Legislative News
California Reopens: Legislative Update
Last Wednesday the Secretary of State sent a letter to the Department of Finance (DOF) that among other things said “The Secretary of State is hereby notifying the Department of Finance that the proponents of the recall effort against Governor Gavin Newsom have submitted a sufficient number of valid signatures to initiate a recall election.”
Full Article
Bills & Budgets: Legislative Update
June marks the halfway point in the legislative calendar. By early June, most bills must pass out of the house they were introduced in to keep moving. The only exceptions are urgency bills and constitutional amendments which must be passed on a 2/3 vote of the Legislature.
Full Article
Is Gov. Newsom Gaining in Popularity? Legislative Update…
Many of our updates in the last year have focused on the challenges Governor Newsom has been facing. It isn’t a stretch to say that he has held the office during the most challenging moment in history since World War II, and arguably ever.
Full Article
Legislative Update – May 14th
The big news in the California Capitol is the release of the Governor’s May Revision to the 2021-22 State Budget that he proposed to the Legislature in January. This revised budget document is supposed to reflect updated tax revenues and spending trends to better enable the Legislature to pass a balanced budget on June 15 for the fiscal year that will begin on July 1.
Full Article
Legislative Update April 30th
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…
Full Article
Newsom’s Plans for Vaccinations & Reopening: EGRS Update
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.…
Full Article
Legislative Update – March 26th
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…
Full Article
Legislative Update: 2.26.21
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…
Full Article
Legislative Update: 2.16.21
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.
Full Article
Legislative Update: 1.29.21
Californians have had the right to recall elected officials for 110 years. In that time, 54 attempts to recall a California Governor have been launched. Only one of these has been successful. In October 2003, Californians voted to recall Governor Davis. When the recall effort got started in 2002, it was underfunded and easy to…
Full Article
Legislative Budget Update
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…
Full Article
Legislative Update: January 2021
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…
Full Article