’s Chinese suppliers

Steve Miller September 8, 2016

A statute passed by California lawmakers in 2010 to stem labor abuses abroad has been of meager help in policing tech giant Apple, a group that studies labor abuses in China claims. The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, heralded

Two bills targeting rape pass Legislature, head to Gov. Brown’s desk

James Poulos September 7, 2016

A series of high profile rape accusations led California lawmakers to pass new legislation designed to remove a judge’s discretion in certain cases and to lift the burden on victims to bring suit before the law allows the validity of their claims

Tobacco tax one of the most heated for November ballot

Steven Greenhut September 6, 2016

SACRAMENTO – There’s broad agreement that the 17 initiatives on the statewide ballot on November 8 cover some of the most significant public-policy issues to come before voters in more than a decade. For instance, voters will have a chance

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia: Queenmaker, powerbroker

Matt Fleming September 2, 2016

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia is mere months away from assuming the chairmanship of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. While her ascendancy will need to be formalized with a vote of caucus members after November’s election, the vice chair, which Garcia is, has

Democratic Senate candidate courts the right, walks fine line

Matt Fleming September 1, 2016

On the heels of a Los Angeles Times story saying she was making a play for voters on the right, Democratic Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez is pushing Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a bill increasing minimum penalties in sexual assault cases.

Despite several big environmental wins during last days of session, one big bill got away

Matt Fleming September 1, 2016

Democrats will walk away from the two-year legislative session that ended Thursday morning with a long list of environmental accomplishments — but still one got away. A bill sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, would

Cap-and-trade deal reached, heads to Gov. Brown for approval

Matt Fleming August 31, 2016

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators reached an agreement on Wednesday on what to do with around a billion dollars of cap-and-trade revenue. The deal was announced earlier in the day and was approved by dinner after a longstanding battle between legislative

Assemblyman accused of wife beating receives awkward tribute from legislators

Matt Fleming August 31, 2016

Over the last few days of the session, legislators pay tribute for their fellows who will not be in the chamber next year. And while the tributes range in length and tone — one legislator joked (?) about his romantic

Legislature approves $50-per-month diaper benefit

Matt Fleming August 30, 2016

Low-income Californians could soon receive a monthly, $50 benefit for diaper purchases, according to a bill approved by the Legislature on Tuesday. The monthly benefit would be given for each child two years old or younger, with a requirement that the