Assembly

California’s card room industry spent over $3 million targeting four lawmakers as payback for their votes on a gambling bill. Three of the lawmakers lost.

Few bills fail in the Legislature because lawmakers publicly vote “no.” Instead, most bills die when they are shelved, without lawmakers having to take tough votes.

California’s rival gambling interests gave the 22 members of an obscure legislative committee more than $1 million in campaign donations. Did the cash infusion to this “juice committee” influence members’ votes?

As Willie Brown turns 90 years old, the California political giant reflected on his career, the state of politics and his induction into the California Hall of Fame. Many in the political realm still seek his counsel.

Two proposals that would usher in single-payer health care have divided former allies in the fight for reform.

After Madera Community Hospital closed earlier this year, other hospitals have signaled they are struggling financially. Legislators are considering several solutions to funnel more money to hospitals to prevent them from cutting services or closing.

It’s difficult to exaggerate just how much impact a great teacher can have on a student’s life. Experienced and qualified educators can increase their students’ lifetime earnings and reduce their chances of incarceration. But in California, schools serving more students living in poverty generally have fewer experienced teachers. In the first in a series of […]

A months-long power struggle over the state Assembly speakership ended with a political deal. But will changing one politician for another make any difference?

After a weekend of lobbying, jockeying and speculating, then a flurry of parliamentary maneuvers and a six-hour closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, California Assembly Democrats finally came to a decision about who ought to serve as speaker. The answer: The current speaker, Anthony Rendon. The announcement came not with a bang but a whimper: At […]

Et tu, Rivas? Late Friday, just as legislators — and everyone else in the state — were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the next speaker of the California Assembly. […]