CALmatters Dan Walters, CALmatters, August 27, 2018 Two years ago, nearly two-thirds of California voters supported a ballot measure to crack down on legislative trickery. For decades, state lawmakers had dodged the public by secretly drafting important bills and then quickly jamming them through both legislative houses. They became known as “mushroom bills” because they […]

CALmatters Dan Walters, CALmatters, June 20, 2018 As detailed in this space a few days ago, the Legislature is using a budget “trailer bill” to deprive voters of vital information about local government and school bond issues. The legislation, drafted without public hearings or other input, would suspend for two years a new law, which […]

Los Angeles Daily News Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters, November 16, 2017 With a declaration that “public servants best serve the citizenry when they can be candid and honest without reservation in conducting the people’s business,” lawmakers passed the California Whistleblower Protection Act in 1999. The idea was to protect workers who report misconduct, so that they […]

Lincoln News Messenger Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, September 25, 2017 A few weeks ago, as the Legislature was wrapping up its final business of 2017, the Speaker of the Assembly hailed this year as the most “progressive” in California history. Now, I often do not agree with the Speaker. But in at least one sense, this […]

CALmatters Laurel Rosenhall, September 20, 2017 Something was different this year. As lawmakers in Sacramento approached the last night of their session—the final opportunity to pass or kill bills for the year—they had had three days to figure out how to vote. Three days may not sound like much, given the magnitude of the decisions […]