Explainers

Half the state's households struggle to afford the roof over their heads. Here’s what you need to know about one of California’s most vexing issues.

California has used the Affordable Care Act to make health insurance available to almost every resident. It now has a record high insured rate, although millions continue to go without health care.

For California laws, the buck does really stop at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. While the Legislature approved hundreds of bills before ending its regular session on Aug. 31, Newsom decides whether they become law.  He finished on Sept. 30 — and vetoed about 18% of nearly 1,000 bills passed in the final days (and nearly […]

California voters will decide 10 propositions in November. Here’s what you need to know about them, how they got on the ballot and how direct democracy works in the state.

California's minimum wage is among the highest in the nation but the state's high cost-of-living strains even full-time workers.

The true cost of college in California depends on how much financial aid students qualify for and the cost of housing where they attend.

How bad is California hunger? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but is being reduced.

California’s first-in-the-nation task force on reparations is handing lawmakers dozens of recommendations, including a proposal that the state apologize for slavery and racist policies, and make financial amends.

When budget season arrived in 2022, state lawmakers enjoyed the excitement and possibilities over how to spend a record $97.5 billion budget surplus, a shocking figure coming at the end of a bruising COVID-19 pandemic. But the two ensuing years have played out like a mirror universe as the state stares down a budget deficit […]

Read this explainer in English. Desde el principio, ha habido un gobierno estatal. Incluso antes de que existiera un gobierno federal, hubo una colección de estados organizados bajo los Artículos de la Confederación en 1781. Pero las 13 entidades separadas con diferentes intereses pronto se dieron cuenta de que necesitaban un organismo global para hacer […]