Topic: Center for Governmental Studies
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From marijuana to 'sexting': new laws set to take effect Jan. 1
In all, 45 states, the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico passed 31,005 new laws in 2010. Some of them will come into effect with the new year. Here is a sampling of some of the trends in lawmaking in 2010.
All Content
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New laws on New Year's Day, from gay marriage to ‘Caylee’s Law’
While much attention has been paid to the ‘fiscal cliff’ and the federal legislation behind it, thousands of new state laws took effect more quietly at the start of 2013.
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Focus
A lot riding on California dream of high-speed railCalifornia is moving ahead with a massive high-speed rail project, with construction of the first link set to begin early next year. The project could put the state in the vanguard of a transportation revolution – but is it more a dream than reality?
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Is California Gov. Jerry Brown's 'ransom' budget an empty threat?
California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a state budget Thursday that would cut $4.8 billion from education – but only if a ballot initiative to raise taxes fails. Problem is, legislators are balking.
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Did $98.5 billion high-speed rail project just hit a wall in California?
An independent review panel says the plan for a high-speed rail corridor linking northern and southern California poses 'an immense financial risk' to the state and should not move forward.
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Why 2012 could be the year of the third-party candidate
Nonpartisan group Americans Elect wants to mount a third-party challenge in Election 2012, and it just qualified for the California ballot. A third-party candidate could get traction, experts say.
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How new redistricting maps could reshape California politics
California handed redistricting to a nonpartisan commission to help break the state's chronic gridlock. The new political maps, it is becoming apparent, could do more than that.
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Is California's ballot initiative process broken? Lawmakers think so.
California's ballot-initiative process has roiled that state for 100 years. Legislators are now proposing reforms to bring it under control.
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51st state? Small step forward for long-shot 'South California' plan
A Republican member of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors wants his county and 12 others to secede from California and form the 51st state. His colleagues gave him an unenthusiastic go ahead Tuesday to explore the idea.
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California budget: A sign that the Golden State is finally on the right track?
Several voter-approved propositions helped resolve the typical California budget dysfunction this year. With new reforms, a new budget, and fix-it Gov. Jerry Brown, the future of the Golden State could be brightening.
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California has a balanced budget. Did Gov. Jerry Brown win or lose?
California Gov. Jerry Brown expended some political capital in his bid to close the state's budget deficit with a mix of cuts and higher tax revenue. He didn't get such a deal, but as of Tuesday night the state does have a budget.
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California budget: Is state official right to withhold paychecks?
The California budget passed by the Legislature June 15 was not balanced, so lawmakers must forfeit their pay until they pass one that is, said Controller John Chiang Tuesday.
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Uncertainty reigns as Jerry Brown vetoes 'questionable' California budget
Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, vetoed the Democrats' California budget Thursday, raising questions about whether legislators will still get paychecks tomorrow and whether the governor has any allies left in the Capitol.
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California nears budget deal to meet deadline. Critics pan it as 'gimmicks.'
California legislators will have to begin to forfeit their salaries if they don't pass a state budget Wednesday. To meet the deadline, legislators are rushing through a deal that could test Gov. Jerry Brown's campaign promise not to sign a 'smoke and mirrors' budget.
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Strange twists ahead in California budget battle as deadline nears
If there's no California budget by June 15, lawmakers will have to forfeit their pay. Five days earlier, the release of a new redistricting map could force many legislators to fight for their political lives. As budget crunch time approaches, the whole process is in flux.
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How a savage ballpark beating improved the LAPD's image
The brutal beating of a Giants fan at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day shook the entire city and led to a wave of cooperation with the LAPD – and renewed appreciation for its hard work.
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Supreme Court orders California to slash prison population by more than 30,000
In a 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court says severe overcrowding in the prisons violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A minority opinion offers a sharp dissent.
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To end California budget stalemate, businesses offer compromise solution
A coalition of 12 business groups propose a compromise 'workout plan' in an effort to avoid another California budget filled with 'gimmicks.' The old political hurdles remain, though.
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Obama in California: The good, the bad, and the $35,800 dinner plate
President Obama made his two-day, six-stop trip to California to raise money and rally his base. Along the way, he drew cheers at Facebook headquarters and hecklers in San Francisco.
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Obama as a chimp? E-mail gives California GOP problems it didn't need.
The California GOP had a historically bad election in 2010, partly because it has trouble connecting with immigrants and minorities. An e-mail from a local Republican official touting the 'birther' conspiracy and showing Obama as a chimp won't help.
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Jerry Brown's first 100 days: 'If he can't make it, where else can we turn?'
Gov. Jerry Brown's budget-balancing efforts over the past 100 days have received praise from citizens and pundits, but he has failed to get Republican support for tax extensions.
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Jerry Brown taking his budget-cutting campaign into GOP territory
After the collapse of the California budget deal, Jerry Brown is appealing directly to Republican voters where they live, including a GOP-friendly proposal to reform public employee pensions.
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Jerry Brown abandons key part of his California budget plan. Now what?
Gov. Jerry Brown of California cited a long list of Republican demands as the reason he dropped his plan for a special election in June to approve tax extensions for the California budget.
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California budget: Have Republicans outfoxed Jerry Brown?
Republican lawmakers refuse to give in to Gov. Jerry Brown and his plan to fix the California budget through a special election on tax extensions. That leaves Brown with few palatable options.
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Californians side with Jerry Brown in epic budget battle, poll says
Republican lawmakers are blocking Gov. Jerry Brown's attempts to put a tax-rate extension before voters this summer. But a new Field Poll shows Californians back Brown's plan.
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Bell, Calif., vents its anger in recall vote, then asks: What now?
Voters in Bell, Calif., recalled the mayor and three city councilmembers Tuesday in the aftermath of a scandal that saw city officials pay themselves exorbitant salaries. But with a $4.5 million deficit, the cleansing and healing process is just beginning.
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