California lawmakers want to exclude restaurants from a new law that aims to eliminate surprise costs for consumers.

The Legislature passes a placeholder state budget, but must still negotiate with Gov. Newsom on the final deal. How the state spends taxpayer money is largely being decided out of public view.

The governor has been critical of local homelessness efforts and his newly revised 2024-25 budget not only pulls back an extra $260 million that local officials had counted on, but removes all of the homeless funding.

The California Assembly last week voted 56-8 to approve a bill to force disclosures from artificial intelligence companies. The Senate now takes up the measure, which is opposed by the influential California Chamber of Commerce.

Backers of a tough-on-crime California ballot measure put homelessness at the forefront of their campaign to roll back Prop. 47.

The bill adds new rules about employee supervision at stores with self-checkout and restricts self-service to customers buying 10 or fewer items.

Two new bills in the Legislature would allow state funding to support sober housing for homeless residents, a significant departure from California’s current housing-first law.

California utilities will shift billing to a fixed fee starting in 2025. Most Californians won’t see much change, or will have a lower bill.

California passed a law in 2022 to limit ‘pay to play’ in local politics. Now, after two years, legislators want to gut it.

The $31 million state program sends counselors out to foster families in crisis at all hours.

Responding to a federal financial aid glitch, Caliifornia legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom within two weeks gave students an additional month to apply for state aid.

Many Californians were undecided heading into Election Day on Gov. Newsom’s Proposition 1, which funds new mental health treatment facilities. As of noon Tuesday with about 5.8 million votes counted, the measure was leading by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.

A suite of five bills introduced this week seeks to protect election integrity from bad actors using AI, especially on social media.

A bill would let state legislators, who say they fear for their safety, shield their property holdings from disclosure forms. But critics say that could conceal potential conflicts of interest.

The proposal would have meant challenging a federal law that bars employers from hiring undocumented immigrants. Advocates requesting the change argue that the University of California, as a state agency, is exempt from that law.

Lawmakers in California and elsewhere can no longer take the tech industry's word when their armies of lobbyists make the case that they police themselves and shouldn't be held accountable.