Financial disclosures show that state lawmakers were showered with more than $330,000 in gifts, plus more than $1.1 million in travel sponsored by interest groups. That total last year is 28% higher than in 2022.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara unveiled a plan to shore up the California insurance market for homeowners, in which insurers would return to wildfire zones, but would have an easier path to rate increases.

In the past few months, a former employee of the San Jose mayor’s office sued the city for extending deadlines for responding to records requests, while Mendocino County repealed an ordinance that charged as much as $150 per hour to locate, review and redact documents.

If approved in November, Proposition 33 would allow auto insurers to offer discounts to new customers who have had continuous coverage for the past five years. Sound familiar? It should.