When the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, was awaiting final congressional action in 2010, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a speech to county officials, uttered 24 words that have haunted her ever since. Referring to the controversies that surrounded the groundbreaking legislation, she said, “But we have to...
Lawmaker Aims to Strip Cap on Freelancer Assignments in California
SACRAMENTO — Bowing to intense criticism, the author of a sweeping new California labor law now wants to amend the statute to eliminate any cap on the number of assignments freelance journalists can take. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said she will seek to remove a 35-submission limit on the...
California Labor Law Author Says AB-5 Needs Changes
SACRAMENTO — The author of California's sweeping new labor law said Thursday that she intends to ease its restrictions on freelance journalists and others after months of protests that it is already costing people their jobs. Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez said in a series of tweets that she already has...
The Deciders: Meet the Lawmaker Behind New Gig Economy Law
By Byrhonda Lyons and Laurel Rosenhall, CalMatters Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a Democrat from San Diego, is among California’s more powerful state lawmakers and an ally of labor unions. This year, she led the fight to win new protections for gig workers, and won passage of a landmark workplace bill, AB 5....
Walters: New State Budget a Windfall for Unions
The state budget package Democratic legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom just enacted is sprinkled with billions of dollars in extra goodies for their most important political constituency, labor unions. Take, for example, Senate Bill 90, the budget’s omnibus education measure. It would allocate $3.1 billion to reduce mandatory payments that...