Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers reached a final budget deal last week that largely relies on AI revenue projections and new taxes to delay social service cuts and shrink future deficits.
StateWatch
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Newsom urges a national ‘billionaires’ tax’ while fighting one in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is considering a run for president as he approaches the end of his term, called for a national “billionaires’ tax” on Friday even as he fights another proposal targeting the wealthy in his home state.
Posted inHousing & Development
Tech billionaires hire Democratic dealmakers in renewed push to build a Bay Area city
Following years of local resistance, tech billionaires are turning to the state to fast-track their plan to build a new city in the Bay Area. They are lobbying for legislation to expedite environmental review of their project, enlisting political heavyweights to make their case.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
A $28 minimum age for California construction workers is dead — killed by construction workers
A plan to set a $28 minimum wage for certain California homebuilders died when the influential trades union protested that it could undermine prevailing wage pay rates.
Posted inHousing & Development
California extended a lifeline to some of its aging mobile home parks. What happened next?
In 2023, the Manufactured Housing Opportunity and Revitalization was given a new name, a new focus and millions more to spend revitalizing California’s most overlooked source of affordable housing. Three years later, the results are starting to come in.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
HOA fees skyrocketing? A California bill could cap them, but Democrats are divided
Some Democrats are divided over a bill that would cap how much homeowners associations can raise fees each year.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
AI is helping gas stations collude to raise California fuel prices, lawsuit says
Software powered by artificial intelligence has allowed gas station operators across California to illegally collude and drive up prices at the pump, according to a federal lawsuit.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California is getting ready to increase a health insurance tax. Will it affect your premium?
A balance act: To help fund the safety net, lawmakers have voted through a health tax extension that could increase premium costs for Californians with private insurance.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Labor union offers to scale back California billionaire tax proposal after pushback
A labor union behind a controversial tax on California billionaires significantly scaled back its proposal a day after it qualified for the November ballot, but the offer Thursday wasn’t enough to get Gov. Gavin Newsom on board.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
This lawmaker’s proposal could make California ‘the most secretive state in the country’
Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco’s legislation would allow public agencies to delay records requests it deems “improperly” filed, sue for “malicious” requests and charge nearly $90 an hour to produce government records. One good governance advocate calls it a “virtual horror show of governmental nontransparency.”
