California

SACRAMENTO, March 4, 2021 – With another hot and dry fire season on the horizon and potential drought settling in over California, preparedness efforts throughout the state are underway. In anticipation of this, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and the Senate’s Wildfire Working Group have released a plan and introduced a budget […]

March 3, 2021 – Many students in California have not been inside a classroom since last March. Though low-income students have been affected the most, all kids have had to adjust because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As more people are vaccinated, the end of remote learning is in sight, but schools will still need to use […]

SACRAMENTO – On the heels of announcing a $6.6 billion school reopening agreement with the Legislature, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has approved California’s request to utilize Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) funding to provide voluntary COVID-19 testing for low-income students covered by the program, further supporting schools in underserved communities to reopen for in-person instruction.   “I am […]

SACRAMENTO March 3, 2021 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued an alert warning consumers about some healthcare providers reportedly charging patients a COVID FEE when seeking care. A COVID FEE is an additional charge, purportedly for more frequent cleaning and disinfecting, and greater use of Personal Protective Equipment, also known as “PPE,” during the COVID-19 […]

SACRAMENTO February 28, 2021 – Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the most recent statistics on COVID-19. Statewide COVID-19 Data as of Today California has 3,475,562 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed. There were 4,685 newly recorded confirmed cases […]

February 26, 2021 – Another GPS-collared gray wolf has dispersed from Oregon into California. The wolf, known as OR-93, has traveled farther south in California than the collared wolves that have preceded him. OR-93 is a young male that dispersed from Oregon’s White River pack, southeast of Mt. Hood. He was fitted with a tracking […]

February 25, 2021 – California is now the first state in the country to end transfers of children younger than 16 to the adult criminal justice system because of a California Supreme Court ruling today that upholds a state law designed to protect youth. In 2018, California passed S1391 to exclude anyone under age 16 […]

LOS ANGELES, February 25, 2021— As California lawmakers consider a bill that would limit sprawl development in blaze-prone areas, a new report highlights how rampant construction in high fire-risk wildlands is putting more people in harm’s way and contributing to a dramatic increase in costs associated with fire suppression and damages. Built to Burn, released […]

SACRAMENTO, February 25, 2021 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today applauded a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to grant a rehearing en banc in Duncan v. Becerra, a case challenging California’s ban on the acquisition and possession of large-capacity magazines (LCMs). Last August, the Attorney General filed a petition […]

SACRAMENTO February 24, 2021 – The State Board of Education voted today to seek relief from certain federal testing, accountability, and reporting requirements and directed staff to explore other options for assessing student learning given the many challenges facing schools, educators, families, and students this year. The Board’s action is in response to federal guidance […]

SACRAMENTO February 23, 2021 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today prevailed in securing net neutrality for 40 million Californians while litigation is ongoing. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California denied a motion for preliminary injunction brought by a group of internet service providers, which attempted to block enforcement of Senate Bill 822 (SB 822), California’s net neutrality […]

OAKLAND, Calif. February 23, 2021—With less than four years left before Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo starts shutting down the state’s last two nuclear reactors, experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) say energy regulators have not prepared sufficiently for what happens next. California is at risk of a 15.5 million […]

SACRAMENTO,  February 22, 2021 – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra today issued a statement on California’s landmark net neutrality law ahead of Tuesday’s hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento. On August 5, 2020, the former Trump Administration and major internet service providers (ISPs) asked the district court to issue a preliminary injunction to […]

FRESNO, Calif. February 22, 2021 — A Fresno County Superior Court judge has rejected an effort by construction and real estate interests, along with the city of Hesperia, to strip away legal protections that currently apply to the imperiled western Joshua tree. “This is a critical victory for these beautiful trees and their fragile desert ecosystem,” said Brendan […]

Santa Barbara, CA, February 22, 2021 – Walk along the beach after a winter storm and you’ll see a shore littered with wracks of giant kelp, some 30 to 40 feet long — evidence of the storm’s impact on coastal kelp forests. Less apparent to the casual beachgoer is what happens to the submarine forests […]

February 19, 2021 – Renewing its commitment to the larger fight for health care justice, the California Nurses Association (CNA) is pleased to sponsor Assembly Bill 1400 (Kalra), the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act (CalCare), which would guarantee comprehensive, high-quality health care to all California residents as a human right. The establishment of the […]

SACRAMENTO February 19, 2021 – The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) this week approved 15 grants totaling more than $8 million in Proposition 68 funds for projects that will build coastal resilience in the face of sea-level rise. These projects, which include planning, research and construction, will help safeguard public health and safety, preserve biodiversity and […]

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today the California Federation of Teachers released the results of a recent poll of 1,217 of its members who are educators and classified professionals across California. The poll found teachers and school workers are eager to return to in-person instruction and agree by overwhelming margins that vaccines and multi-layered mitigation strategies must […]

SACRAMENTO February 19, 2021 – The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today released updated guidance for youth and recreational adult sports. The guidance applies to all organized youth and adult sports, including school and community-sponsored programs, and privately organized clubs and leagues. CDPH’s guidance is aimed at giving communities guidelines on how to safely […]

Sacramento, CA, February 18, 2021 –  Today, Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-Van Nuys) introduced legislation to eliminate the statewide preemption on local sugary drink taxes, a measure forced upon the legislature by the soda industry in 2018 that was described by the Sacramento Bee as a “shakedown” akin to “extortion”. As California counties and cities are […]