CMA Capitol Insight: June 7, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All Eyes on California The nation’s eyes will be on California this week, as voters here go to the polls in the final major presidential contest of the long primary season. We’ve seen a massive swell in new voter registration this year. State voter rolls grew by more than 646,000 voters in April and May alone, with more than three-fourths of those voters signing up as Democrats. It will be important ... June 8, 2016 CMA CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: April 26, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Legislative Scramble Last week was a frantic one inside the Capitol as lawmakers faced a key deadline to pass bills out of policy committee. Measures that did not receive committee approval last week were shelved for the year. A number of major proposals lived to fight another day, but many efforts were left on the prominent pile of abandoned bill ideas that accumulates each and every year. Among ... April 28, 2016 CMA, General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York, State Legislation 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: April 11, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A Higher Wage (and Higher Tobacco Tax?) Gov. Jerry Brown continued to make history when he signed a $15/hour minimum wage into law. The governor, whose administration had publicly opposed calls for a higher wage, couched the increase in moral terms at a Los Angeles signing ceremony. What’s notable is that the higher wage will take effect statewide. Others had thought that more economically depressed areas of the state ... April 12, 2016 General CMA Capitol Insight, State Legislative Advocacy, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: March 28, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Making the ballot A deal was reached among Democratic leaders in Sacramento late last week on a plan to bring California’s minimum wage to $15 per hour – the highest in the nation and double the national minimum. The deal comes after years of wrestling in the legislature, and a statewide push that began years ago with a handful of public sector unions in Los Angeles. The accord avoids a fight ... March 31, 2016 General Anthony York, CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Feb. 1, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Crime and the Coast Gov. Jerry Brown announced plans for a major new ballot initiative this fall – but it wasn’t climate change or tax reform in the governor’s crosshairs. Instead, Brown will focus on criminal justice, seeking changes in the parole system to allow more flexibility to locals and to help alleviate the pressures of the jail and prison system caused by years of lock-em-up policies. Those policies, ironically ... February 3, 2016 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Jan. 4, 2016 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Back to work The legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown are back in Sacramento, taking up much of the unfinished business of the 2015 legislative year, and with a few new initiatives in store. The action begins in earnest later this week, when Brown releases his state budget plan. With state revenues still strong, the dynamics of the state budget fight are familiar: Democrats will be pushing for expanded spending on ... January 15, 2016 General Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Dec. 7, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Whirlwind of a week Jerry Brown set off for Paris, but redirected his travel through San Bernardino to meet with law enforcement officials and others on the scene of America’s latest mass shooting. The shooting seems to occupy some strange place between the Paris attacks, which were orchestrated by ISIS, and a very American-style, Fort Hood or office place violence incident. One of the shooters pledged her allegiance to ISIS ... December 7, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Nov. 24, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ripples across the pond The terrorist attacks in Paris have reverberated through the political world, changing the tenor and tone of the American presidential contest and setting off a debate in statehouses around the country about housing Syrian refugees. Gov. Jerry Brown has said he would like to see California maintain its “traditional role as a place of asylum,” breaking with other governors who have warned that admitting Syrian refugees ... December 7, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Nov. 9, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Capitol happenings The legislature may be out of session, but there is plenty of political intrigue swirling about Sacramento. With a new set of rules in place for ballot initiatives, thanks to changes passed by lawmakers last year, the calendar deadline to get final measures into the attorney general’s office for review is fast approaching. Over the last two weeks, we saw a broad coalition (with the backing of Napster founder ... November 9, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: Oct. 13, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Another one bites the dust The dust is just settling on hundreds of bills that were signed or vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown in the final flurry of activity for the 2015 legislative year. The session ended with some classic Jerry Brown signing messages and vetoes, and a strong implicit message for lawmakers in the year ahead. The governor’s most personal and talked about signing message accompanied his signature on ... October 14, 2015 General CMA Capitol Insight, Anthony York 0 0 Comment Read More »
