WASHINGTON — House lawmakers are returning to Washington to assess a budget and debt deal between Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump, but there's no evidence of any last-gasp drama that could upset the hard-won compromise. Reaction to the two-year deal, which would enable the government's debt-fueled...
California’s Housing Budget Is a Wrap. Here’s What's Inside.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders agreed to spend a fresh $2 billion to combat the state’s housing and homelessness woes. Democratic lawmakers and the new governor settled relatively quickly on the amount — which advocates say is the biggest in recent memory dedicated to housing. Ever since, they’ve been trying to resolve the...
Some House Members Considering Taking a Pay Raise This Year
WASHINGTON — Some senior House lawmakers, frustrated by a decade of frozen congressional salaries, are quietly exploring whether to accept an annual pay raise that they've shunned since Barack Obama was first president. It's a longshot at best, requiring comity that's in short supply in a Capitol riven with partisanship....
IPOs Bring Tax Jackpot for California; Can Lawmakers Resist?
SACRAMENTO — Uber and Airbnb are among at least six California-based companies valued at more than $1 billion expected to go public this year, creating a new class of millionaires and billionaires and a welcome quandary for the state's budget writers. Though it's tough to gauge the total tax revenue...
Housing-Strapped California Debates Density Near Job Hubs
SACRAMENTO — A controversial proposal to increase housing near transportation and job hubs faces a key test Wednesday as California lawmakers search for solutions to the state's housing affordability crisis. Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener's bill is one of dozens on housing before lawmakers this year that attempt to the slow...
Lawmakers and Landlords: More Than a Quarter of California Legislators Are Both
In a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of south Sacramento, the property looks like any other on the block: a single-story house that could use a new paint job, a large front yard that could use a little tidying, a chain-link fence circumferencing the lot. The tenants inside have no...
As Trump Makes Case for Border Wall, Congress Works Out a Deal
EL PASO, Texas — President Donald Trump headed to the Texas border on Monday to argue his case that walls work as Democrats and Republicans back home in Washington announced a deal had been reached to avoid another government shutdown. Trump was bound for El Paso, aiming to reshape the...
Newsom Seeks to Transform Youth Prisons
STOCKTON — Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Tuesday to change the way California's juvenile prisons are overseen, eventually closing facilities to cut what he called the "ludicrous" cost. "If we're going to get serious about changing the trajectory of the lives of these young children, I think we need to do...
Report Quashes Hopes for California-Backed Marijuana Bank
SACRAMENTO — California would likely lose money and face insurmountable federal hurdles if it tried to create a state-backed bank for the marijuana industry, according to a report released Thursday by the state treasurer. The report puts an end for now to hopes California could find a way to get...
Commentary: Legislators Spared From Living in Their Districts
Equity and logic would seem to dictate that state legislators should live in the districts they represent and thereby share their constituents’ daily experiences. State law has said as much for many decades, and from time to time, individual lawmakers have been caught registering to vote in their districts but...