From Stockton to Anaheim and San Jose, government officials across California use personal email accounts and texts to do the public’s business—and those messages often never see the light of day because public agencies can’t access them. Now, a San Jose legislator is working to change that. State Sen. Dave Cortese on Monday introduced a...
California residents can expect a variety of new laws to take effect in 2024, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills to tackle the state’s most pressing issues. These bills range from updates to mental health services and housing to worker protections to safe drinking water, and Silicon Valley lawmakers championed many of them....
A myriad of South Bay seats are set to open up with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s retirement—and one of the most contested may be the race for Assembly District 26. Three politicos have already hopped into the race for Assemblymember Evan Low’s seat, with the incumbent eying Eshoo’s congressional seat. Low could not yet confirm he’s running, but...
California passed a bill last month to help students tell fact from fiction, especially regarding social media. Now it’s up to school districts to incorporate media literacy into the curriculum. The bill, AB 873, was authored by local Assemblymember Marc Berman and signed into law on Oct. 13. Its purpose is to integrate media literacy...
Silicon Valley leaders and politicos are mourning the death of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein—the longest serving female senator in history. She was 90. Feinstein was a historic fixture in California politics and won election to the U.S. Senate in 1992 after a political career in San Francisco. After a series of health struggles and an...
A local assemblyman’s goal of establishing social housing in California is one signature away from fruition, but lingering questions remain about how these projects will be funded. Assembly Bill 309 author Assemblymember Alex Lee said social housing—a method where governments own, manage and maintain homes designed as affordable housing—will help alleviate California’s housing crunch. But...
A local state assemblyman wants to remove former President Donald Trump from the March primary ballot, but the law may not be on his side. Trump’s eligibility to be on the ballot hinges on the outcome of his federal indictment over the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The first trial date in...
Flipping burgers, assembling sandwiches and scooping guacamole onto salads is going to look tastier to San Jose’s fast-food workers after unions and restaurant owners reached an agreement through a state bill heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. State legislators passed Assembly Bill 1228 last week, ending a stalemate over fast-food labor policies, which triggered a...
A new state bill aims to set aside affordable housing for artists in cultural districts. Assembly Bill 812, introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner and sponsored by California Arts Advocates, would require counties and cities to reserve 10% of affordable housing for artists in or near a locally or state designated cultural district. Julie Baker, CEO...
A South Bay senator is hoping to speed up affordable housing production statewide with a new bill aimed at trimming back red tape in California’s main environmental law. State Sen. Dave Cortese’s bill, SB 406, would grant local agencies who help fund affordable housing an exemption from a provision of California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that...
