State of California Government News Digest

As the first serious case of bird flu in a human is reported and more dairy herds across the state are infected, California Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency. Read on to learn what that entails.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “Master Plan for Career Education” seeks to help the nearly 7 million adults in California who lack college degrees by giving them college credit for their work experience and by changing the requirements on some state jobs.

There’s no law requiring California property owners to carry insurance, but the vast majority buy it to protect themselves from fire and other perils, or are required to do so by their mortgage lenders.

Gov. Newsom and legislative Democrats pushed through a law that bans employers from requiring workers to attend ‘captive audience meetings.’ It was the latest victory for the labor movement at the state Capitol.

California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

The Supreme Court justices agreed to review whether oil companies have standing to try to overturn a federal waiver for a California clean-car rule that ramped up electric car sales. The standards are the cornerstone of California’s efforts to clean its air and combat climate change.

An introduction to newly sworn in assembly member Rhodesia Ransom who represents Stockton in the California Assembly.

The Biden administration is awarding Inflation Reduction Act money to help clean the air before President-elect Trump takes over.

Gov. Newsom launched an ambitious program that uses Medi-Cal to help Californians access housing, healthy food and more. Now, its fate is in the hands of President-Elect Trump.

In a December 10 press conference, Governor Newsom urged lawmakers to press forward in building the Sites Reservoir in Colusa County. Read on to learn more about the project, the largest new reservoirs to be built in California in the last 50 years.

This guide explains the new e-bike subsidy vouchers, information about e-bikes, and how San Joaquin County residents can apply.

California has an aggressive mandate for zero-emission trucks, which are powered by electricity or hydrogen. But trucking companies face big obstacles — and people are still breathing dangerous diesel exhaust.

Pledging to take on the affordable housing crisis and bring down health care costs, Adam Schiff was sworn in Monday by Vice President Kamala Harris as California’s junior U.S. senator.

It has been eight years since California voters repealed a 1998 law directing public school districts to essentially eliminate their bilingual programs. But the fallout from the state’s vacillating history of bilingual education has led to California falling short of providing a quality education not only to non-English speakers but also to students who want to be bilingual.

The Public Policy Institute of California, a think tank that conducts vigorous and objective research into vital state issues, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of retrospective reports.

Each December there’s a new version of an old guessing game about how much water will be provided to agricultural and municipal users in the year ahead.

During Donald Trump’s first presidency, California tried and failed to ban new federal immigration detention centers from opening. As Trump returns to the Oval Office in January with pledges of mass deportations, the agency overseeing immigration enforcement has been scoping out locations for a new detention center — possibly near San Francisco.

Out-of-work residents fight new fraud battles. The system bleeds money. And a $1 billion technology overhaul marches on.

Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements.

Reflecting concern about too many bills, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas lowered the number legislators are allowed to introduce.

California Democrats have passed two dozen laws to protect abortion access since the Supreme Court in 2021 overturned Roe vs. Wade. New bills are on the table.

A grant of over $500,000 was awarded to the Elk Grove Police Department by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Read on to learn how the funds will be used.

Many California cities offer their homeless residents one-way bus tickets to other places.

Gov. Gavin Newsom is urgently preparing to protect reproductive rights from the incoming Trump administration—and the looming possibility of Project 2025-inspired policies.

Chronic absenteeism dropped to 20% last school year, but that is still higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 12%.

Gov. Newsom gets the first of 13 regional plans to boost economic development across the state. The others are to be ready in January.

Floodwaters devastated the small communities of Pajaro and Planada in early 2023. California gave each town $20 million to recover – but as residents face down another winter, much of the aid has yet to reach them.

Cal State has a goal to graduate 40% of its freshmen within four years. It now graduates 36% — it’s highest rate ever. On other goals, the system is further behind.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into law in September 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd. For the first time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the criminal legal system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office projects a $2 billion shortfall for 2025-26, but says the state can’t afford big new programs. Gov. Newsom has complained about attention on the office’s deficit estimates.