Regulations

SB350 support hinges on cost vs. environmental protections

Looking at the results of the California Business Roundtable/California Manufacturing & Technology Association poll on Senate Bill 350, the new climate change policy being considered in the CA Legislature, you can almost see how campaign arguments would be formulated if

Another mandatory vaccination bill advancing

Chris Reed August 29, 2015

When it comes to toughening state vaccination laws, the Legislature’s not done yet. A measure that would require child-care workers to be vaccinated for three common childhood diseases has passed a key vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. KQED News

CA wrestles with minimum wage domino effect

James Poulos August 19, 2015

Forging ahead with plans to take minimum wages to new highs, California’s San Francisco Bay Area has touched off tit-for-tat increases, deepening fears that the region’s high cost of living has become a business-killer. A growing dilemma “Berkeley’s City Council approved

As Legislature reconvenes, businesses hone the art of the deal

Joel Fox August 18, 2015

What’s business looking for in the remaining legislative session and what kind of deals are being discussed to get there? A number of large business organizations have offered support for funding sources to be used for transportation infrastructure purposes on

Burning Man bests perk-hungry regulators

James Poulos August 15, 2015

A nerve-wracking negotiation with federal officials has been resolved in favor of the Burning Man festival, saving the organization behind the event from shelling out big sums for luxe accommodations. The controversy, which made national news, pitted festival organizers against the

Boxer and Feinstein push homeless vet relief

James Poulos August 14, 2015

California’s two U.S. Senators have thrown their weight behind new legislation meant to get California veterans off the streets. Federal legislation At the center of the proposals is the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Los Angeles campus, located on the west side

Developer fees targeted by legislation as cities battle housing costs

Steve Miller August 11, 2015

Rent control is on the march in California, addressing years of leases that have increased to as much as 43 percent over the national average for a one-bedroom apartment. In the last year, rent has increased 6.5 percent in the

CA Congressmen want federal pot probe

James Poulos August 8, 2015

The federal government’s understanding of its own marijuana regulations are willfully “tortuous” and “an obvious stretch,” warned a bipartisan duo of California Congressmen in a sternly-worded letter to the Department of Justice. An abuse of power In the letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, Reps. Sam

New fee would push S.F. housing costs even higher

Chris Reed August 7, 2015

The cost of housing in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has been a national news story throughout 2015. On Wednesday, for example, USA Today reported that teachers could no longer afford to live in San Francisco. This has prompted hand-wringing

CA considers state pot bank

James Poulos August 4, 2015

Grappling with the regulatory challenges faced by liberalizing marijuana laws, California officials floated the idea of a state-run bank for the cannabis industry. The plan, which would have struck many observers as outlandish just a few years ago, arose in