California Politics & News
Stay updated with California news, including reporting, analysis, and commentary on state government, progressive overreach, and the conservative response to Golden State policies.
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- News
California to Provide Free Rides Home for Drunk Lawmakers
Forget the cab fare. Intoxicated California lawmakers now can hitch a ride home at the expense of their taxpayers. In view of four lawmakers arrested over the last five years for driving under the influence, the state has hired two part-time employees who will man a 24-hour car service for senators too drunk to drive…Natalie Johnson -
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Billionaire Environmentalist Pushes New Oil Tax in California
In an effort to combat high gasoline prices in California, billionaire environmentalist activist Tom Steyer is pushing for a state ballot measure to pass an oil severance tax. Steyer, founder of NextGen Climate, announced support for the potential ballot measure earlier this month at the California Democratic Party convention. “I want to understand why Californians…Alex Anderson -
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How California Cities Are Making Millions Seizing Property and Money From Law-Abiding Citizens
In a small number of cities clustered in Los Angeles County, Calif., people are seeing their property and money seized by law enforcement through civil asset forfeiture, and it’s making police departments tens of millions of dollars. California has safeguards in place to protect innocent people from the harmful practices of civil asset forfeiture. However, a…Paul Runko -
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Insiders Detail Culture of Secrecy at California’s Obamacare Exchange
Aiden Hill’s introduction to the secretive culture at Covered California came in his first days on the job. He had just been hired to head up the agency’s $120 million call center effort when he emailed a superior April 18, 2013, and got a text message in reply: Please refrain from writing a lot of…Sharyl Attkisson -
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Incompetence, Mismanagement Plague California’s Obamacare Insurance Exchange
California’s health insurance exchange, established under the Affordable Care Act, has been held out as a national model for Obamacare. In some ways—not all of them good—it is. Whether it’s falling far short of 2015 enrollment goals or sending out 100,000 inaccurate tax forms, Covered California is struggling with its share of challenges. Now, several…Sharyl Attkisson -
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Amidst Drought, California Struggles to Find Solution to #SaveOurWater
Yesterday, California Gov. Jerry Brown met with water, agricultural, and environmental leaders to collaborate and discuss solutions to address the state’s worsening drought. .@JerryBrownGov meets w/water, agricultural & environmental leaders from across CA to talk #CADrought. #SaveOurWater pic.twitter.com/KloExvGQtm — Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) April 8, 2015 Brown came under criticism last week for an…Alex Anderson -
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California Supreme Court Attempts to Ban State Judges From Volunteering with Boy Scouts
Last week, the California Supreme Court voted to bar any California state judge from belonging to youth organizations that “invidiously discriminate,” apparently with the Boy Scouts of America in mind. This policy is the latest example of ideologues using government coercion to force public servants to conform their private lives to government ideology—or resign from…Ryan T. Anderson -
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California Might Replace Gas Sales Tax With Mileage Tax
Your fuel efficient car might be great for the environment, but if you live in California, it might not help you save money much longer. California lawmakers have introduced a plan to replace a sales tax on gasoline with a tax on motorists based on mileage. Under the new plan, drivers would have to log…Kate Scanlon -
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California Has 15 Years to Hit a 50% Renewable Energy Goal. Will It Happen?
California Gov. Jerry Brown has set an ambitious new energy goal: getting the most populous state in the nation to derive 50 percent of its electric power from renewable sources in the space of 15 years. But can it be accomplished? And can it be done without sending electricity bills through the roof? Depends on…Rob Nikolewski -
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Obamacare Limiting Insurance Options in California
When Dennie Wright went to sign up for Affordable Care Act insurance last year, it wasn’t a hard decision. His insurance agent told him he had only one insurer—Anthem Blue Cross—that he could buy from on the exchange, Covered California. Wright lives in a modest house overlooking a pasture in Indian Valley. It’s a tiny alpine…Pauline Bartolone -
- Opinion
California Just Started Another Insane Government Project
Talk about a trainwreck. Today, California broke ground on another disastrous government-funded project: high-speed rail that will eventually go from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The project is estimated to cost $68 billion. The plan is that the private sector will ultimately invest around one-third of the total cost, but so far, there have been…Katrina Trinko -
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From California to D.C., These Cowboys Rode in Protest of Government Land Grab
A group of horseback riders and grassroots activists rode into Washington, D.C., last week after traveling nearly 2,800 miles from the California coast to raise awareness about the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to revoke their grazing rights and the federal government’s extensive ownership of land and natural resources in the West. The group, which calls…Gabriella Morrongiello -
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California Politician Claims Obamacare Contracts Went to Agency Director’s Cronies
California’s beleaguered Obamacare exchange is once again in the crosshairs of a state senator who is demanding answers following reports that millions in contracts never went out to bid and instead were awarded to friends of the agency’s director. Sen. Ted Gaines, who also is the GOP candidate for state insurance commissioner on the November…Tori Richards -
- Opinion
Scientists May Disagree on the Causes of the California Drought, but Policymakers with Agendas Don’t
California’s recent drought has many people, including policymakers, looking to point the finger at global warming. The authors of several recent scientific papers aren’t so sure. A report by the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society compiled the work of 20 research groups studying extreme weather events from 2013. The report concluded “that natural variability…Thomas Lee -
- Opinion
Why Hispanics Thrive in Texas, But Not in California
The world provides us with countless case studies on the relative merits of free markets and central planning. In Asia and Europe we have seen the controlled experiments of the Koreas and the two postwar Germanys, admittedly extreme examples. In South America, we have consistently successful Chile and perennially chaotic Argentina. In this country, we…Mike Gonzalez -
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California to Triple Tax Credits to Hollywood
In an effort to revive a struggling entertainment industry, California Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislative leaders announced a five-year expansion to the state’s film and television tax credit program. According to the Los Angeles Times, the governor approved a bipartisan plan to raise the annual allocated tax credits to $330 million, over three times the…Alex Anderson -
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California Requires Insurers to Cover Abortion Services
A California state regulatory agency has issued a health care directive requiring health insurers to cover the costs of elective abortions, according to the Associated Press. Last week, California’s Department of Managed Health Care informed seven insurance companies that they must comply with the Knox Keene Act, a state provision passed in 1975 that guarantees…Alex Anderson -
- Opinion
There Is No California Comeback
News media from coast to coast are celebrating a “California comeback” after a near-decade-long Golden State economic collapse. But even this latest recovery may be much more fragile than has been reported, and the state’s structural defects still imperil the left-coast economy. Certainly there are reasons for optimism. Tax collections were way up last year,…Stephen Moore -
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Proposal to Divide California into Six States Clears Hurdle to Qualify for 2016 Ballot
Californians are one step closer to casting votes in November to decide whether the state will remain as is or be broken into six separate states. The “Six Californias” campaign announced yesterday it submitted 1.3 million signatures to the state for a ballot initiative that would divide the Golden State into six separate states, pending…Melissa Quinn -
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California Mayor Says There’s No End in Sight to Border Crisis, Concerned for ‘Safety of All’
As busloads of illegal immigrants arrive in the Southern California city of Murrieta, Mayor Alan Long spoke to Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly about the brewing border crisis. Long expressed his concern for the “safety of all”—locals and migrants alike—and the “inhumane” conditions for the illegal immigrants.Monica Sanchez