State Politics

California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton agrees with Gov. Jerry Brown that Molly Munger's November tax initiative could hurt the governor's bid to raise the state sales tax and income taxes on California's highest earners.

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has assailed the Assembly for passing a bill that would strip power from the Judicial Council she controls, prompting opponents to suggest her tone is inappropriate for the state's top judge.

The cause of pension reform in California took a significant body shot Wednesday when a group hoping to put an overhaul measure before voters this year suspended its campaign.

In a landmark victory for gay rights advocates, a federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

A Democratic political strategist and a former Democratic assemblyman will help lead opposition to a proposed ballot initiative that would reduce California's Legislature to part-time.

Former Republican Sen. Sam Aanestad has decided to run for a vacant Northern California congressional seat, setting the stage for a same-party showdown with GOP Sen. Doug LaMalfa.

The federal government has charged a former Caltrans civil engineer with trying to illegally export $550,000 worth of radiation-hardened computer circuits used in satellite communications to China, according to a Colorado grand jury indictment.

The Capitol parking garage should have some extra spaces this spring.

State government payroll increased by half a billion dollars last year, even as California cut thousands of state worker jobs, according to a Bee analysis of new data from the Controller's Office.

Some challengers are out-raising incumbents, while one is flipping loans to his own campaign like hot cakes, as millions of dollars pour into California congressional races.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pops up from time to time to snipe at Gov. Jerry Brown, suggested Wednesday that his fellow Democrat lacks a "vision for greatness" and is "not necessarily the most collaborative executive," and he criticized social service cuts Brown has proposed.

Businesses, organized labor and other interests spent a record amount lobbying California state government last year, nearly 6 percent more than they did in 2010.

Legislation to create a tiered sex-offender registration system designed to focus attention on violent criminals was killed Monday by the Assembly.

California lawmakers stepped into a power struggle Monday by approving legislation to give local trial courts more control over their spending.

The California Teachers Association officially agreed Sunday to back Gov. Jerry Brown's multibillion-dollar tax plan, which should provide the governor hefty financial support for his fall campaign.

A California Supreme Court ruling Friday significantly raised Democratic Party prospects of gaining the supermajority needed in the state Senate to pass tax or fee increases.

The Legislature is expected to welcome a record number of new faces next year, thanks in part to term limits and new political maps.

An effort to extend the life of local redevelopment agencies through April 15 is "not going to happen," Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said Thursday.

Union membership among California's workers declined fractionally in the last year, according to an annual survey by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, but remains seventh highest among the states.

While blue California is almost certain to go for President Barack Obama come November, California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro sees opportunity for the GOP to be a major force from the presidential race down.

The message in some job advertisements these days is pretty blunt: Don't bother sending a résumé if you're not bringing home a paycheck already.

With contracts covering roughly 24,000 state employees expiring July 1, the Brown administration has set meetings in February and March for the government and four unions to publicly release initial bargaining proposals.

Legislation that would have allowed Cal Expo to operate more independently and to receive the proceeds of any sale or leasing of its land died Thursday in an Assembly committee.

Gov. Jerry Brown, campaigning for higher taxes and infrastructure spending in the state's more conservative reaches Thursday, claimed widespread business support for his tax plan and suggested dire consequences should it fail.

A Republican senator's push to override Gov. Jerry Brown's veto of his state parks legislation failed Thursday in the Senate.

Gov. Jerry Brown, calling on lawmakers and voters to help him prove "the declinists about California are wrong," on Wednesday launched his campaign for higher taxes and urged billions in spending on infrastructure and schools.

Democratic strategists on Wednesday put more serious muscle behind two Central Valley congressional challengers.

California's newly drawn legislative and congressional lines cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when the U.S. Department of Justice ruled that they do not dilute minority voting power in four counties under federal oversight.

Sacramentan Ward Connerly, a national crusader against affirmative action, is under fire from a former colleague who says he mismanaged nonprofit groups for personal gain.

It's that time of year again, California. Clipboard-carrying paid solicitors and volunteers are setting up shop outside grocery stores and on busy street corners in search of petition signatures for proposed initiatives for the November ballot.

Even in heavily Democratic California, President Barack Obama's job approval rating has plummeted among voters, largely on his handling of the economy, according to a new Field Poll.

The United States claims one of the lowest rates of women legislators in the developed world. Reversing this trend has been the 9-year-old mission of Emerge California, a groundbreaking, San Francisco-based group with branches in nine states.

California lawmakers finally voted on a state budget Sunday – but it died a partisan death.

Beaches at Lake Natoma and Folsom Lake will go without lifeguards. Drivers could wait longer for licenses at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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The day after unveiling $8.2 billion in proposed tax increases mostly on high-income earners and corporations, legislative Democrats on Wednesday said they have done all they can to trim the state budget without harming education and health care.