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CA cracks down on medical pot growers

Marijuana has rocketed to the top of California’s list of cash crops, sucking an outsized — and illegal — amount of water with it. “An ounce of marijuana requires 34 gallons while an ounce of almonds requires 25.3 gallons of

Lawmakers seek to reform community college accreditation process

John June 20, 2015

The state’s college accreditation process, which reviews academic standards at public and private colleges, could soon undergo a review of its own. A bill working its way through the Legislature would open up the accreditation process for California community colleges to ensure greater

Chamber warns arbitration bill will kill jobs

Dave Roberts June 20, 2015

When you take a job, should you be required to waive your right to have a future employment dispute adjudicated by the state labor commissioner or in civil court? That has increasingly become the case for job applicants. Forty-three percent

CA regulators debut new energy rules

James Poulos June 19, 2015

Placing a big bet on solar power and new regulations, state officials have rolled out ambitious new requirements aimed at slashing energy use in newly-constructed homes. “Buildings built in California starting in 2016 will have to comply with the nation’s toughest

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

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

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

CA Dems move to remake state voting

James Poulos June 16, 2015

Pursuing a long-held dream of maximizing voter turnout, California Democrats have coalesced around legislation that would fundamentally transform the experience — and inconvenience — of casting ballots. “California elections would be radically retooled, with neighborhood polling places replaced by ‘voting centers’