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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opinion
How California Became Exhibit A for a Self-Inflicted Housing Crisis
The California tech boom should have been the engine for widely shared prosperity and renewal. Instead, contrary to the state’s uber-progressive reputation, California has the highest real poverty rate in the nation. One-fifth of the population of the state falls below the poverty line when the cost of living is taken into account. That dire… -
opinion
The California-Wide Web? Why Sacramento Can’t Go Its Own Way on Net Neutrality
California is quickly becoming the regulation capital of the world. At a time when Washington is trying to rein in its quarter-million regulators, Sacramento is busy imposing new restrictions and mandates faster than ever. Last month, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law perhaps the costliest regulations of all; namely, network neutrality rules on California broadband… -
news
California Admits DMV Error Added Noncitizens to Voter Rolls
An error at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles caused more than a thousand people, including some who were not U.S. citizens, to be incorrectly registered to vote, state officials said Monday. The DMV admitted that a “processing error” at agency field offices resulted in as many as 1,500 people being added to voter rolls between… -
news
California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Requiring Female Board Directors
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday that will require publicly traded companies with headquarters in the state to have women serving on their boards of directors. “Given all the special privileges that corporations have enjoyed for so long, it’s high time corporate boards include the people who constitute more than half the ‘persons’… -
opinion
Republicans Offered to Interview Ford in California. Why Didn’t She Know That?
Whatever side you fall on in the fight over Brett Kavanaugh, most Americans can agree on one thing: Somewhere along the way, the process broke down. This isn’t how it’s supposed to work. Over the weekend, Republicans blamed the mess on Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who sat on Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation for… -
news
California Governor Rejects Bill Mandating Abortion Pills on College Campuses
California Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown rejected a bill Sunday that would mandate college campuses to offer abortion pills, calling it unnecessary. “According to a study sponsored by supporters of this legislation, the average distance to abortion providers in campus communities varies from five to seven miles, not an unreasonable distance,” Brown wrote in the veto letter…. -
news
Judge Shoots Down California Ban on Handgun Ads in Gun Shops as ‘Paternalistic’
A federal judge has struck down a law banning handgun ads at gun shops as “unconstitutional on its face” and “highly paternalistic.” California officials had argued that they intended the ban to prevent advertisements from prompting state residents with “impulsive personality traits” to buy more guns, and thereby reduce the risk of “handgun suicide and… -
opinion
Norway’s Boardroom Gender Quota Didn’t Work. California May Try It Anyway.
From making war on straws to policing speech, California leads the nation in adopting half-baked ideas from Europe. The latest craze is a bill that would force publicly held companies to put women on their boards by 2019. Specifically, companies would have to add at least one woman to their board by the end of 2019,… -
opinion
California Is Changing Its Bail System. The Reforms Are Hopeful, but Unproven.
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Aug. 28 signed state Senate Bill 10 into law, which will entirely replace California’s cash bail system with a risk-assessment bail system. Under the new law, which will take effect Oct. 1, 2019, California judges will no longer impose monetary bail conditions on criminal defendants who are in jail while… -
news
California on Cusp of Banning Short-Term Health Coverage
State lawmakers in California are close to banning inexpensive, short-term health insurance plans backed by the Trump administration as a cheaper alternative to Obamacare. State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Azusa, has urged California Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat, to sign his legislation to ban the short-term health plans, which passed both houses of the Legislature…. -
opinion
California Shows Why Congress Needs to Eliminate Food Stamp Work Requirement Loophole
Despite a booming economy and a record-low unemployment rate nationally, at least one state has been working overtime to ensure its work-capable food stamp recipients don’t have to work. Current law requires non-elderly, able-bodied adults without dependent children to work or participate in work-related activities, such as education and job training programs, for at least… -
opinion
California’s ‘Must Stay Gay’ Bill Would Cause Severe Harm
A groundswell of opposition from churches, pastors, and ordinary citizens in California may have delayed but ultimately could not prevent the passage of AB 2943 by the California Senate on Aug. 16. The bill itself, dubbed by some as the “Must Stay Gay” bill, is a perfect storm of leftist political correctness that attacks free… -
opinion
Podcast: California Not Happy With Trump’s Regulation Rollbacks
On today’s edition of The Daily Signal podcast, Ginny Montalbano and Daniel Davis interview Heritage Foundation economist Nick Loris, who focuses on energy, environmental, and regulatory issues, about proposed regulation rollbacks in California. Loris discusses the Trump administration’s move to try to loosen fuel-efficiency and emissions regulations for cars and light trucks put into place… -
news
Trump Administration’s Fuel Economy Proposal Bucks California in Bid to Spur New Car Purchases
American consumers who want safe, affordable vehicles will find new models with improved technology becoming less costly if a federal rule amending standards for fuel economy and emissions goes into effect, Trump administration officials said Thursday in announcing the proposal. California has been permitted to set its own auto emissions standards under a federal waiver…. -
news
California Supreme Court Smacks Down Ballot Initiative to Split State Into 3
The Supreme Court of California struck down a ballot initiative Wednesday to divide the state into three states—California, Northern California, and Southern California. Proposition 9, which qualified for the November ballot with 402,468 signatures on June 12, would have appeared on the ballot in the general election, but will no longer be an issue residents… -
news
California Man Arrested After Threatening to Murder the Family of FCC’s Ajit Pai
A man angry over net neutrality has been charged with threatening to murder the family of Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai. Late last month, Markara Man, 33, of Norwalk, California, was arrested and charged with “threatening to murder a member of the immediate family of a U.S. official U.S. [Ajit Pai] with the intent… -
opinion
California Presses Assault on Free Speech With ‘Fake News’ Panel
As the Supreme Court strikes blows against compelled speech and restrictions on free speech, California is doing its best to resist. One of the latest legislative proposals from California aims to make government the arbiter of truth. Senate Bill 1424 would create an advisory group on “fake news” to work with social media companies to… -
news
California Can’t Make Pregnancy Centers Advertise Abortion, Supreme Court Rules
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling Tuesday, struck down a California law mandating that pro-life pregnancy centers advertise where clients may get an abortion. The decision, supporters said, confirmed that government can’t compel citizens to promote messages they don’t agree with. “No one should be forced by the government to express a message that… -
opinion
In a Win for Free Speech, Supreme Court Says California Can’t Force Pro-Life Centers to Promote Abortion
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of free speech in NIFLA v. Becerra, a case regarding California’s attempt to force pro-life pregnancy centers to advertise the state’s free or low-cost abortion program. The court rightly held that the California law in question, the Reproductive FACT Act, “likely violates the First Amendment” and “unduly burdens… -
news
More Stars on the Flag? California Split Vote Has Implications for Entire Country
Californians will vote this fall about dividing the state into three new states. The plan, called Cal 3, has implications for the entire country. It would bump the U.S. Senate up to 104 members as well as throw off the balance of the Electoral College. California currently has 55 electoral votes, but if voters OK the…