Capitol Alert

Capitol Alert Torey Van Oot and the Bee Capitol Bureau report on the people and politics of California government. Get e-mail alerts for breaking news, as well as exclusive previews of Capitol happenings and stories in tomorrow's Bee.

Web Site: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/


$500 million cap-and-trade loan to state hits wall of opposition

May 21, 2013
$500 million cap-and-trade loan to state hits wall of opposition

Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to shift $500 million in cap-and-trade fees levied on business for greenhouse emissions into the state budget ran into bipartisan opposition Tuesday. The two Democrats and one Republican on a Senate budget subcommittee deno...

Sen. Ricardo Lara cancels Las Vegas fundraiser

May 21, 2013
Sen. Ricardo Lara cancels Las Vegas fundraiser

Sacramento lobbyists and others looking forward to attending a mixed-martial-arts fight in Las Vegas with Sen. Ricardo Lara on Saturday will have to find another way to enjoy the holiday weekend. Lara announced today that he has canceled a fundraiser ...

Census Bureau says California 36th in school spending

May 21, 2013
Census Bureau says California 36th in school spending

California spent far more than any other state on K-12 education in 2011, but its per-pupil spending was $1,421 below the national average, putting it 36th in the nation, according to a new Census Bureau report. The Capitol's ceaseless debates over sc...

Dan Walters Daily: California playing cannabis catch-up

May 21, 2013

California is trying to reclaim the mantle of marijuana leadership it has ceded to states like Colorado and Washington, Dan says. Have a question you'd like Dan to answer? Post it on our Facebook page. See other Dan Walters Daily clips here.

AM Alert: Elections in Los Angeles, Senate District 16 and Assembly District 80

May 21, 2013
AM Alert: Elections in Los Angeles, Senate District 16 and Assembly District 80

We'll get a sense of what's next for California's perpetually evolving Legislature after the polls close on a few different races today. In addition to choosing a new mayor, the citizens of Los Angeles will decide whether Sen. Curren Price, D-Los Ang...

Bill to add class offerings at higher price passes Assembly

May 20, 2013
Bill to add class offerings at higher price passes Assembly

A bill authorizing additional community college classes for students willing to pay higher fees divided Assembly Democrats on Monday as some questioned whether the proposed legislation would create a two-tiered system. Assembly Bill 955 by Das William...

CA Senate approves bill to regulate medical marijuana shops

May 20, 2013
CA Senate approves bill to regulate medical marijuana shops

The California Senate passed a bill today that would shield pot shops following state guidelines for dispensing medical marijuana from prosecution for marijuana possession or sale. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said the goal of his Senate...

Former California Sen. Newton Russell dies at 85

May 20, 2013
Former California Sen. Newton Russell dies at 85

Newton Russell, who represented a swath of the San Fernando Valley in the state Legislature for more than three decades, died Saturday at his Southern California home. He was 85 and succumbed, his family said, to lung cancer. Russell, a Republican, wa...

Services scheduled for GOP consultant Stephen Kinney

May 20, 2013
Services scheduled for GOP consultant Stephen Kinney

Services have been scheduled for longtime Republican strategist and pollster Stephen Kinney, who died this weekend of prostate cancer at 69. Over decades of work in California politics, Kinney's clients included GOP luminaries like former governors Ge...

Jerry Brown urges college grads to tackle climate change

May 20, 2013
Jerry Brown urges college grads to tackle climate change

BERKELEY - Gov. Jerry Brown told college graduates in a commencement speech today that climate change is a greater threat to their future than any number of other problems, from the home mortgage crisis and student debt to growing inequality and war ab...