Posts by Edelstein Gilbert Robson & Smith

April 30 marked the first significant legislative deadline of the 2021 legislative session whereby bills had to pass out of policy committees in the house of origin before being considered by the fiscal committee. This session, consistent with recent years, we have seen a plethora of employment-related legislation that would impose various requirements on all California employers. With the pandemic, bills of this nature have increased, with legislators proposing expansion of leave offered to…

As you’ve read or heard, Governor Newsom announced plans last week to reopen the state by June 15. With vaccination rates picking up in recent weeks, California hit a milestone of vaccinating 20 million Californians. Four million of those vaccinations have occurred in the state’s disadvantaged communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic.…

Last year, Governor Newsom solemnly pronounced that after expecting record breaking surpluses in 2020, the state was facing a $54 billion deficit. That number was daunting, and comparable to the budget shortfalls experienced at the onset of the Great Recession. That massive deficit never materialized. The Governor and his Department of Finance (DOF) didn’t lie…

February 19 marked the passage of the deadline for legislators to introduce bills for the 2021 session.  The Legislature struggled throughout 2020 to meet legislative deadlines.  With only a few hearing rooms large enough to allow social distancing, legislators were forced to conduct their business with fewer hearings.  Hundreds of bills failed to pass given…

This week, proponents of the effort to recall Governor Newsom announced that they have surpassed the 1.5 million signatures required to qualify the recall election.  They acknowledged, however, that more signatures are needed to ensure that there are enough verifiable signatures to qualify.

Last week, Governor Newsom unveiled his proposed $227 billion 2021-2022 budget. As the Governor noted himself, the last 12 months have been a financial roller coaster for the state.  Coming into 2020, the Governor enjoyed a large budget surplus and healthy reserves.  Soon after the state’s response to the pandemic intensified in March, revenues were…

With all eyes turned, understandably, to Congress this week, it would be easy to miss recent developments in Sacramento. Governor Newsom released his 2021-2022 proposed state budget today.  We will report on the budget more thoroughly in a separate report when we have had a chance to review it in detail.  The Governor was proud…

The state’s financial distress, brought on by our response to COVID-19, was arguably the largest issue facing the California Legislature in 2020.  With the Governor laser focused on the response to the pandemic, the Legislature was able to assert itself on budget issues in a way that it hasn’t in a decade. According to a recent budget…