Major changes to the California Environmental Quality Act include an exemption for high-tech industrial plants and other projects. The move, fast-tracked under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, sparked fierce pushback from environmental, community and labor groups.
CalMatters
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Controversial climate rule, which could raise gas prices, about to go into effect
No immediate hike in California gas prices will occur, but Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature fear the effects of the clean-fuel program.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Congress is fighting over this tax deduction. Here’s how it affects Californians
The House wants to raise the SALT deduction cap, which would help wealthy Californians pay less in federal taxes. The Senate wants to keep it where it is.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
These 4 million acres of California forests could lose protection. Here’s what Trump’s ‘roadless rule’ repeal could do
The land at stake ranges from dense, remote coastal forests in the far north, to alpine conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada, to Southern California’s great expanses of brush. Experts dispute whether revoking the two-decade-old rule would help prevent wildfires.
Posted inFood & Drink
Dying honey bees are threatening California’s economy. Can Central Valley lawmakers save them?
Honey bees, a crucial component of California’s agriculture, face several challenges to survival. Will the Legislature spend more money in a deficit year to try to address the problems facing the bees?
Posted inLatest News
Trump can keep troops in L.A. for now, appeals court rules
President Donald Trump had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, an appeals court ruled Thursday evening.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California Republicans hate government ‘overreach.’ Most are quiet on Trump’s military in L.A.
California Republicans who agreed to speak with CalMatters endorsed President Donald Trump’s military deployment in Los Angeles as necessary to save the state from its Democratic leadership.
Posted inLatest News
Hoping for ‘a miracle’ to cure fiscal woes, California lawmakers nix some of Newsom’s Medi-Cal cuts for immigrants
Legislators, cutting $3.5 billion in overall funding, endorsed a freeze on state health care for undocumented immigrants but want lower premiums and other changes.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California lawmakers approve $325 billion budget ‘passed on hope’
The California Legislature has rejected many of the spending cuts Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to close a $12 billion budget deficit, relying on internal borrowing to put off difficult decisions.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
‘Outrageous’: California Democrats react to FBI agents handcuffing Sen. Alex Padilla
FBI agents handcuffed U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday after he interrupted a news conference on immigration enforcement in Los Angeles by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Padilla is the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate.