State & Regional Govt & Politics Stories for June 2012
Stories for Saturday, June 30
Foie gras, junk cars, tattoos prompt state laws
Car buyers, ducks and geese, and those in search of tattoos or body piercing all get increased protections under new laws that take effect July 1. Most bills passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor take effect on Jan. 1 each year. But all or part of about ...
State shuffles crimes under inmate-crowding law
A new law changing where some criminals serve their time is prompting anger from certain lawmakers who believe the state again is reneging on its promise to keep those convicted of violent and other serious crimes in state prisons rather than county jails. California's sweeping realignment of its criminal justice ...
Stories for Thursday, June 28
Majority of state parks will temporarily stay open
With a busy Fourth of July week looming, California parks officials announced Thursday that 65 of the 70 state parks once slated to close Sunday due to budget cuts will remain open. The move came after the governor signed a bill allocating new funds for the beleaguered parks system, and ...
Stories for Wednesday, June 27
Lawmakers finish state budget on $15.7B gap
California lawmakers finished work Wednesday on the state budget, which awaits Gov. Jerry Brown's signature. Democrats passed 21 budget implementing bills on a majority vote intended to satisfy the governor's demand for deeper cuts to close a $15.7 billion deficit. Brown has until the end of Wednesday to sign or ...
Stories for Tuesday, June 26
State's bill to regulate medical pot done for now
California's medical marijuana industry and critics who contend it has become a cover for illegal drug dealing will have to wait at least another year for the state to set up a system for licensing and regulating pot shops and growers. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano on Monday pulled his bill that ...
Judge: Release names tied to UC Davis pepper spray
A judge has ruled that the University of California must release the names of all the police officers involved in pepper-spraying student protesters at UC Davis last year. The Sacramento Bee reports that Alameda Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo issued the ruling on Tuesday in response to a lawsuit filed ...
Stockton official: Mediation with creditors fails
Officials in Stockton said Tuesday that mediation with creditors has failed, meaning the Central California city is set to become the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy. City Manager Bob Deis said officials were unable to reach a deal to restructure hundreds of millions of dollars of debt under ...
Court: Pollution rules can be based on technology
California air quality regulators can implement pollution control rules based on expected future technology that doesn't yet exist, the state Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision seen as a victory for agencies that set standards encouraging green technology. The ruling came Monday after paint manufacturers sued Southern California's South ...
Stories for Monday, June 25
Plan would freeze UC, CSU fees if voters pass tax
Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders have come up with a plan to freeze tuition rates at California's public universities if voters approve a tax hike in November, the Senate leader said Monday. Under the plan, lawmakers would move a budget-related bill that appropriates an extra $125 million each for ...
Stories for Sunday, June 24
State workers agree to unpaid days of leave
California's biggest state worker union tentatively agreed to a plan where covered workers will take 12 unpaid days of leave over 12 months starting July 1. Service Employees International Union Local 1000 informed members of the deal with Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday, the Sacramento Bee reported. The furlough plan ...
Ammiano's bill would limit federal fingerprint program in state
A bill that would pull back California's participation in President Barack Obama's flagship immigration enforcement program is gaining momentum a week after Obama halted the deportation of young illegal immigrants. A key policy committee recently approved legislation that would limit the state's participation in Secure Communities, a federal fingerprinting program ...
Stories for Saturday, June 23
GOP blocked from California pension reform vote
While Democrats announced a budget agreement with Gov. Jerry Brown, Republican lawmakers in Sacramento were blocked this week from bringing public pension reform for a vote. GOP lawmakers said next week is the last chance the Legislature has to adopt a constitutional amendment in order to place a measure on ...
Stories for Friday, June 22
California voters narrowly reject new tobacco tax
A California initiative to increase the tax on tobacco to pay for cancer research has failed by less than a percentage point after remaining too close to call for more than two weeks. With about 5 million votes cast, "no" on Proposition 29 led by about 27,000 votes with about ...
Same-sex marriage foe now endorses unions
The chief witness who testified in favor of California's gay marriage ban during a landmark trial on the measure's constitutionality reluctantly came out in favor of gay and lesbian unions on Friday, saying he now thinks "that the time for denigrating or stigmatizing same-sex relationships is over." In an opinion ...
Stories for Thursday, June 21
Brown, lawmakers comes to agreement on new budget
Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders reached agreement Thursday to finalize California's budget. The plan protects education, permanently reforms welfare and includes tough ongoing cuts, Brown said in a statement announcing the framework of the agreement. "This agreement strongly positions the state to withstand the economic challenges and uncertainties ahead," ...
Stories for Tuesday, June 19
Tobacco tax measure still too close to call
Two weeks after California elections, a closely-watched effort to impose a new tax on tobacco in the nation's most populous state remains too close to call. With 400,000 ballots outstanding as of Tuesday, the measure that would add a $1-a-pack cigarette tax is trailing by 17,500 votes, according to data ...
Stories for Monday, June 18
Gov. Brown, Calif. Dems differ on welfare approach
California legislators may have passed a budget, but Democratic leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown are fighting to a standoff over his proposal to restructure the state's welfare program. Brown is pressuring the Legislature for deeper cuts amid a projected $15.7 billion shortfall. Negotiations continued Monday with Democratic lawmakers resisting Brown's ...
Stories for Saturday, June 16
On-time state budget carries risky assumptions
California lawmakers may have passed a budget on time to get paid, but their plan to close a $15.7 billion shortfall carries a big risk on the assumption that voters will approve Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase this fall. Democratic lawmakers, who passed the budget on a majority vote without ...
Stories for Friday, June 15
State lawmakers pass budget, but work unfinished
California lawmakers passed a $92 billion budget Friday to keep their paychecks coming, but they left welfare cuts and other difficult issues unresolved with Gov. Jerry Brown. Democratic lawmakers in the Senate passed the main budget bill that outlines state spending on a 23-16 vote without Republican support. Majority Democrats ...
Stories for Sunday, June 10
Caltrans calls for Sac Bee to retract Bay Bridge story
Caltrans was defending the structural integrity of the new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Saturday after a recent story by the Sacramento Bee made claims suggesting otherwise. The story published by the Bee on May 27 reported that the paper had found records of an apparent defect ...
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