CalMatters

Hundreds of thousands of California health care workers expect to get a raise under a new law that sets a higher minimum wage for them. The law has a number of variables, including when it will actually take effect.

Die-offs from algae blooms in San Francisco and Delta water diversions have left a giant, shark-like, prehistoric creature at risk. State wildlife officials approved white sturgeon as a candidate for listing, which triggers protection.

State regulators propose rules on evaluating workers and job applicants with AI.

The state Supreme Court takes a business-backed initiative to make it more difficult to raise taxes off the Nov. 5 ballot. Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders sued to kick it off.

A 2021 law has resulted in a $6 million penalty against Amazon for allegedly not notifying employees at two Inland Empire facilities of production targets.

Advocates say expanding voter registration will help more Black and Latino Californians have a say at the ballot box. But other voter groups say registering to vote should still be voluntary — and they don’t see the bill as an effective way to increase voter diversity.

A proposed assembly bill seeks new disclosure requirements for private organizations that do contract work for local governments.

Aiming to store more water and protect the public, legislators are negotiating with the governor to restore $50 million to help repair 42 aging dams throughout the state.

A program that helps small businesses is just one of the proposed budget cuts on which California’s governor and Legislature disagree.

California can’t legally require insurers to write either residential or commercial property policies. But the state expects insurers to comply with the options unveiled today because they get something they want in return: catastrophe modeling.

The Legislature passes a placeholder state budget, but must still negotiate with Gov. Newsom on the final deal. How the state spends taxpayer money is largely being decided out of public view.

A bill before the Legislature would select the black abalone as California’s official seashell. The author says it represents the threat of climate change and honors its history with Native American tribes.