It is now a misdemeanor for any prison employee or visitor to smuggle a cell phone into prison, reports. ABC Local. Senators unanimously approved the bill SB26, similar to one that former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed as too weak, on Thursday, reports the Sacramento Bee. The misdemeanor is punishable up to a $5,000 fine. more ›

While we can leave the future of foreskin up to city government (thanks San Francisco and Santa Monica), it appears that what our children can and cannot do with their mobile devices while in class will be determined not on a case-by-case basis or by school principals but in Sacramento -- by the California State Legislature. more ›

Thanks to its massive air pollution problem, California currently enforces the strictest car emission standards in the country. These stringent practices may be in jeopardy, however, due to the Energy Tax Prevention Act, newly proposed legislation at the federal level, according to SFGate. more ›

A historic 65-31 Senate vote approving a bill that repeals the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" on Saturday means that gay and lesbian military personell will be able to serve openly without punishment, once President Obama signs the measure into law next week. more ›

News outlets were quick to call it last night for incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, but it took until this morning for her challenger, Republican Carly Fiorina, to publicly concede the race. more ›

Last night Jerry Brown was named Governor, Barbara Boxer retained her Senate seat, and Gavin Newsom won the Lt. Governor's race. While who will take Brown's job as Attorney General still remains too tight to call, the rest of the state-level contests have been declared, and, when applicable, in favor of the Democrats. more ›

Rival candidates Barbara Boxer (D) and Carly Fiorina (R) are scheduled to go head to head this afternoon in their second debate, according to the Pasadena Star-News. more ›

In addition to today's gubernatorial poll showing Republican candidate Meg Whitman leading by eight points, Rasmussen Reports also surveyed likely California voters on the U.S. Senate Race that could unseat Barbara Boxer. The poll, released Wednesday, shows former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina catching up to Boxer -- 43% to 44%. Among the other poll respondents, 5% said they'd choose a third party candidate and 8% were still undecided. more ›

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina continues to widen her lead over California Senator Barbara Boxer for this year's election, according to poll results released today. The CBS/Survey USA poll found that Republican Fiorina leads Democratic incumbent Boxer 47% to 42%. more ›

“If there’s one thing all of us can agree on, it’s that taxpayers should not have to pay for the mistakes of Wall Street. This amendment will make clear that taxpayers will never again be on the hook to bail out failing financial firms," California Senator Barbara Boxer said today about her amendment to the Wall Street reform legislation. “The debacle on Wall Street spread through the economy, led to painful job losses, home foreclosures and the loss of retirement savings and consumer confidence. With this amendment, we are sending a clear message to Wall Street firms that they can no longer gamble with our financial security and expect that taxpayers will rescue them.” more ›

They called it a "flightmare"--passengers flying from LAX to JFK earlier this month on a Virgin Atlantic flight were left rationing Pringles and waiting for hours after a weather-related diversion. Grounded and unable to deplane and provided with only four potato chips each and some water, the 16-hour ordeal left passengers outraged. more ›

A bill banning smoking in all 279 California state parks failed in the Assembly today, falling just 5 votes short of passing, according to abc7. The issue is not entirely snuffed out, however, as the absence of several lawmakers expected to vote in approval were absent from the session today, and a new vote will be held, possibly as soon as Monday. The bill, by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D) of Long Beach, passed the state Senate, and, if passed, would be landmark legislation regarding public smoking and state-run land. more ›

The hardest part about bringing Los Angeles a world-class public transit system is the funding. That's why Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's has been hitting up Washington hard for his 30/10 plan--12 projects scheduled to be completed in 30 years accelerated to 10 years. The Plan doesn't ask for free money, it asks for a long-term loan to be paid back with guaranteed funds from Measure R, the voter-approved sales tax hike. more ›

Hoping to oust Senator Barbara Boxer (D) from her long-held seat, Carly Fiorina (R) has released a video biography in the hopes Californians want to get to know this "5'6" fireball." more ›

The US Senate convened today -- the day before Christmas -- and passed the Senate's version of the famed health insurance reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This bill will move into conference committee with the House of Representatives' version of the bill in January, before finall passage (Previous discussion of this week's Senate events here). It is not a common occurrence to meet the day before Christmas. The last time the Senate held a roll call on Christmas Eve was in the year 1895, when Senators lifted a ban on government officers who had joined the Confederacy from serving in the post-Civil War military. Below are other interesting facts about the Senate. more ›

Although it was highly anticlimactic and awfully frustrating for all parties involved, this week signified a historic move on the health care reform bill. So what exactly happened? Well, the US Senate voted 60-40 -- not in favor of passing a specific bill --- but in favor of ending debate and stopping further filibustering on a specific set of amendments to the health care reform bill known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [full bill and amendments can be found here (.pdf)] more ›

Earlier this fall, the House of Representatives allocated $4 billion for High Speed Rail in the 2010 transportation bill. Then along came the Senate with a proposal to cut that to $1.2 billion. That changed yesterday. more ›

