Tag: california

Last July, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order “to address (homeless) encampments” and allocated funding to local governments to clear encampments and connect “those living in them to housing and supportive services.” 

Republican lawmakers, political groups, and donors are going to attempt to qualify a constitutional amendment for California’s November 2026 ballot that would require voters to present government-issued identification and verify their citizenship before casting a ballot.

What began as peaceful immigration policy protests on June 6 has escalated into a national political crisis, with violent clashes, arrests, looted businesses, burning Waymo cars, a smashed government building, nighttime curfews, and an epic legal showdown between California officials and President Donald Trump fueled by partisan flames of political division.

In a stunning show of bipartisan agreement, the California Assembly voted 74-0 on June 2 to approve legislation that would pause a significant tax increase on the state’s legal cannabis industry. 

Given the state’s role as home to many leading AI companies, a bipartisan coalition of California legislators is urging Congress to strike a little-noticed provision from the sweeping federal tax package that would block states and local governments from regulating artificial intelligence (AI) for the next decade.

Last week, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials announced the sudden passing of Annie Covarrubias, a correctional officer at the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) in Soledad. She was 35 years old. In the words of her colleagues, Annie was a “dependable, professional, and kind” officer, known for her dedication to both her peers and the incarcerated individuals she worked with every day.

In its largest coordinated crackdown to date, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized more than $123 million worth of illegal cannabis during a sweeping, multi-agency operation across the Central Valley.

IVN recently examined AB 955, by Assemblymember David Alvarez. The bill seeks to expand a healthcare service program I created in 1998 as the author of SB1658.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is reviving efforts to regulate the powerful and often opaque intermediaries at the center of the prescription drug supply chain. In a proposal unveiled as part of his revised May budget, Newsom calls for stringent oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), companies he says are driving up patient costs.

Over the past 30 years, California voters have repeatedly turned to the ballot box to shape criminal justice policy, responding to concerns about public safety, justice, punishment, and rehabilitation.