State Politics

Top California officials, responding to media reports about possible outside influence on CalPERS' investment decisions, are formulating legislation to tighten controls on so-called placement agents and restrict their fees.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will be sworn in today as the new congressman from the 10th Congressional District after winning Tuesday's special election to replace Rep. Ellen Tauscher.

A nonprofit tolerance center in midtown Sacramento, championed by state Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, could get a vital economic boost from an unlikely source: a mammoth $10 billion water bond proposal.

The female lobbyist who was the subject of sexual boasting by former Assemblyman Mike Duvall issued her first public statement Monday, describing his allegations as untrue and her experience as a "professional and personal nightmare."

When Fred Buenrostro, then the chief executive of California's giant public employees' pension fund, was looking for a place to marry, he accepted an offer to hold the wedding at the home of good friend and former CalPERS board member Alfred J. Villalobos. Villalobos stood to gain millions by introducing clients to officials at CalPERS.

Car insurance by the tankful? Not quite, but California moved a step closer last month to pay-as-you-drive policies that could allow motorists to buy insurance like they do gasoline – a little at a time.

California legislators took a first step on an ambitious path to overhaul the state's water system Monday night, when the state Senate approved a bill that would change oversight of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Attorney General Jerry Brown's communications director, Scott Gerber, submitted his resignation Monday after admitting last week that he had secretly taped conversations with reporters.

If Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendi wins a special congressional election Tuesday in the Democrat-leaning 10th Congressional District, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has the power to appoint Garamendi's replacement.

Budget-cutting changes to the state's In-Home Supportive Services program begin today, affecting thousands of low-income seniors and disabled people and their caregivers.

It's more likely to rain in Death Valley on any given day than it is for a California legislator to vote in opposition to the majority of his or her party on any given bill, a new Bee analysis shows.

Some call it California's cash advance. Effective today, the amount of state income taxes withheld from California workers' paychecks will increase 10 percent.

When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and political reform groups enacted a ballot measure to shift legislative redistricting from the Legislature to an independent commission, they purposely left congressional redistricting in lawmakers' hands.

Republicans, Democrats and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are trying to reach agreement on water legislation aimed at protecting the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while boosting water supplies. Here is a look at the latest proposal and some of the issues that stand in the way of a long-sought deal.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom shook up the California gubernatorial race Friday by dropping his struggling bid for governor.

With the whole world seemingly still atwitter over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's acrostic veto message of a bill by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-S.F., Ammiano's hometown paper rallied to his side Thursday with an editorial titled "Message on the margin."

Facing criticism from Northern California interests about controversial water legislation, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg defended the measures Friday, saying they include plenty of protections for Sacramento and Delta interests.

One of the more obscure – and probably more important – of California's many political conflicts pits an organization called EdVoice against the California Teachers Association and other school unions.

'Tis the season: A woman named Merry (really) Susan Hyatt and her brother David are apparently on the verge of having their initiative approved by the attorney general's office for circulation.

The state's political watchdog agency Wednesday rejected a request that it investigate the actions of two female lobbyists who allegedly engaged in affairs with ex-Assemblyman Mike Duvall.

California has two governments – the people we elect and the people who decide what really happens.

While Democrats have more than seven months left to choose their candidate for governor, one of the party's key constituencies has already made its preference clear, at least in the all-important money race.

CalPERS is reviewing its relationship with Apollo Management, a big private-equity firm that hired controversial placement agent Alfred Villalobos to obtain investment business from the pension fund.

Proponents of a plan to let "real Californians" take a crack at overhauling the state's sputtering government unveiled proposed initiatives Wednesday that call for the state's first constitutional convention in 120 years.

An Assembly oversight committee wants more openness from the state agency overseeing the courts, including detailed cost estimates for a massive computer project a Bee investigation found is years from completion and could cost close to $2 billion.

County social service directors said Wednesday that it is impossible for them to meet a Monday deadline to implement the state's new screening rules for in-home health caregivers.

Legislation to make California the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use lit up a Capitol committee hearing Wednesday with three hours of lively but mellow debate.

Today's object lesson on why people don't read government reports comes from the Bureau of State Audits.

A top Department of General Services manager resigned and a Department of Transportation employee was reassigned Tuesday as the Schwarzenegger administration reacted to an investigation by The Bee that found officials spent $5.5 million on new vehicles this year but left many idle and gathering dust for months.

The California Senior Legislature is holding its annual model legislative session through Friday at the Capitol.

The Fair Political Practices Commission has rejected claims that former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez illegally spent campaign funds and solicited donations for a Los Angeles nonprofit group.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday called on Congress to pass a health care overhaul that would require all Americans to carry insurance, but he warned that California will get stuck with a bill of more than $1 billion a year for expanding Medicaid if the federal government doesn't provide more money to the states.

California's plan to implement a "cash for appliances" program with federal stimulus funds focuses on three meat-and-potatoes appliances used by millions of residents.

Judges, law enforcement officials and union workers joined together Tuesday to release an accountability plan for the Administrative Office of the Courts, calling on the Legislature to increase the agency's openness and ensure that state courts do not have to close one day a month.

The first letters in consecutive lines of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto message of AB 1176 spell out an epithet beginning with "F" and ending with "you."

Don't start counting that budget savings from the much-ballyhooed changes to California's In-Home Health Services program just yet.

The California Lottery will pay $264,000 for a mistake affecting players.

Two of the state's largest departments spent more than $5.5 million on new cars and trucks this year only to leave them idle and gathering dust for months.

The three Republicans vying to become California's governor all have histories of ties -- either financial or as a registered member -- to the Democratic Party.

For decades, Stockton has been pumping money – often taxpayers' money – into its moribund waterfront/downtown area, hoping it would become an entertainment destination that would recapture its 19th century prominence as a portal into California's gold fields.

An effort to create a centralized computer system for California's state courts, originally conceived as a modest upgrade in a few counties, now faces total costs approaching $2 billion and is years away from large-scale implementation, an investigation by The Bee has found.

State Attorney General Jerry Brown, who's overseeing a probe of alleged pension fund corruption, accepted campaign contributions from seven people associated with Alfred Villalobos, a controversial marketing agent under investigation by CalPERS.

The head of a state agency on Friday pulled back a promise to give nearly $2 million in bonuses to several thousand employees after another government official threatened to sue.

After weeks of closed-door negotiations, state lawmakers will begin hearings next week on water legislation aimed at improving the state's water delivery system while protecting the environment.

Actress Goldie Hawn met Friday with state Lt. Gov. John Garamendi to promote her "MindUP" Foundation, which helps children reduce stress and improve learning with a program that includes "mindful breathing."

A state worker who was set to receive a cash award for uncovering large-scale ink waste from Hewlett Packard printers has asked officials to re-evaluate the bonus, saying the amount of the waste he discovered is substantially larger than what was used to calculate his award.

CalPERS' already shaky $500 million investment in a New York housing complex suffered a setback Thursday when a court ruled the complex illegally raised rents.

WASHINGTON - Californians are lobbying hard amid steep competition for billions of dollars in federal high-speed rail funding.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is running a new radio ad arguing for major cuts in what she calls Sacramento's "bloated bureaucracy." Following is the text of the ad and analysis by Bee Political Editor Amy Chance: