Last month, the California Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Gov. Newsom’s administration disputing lower court rulings that found the state wrongly used money from a national mortgage settlement to help balance the state budget. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced that it would begin work on transferring $331 million back into the special […]

Last week, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 200 (SB 200) to provide funds for improvements to local communities’ access to safe drinking water. SB 200 will provide $130 million a year to spend over the next decade to improve drinking water for about a million people. The source of the funding is coming primarily from […]

Last month, California lawmakers approved a budget that will increase the Department of Motor Vehicles’ budget by over $242 million. This 17 percent increase means that the DMV’s total budget is now $1.36 billion. The increase was approved to help the DMV promote and navigate ongoing implementation challenges for the federally mandated REAL ID program. […]

Last month, a proposed bill that was introduced by state Senator Patricia Bates was voted against on a bipartisan vote. The proposed bill, Senate Bill 401 (SB 401), was seeking to place limits on contributions that may be made to and received by candidate-controlled ballot measure committees. In other words, the purpose of SB 401 […]

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is warning lawmakers that Californians could experience longer wait times if it doesn’t get more money from a special budget boost it requested. The budget request was submitted by the DMV last week for $40.4 million to keep its offices operating with fairly short wait times. According to the […]

According to the Los Angeles Police Department, investigators found that homeless people on skid row were taking money, food, or even cigarettes to forge signatures of registered voters on petitions to qualify initiatives for the ballot. This year, the LAPD has cracked down on suspected election fraud on skid row and they have arrested at […]

According to a state audit released earlier this year, counties throughout the state are holding onto millions of dollars intended for mental health services. In 2004, the Mental Health Services Act was passed and it placed a one percent income tax on state residents who earned $1 million or more annually. However, the audit released […]

According to a report, known as the Housing Gaps Analysis, by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, Los Angeles County’s homeless population is increasing faster than the supply of new housing. This increase comes even with the addition of thousands of beds in the last two years and millions of dollars beginning to flow in […]

Late last month, a proposed bill was introduced by state Sen. Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) to allow banks to open accounts for people involved in the cannabis industry. The bill, Senate Bill 930, would allow California chartered banks, credit unions and other financial institutions to open checking and savings accounts and issue checks for marijuana […]

In 2014, voters passed an initiative that forced lawmakers to save money in flush years. It turns out that California’s budget reserves are approaching a point to where the state, by law, can’t save any more money. The state is on pace to fill the reserves with $13.5 billion by July 1, 2019, but some […]