As UC Regents meet for a vote on increasing University of California tuition by 32%, Attorney General Jerrry Brown said today that a state panel has the authority to cut the pay of state Senators and Assemblymembers by 18 percent, which would cut pay from $116,208 to $95,291 in December 2010, according to the Sacramento Bee. At issue was if Senate salaries could be cut mid-term, which Brown said was within the law. But still undetermined is if benefits can be cut. more ›

We've got a former eBay CEO and conservative Meg Whitman running for Governor and today we find that another tech CEO from the right is making the move for public office. Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina will announce this morning her run for the Senate, according to the LA Times. She will face Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine) in the Republican primary. The winner of that will face incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in next year's November election. If Boxer wins, it will be her fourth term. more ›

Watch out, Los Angeles. We might be having a Raider Nation soon enough (or hey, maybe even get back the Chargers). In a legislative session yesterday, the state's senate approved a bill that "would grant the 75,000-seat stadium project an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, the environmental law that governs development," according to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. more ›

Finally, the budget has passed both houses--the Senate early this morning and the Assembly this afternoon--and Governor Arnold Scwharzenegger says he plans to sign it next week. However, the LA Times hints that Schwarzenegger may do some line item vetoing and a $1.1 billion deficit still remains to be solved. more ›

Happy New Fiscal Year! To no surprise of anyone, the state once again failed to pass the budget revision before today, the beginning of the 2009/2010 fiscal year. That means 28,742 payments, many of them tax refunds, totalling $53.3 million will be sent out tomorrow as IOUs, costing the state $3.4 billion over the next 30 years due to higher interest rates. more ›

In a late Sunday night Session, the state's Assembly passed a budget with $2 billion in tax and fee increases that included a $15 annual vehicle registration fee that would pay for state parks, among other taxes and fees like a $1.50 tax on cigarettes. The Democratic budget solution is headed to the state Senate for consideration this morning. more ›

As of yesterday, the State Senate had not moved on items except denying a budget package of three bills passed by the Assembly (before a bill can go to Schwarzenegger, it must pass both houses). That package would temporarily halt the use of IOUs in lieu of bill payments from the state. In regards to the threat of state parks, no action has been taken yet. The Democrats proposal goes like this: AB 180, the big budget revision bill (remember, the budget was already passed earlier this year), contains a one year cut of state parks (Schwarzenegger called for two years). Once that passes, effectively eliminating state parks, then another bill would be introduced to save state parks via a $15 annual fee on vehicle registrations. That's a risky move considering Schwarzenegger and Republicans vow to veto any taxes or fee increases. The Senate reconvened at 12:30 today and the Assembly will on Saturday. more ›

“I am confident that Hilda Solis will turn the many challenges we face into many opportunities for the American people. As Secretary, she will continue to promote policies that will invigorate our economy, protect our jobs, and retrain our work force," California Senator Barbara Boxer said today on the confirmation. "She will work for a sustainable energy future, which is going to mean lots of jobs and new technologies. She will ensure safe working conditions. She will enforce fairly the wage and hour laws we have on the books… She will protect against worker discrimination. She will strengthen the middle class." more ›

Three wildlife bills, passed yesterday in a rare Sunday session of the Senate, paved the way to give California more than 700,000 acres of protected land. "It would designate as wilderness -- the government's highest protection -- about 190,000 acres in Riverside County, including parts of Joshua Tree National Park; about 450,000 acres in the Eastern Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles; and about 90,000 acres in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, including John Krebs Wilderness," reported the LA Times. more ›

Two San Francisco lawmakers from the Assembly and Senate are planning to introduce resolutions supporting the repeal of Proposition 8. "Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, will introduce measures specify that Prop 8 is an improper revision of the California Constitution. Significant revisions to the Constitution mandate distinct procedures and require a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature before going to voters," says Equality California, the organization that is sponsoring the bills. Proposition 8, which sought to ban gay marriage in California, won in the November election, prompting protests and a state supreme court case that will likely be heard starting in March. It seems the battle over Prop 8 is being fought at every level possible. more ›

Today, the LA City Council will be voting to endorse two federal bills. It's only symbolic in nature for the city to do so, but it helps when the bills hit the House and Senate or the differences committees. more ›

For those of you following AB 2321, a state assembly bill that would allow Metro to put a proposed half-cent sales tax increase on November's ballot (they say it could raise $30-40 billion dollars over 30 years), it passed out of the state senate this afternoon, according to Steve Hymon at the Bottleneck Blog. more ›

There are two identical bills floating around the U.S Senate and House this month that would protect federally owned land from any development, vehicles, permanent structures, mining or basically anything else that would alter the environment. The land would go under The Wilderness Act, signed into law by President Johnson and says defines land as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting and fishing are allowed, according to the Sacramento Bee. more ›