Rich Ehisen

If it wasn’t before, a California initiative to tighten voting requirements became nationalized when Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, one of President Donald J. Trump’s large donors, contributed $6.5 million to the Yes-on-Proposition 39 campaign.

Xavier Becerra outraised his Republican opponent for governor by more than two to one in donations of $1,000 or more during the first half of August, as Sacramento’s inside players continued betting heavily on the Democratic frontrunner to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A little more than three dozen large, stable lobbying firms dominate the Capitol market. According to lobbying disclosures filed through the fifth quarter of the current cycle, the top 40 firms analyzed by Capitol Weekly received 57% of the more than $436 million spent on lobbying firms in 2025 and 2026.

With the final weeks of Session upon us, several procedural items that regularly occur on the Floors of the California Legislature may be in order. Today intrepid Capitol lobbyist, law professor and regular Capitol Weekly contributor Chris Micheli offers insights into understanding the session's closing moments.

The latest question posed to our panel of experts: “Should there be a hard limit on the number of committees a legislator can serve on?”

As his time as governor comes to an end, Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a life-or-death decision: whether to commute the sentences of the 547 men and 18 women in state prison who have been condemned to death. There is good reason to believe Newsom will take that step, and there is reason to believe he won’t. Neither he nor his aides are telegraphing his plan.

Left in limbo by the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s private foster agencies say they’re struggling to stay afloat until the new year, when they hope a new governor will help them navigate an ongoing insurance crisis that threatens their existence.

A bill that would have allowed drivers to opt in to usage-based insurance was held under submission by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month, leaving California as the only state not to allow car insurance rates based on driving data

When interpreting ambiguous statutes in California, the courts of this state may examine the legislative history of an enacted statute in order to try and effectuate the intent of the Legislature. In such a case, it is important for legislators, staff, and interest groups to better understand the need to provide adequate legislative history.

Reason exists for some optimism among California's clinical researchers – a $12 billion ballot initiative actually on the fall ballot. It is Proposition 38, which would provide $8.4 billion for immunology research involving a wide range of afflictions, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.