State legislators are calling for a major overhaul of California's utilities regulator by striking it from the state Constitution and reassigning its sprawling portfolio in the wake of a series of controversies, including the natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon. Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) said his measure would decentralize the California Public Utilities Commission's
It’s been a heady ride for California finances in recent years, with budget revenue outpacing estimates by billions of dollars, buoyed along by the state’s healthy economic growth in 2015. Could that trend be coming to an end? Preliminary tax revenue for January stands at a net $167 million less than estimates in Gov. Jerry
As the nation begins the process of electing a new president, the roles of the Republican and Democratic parties are undergoing fundamental shifts that are threatening their impact on both elections and policy. Built in the 19th century, grown dominant in the 20th, they are largely out of date in this new age. They still
This winter, solar companies and utilities are headed for a showdown. Regulators will soon be deciding whether Californians installing solar panels will have to pay new monthly fees to their utility, including PG&E and the state’s two other major utilities. Regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission are expected to release their proposal for what
A new batch of emails released by the City of San Bruno last week show Gov. Jerry Brown supervising his appointees on the California Public Utilities Commission closely. That interaction could be seen as routine and necessary political oversight, especially now, or it could have deeper implications for Brown given that the agency has been
The informal but increasingly powerful cadre of business-aligned Democrats in the Legislature tapped two assemblymen to lead their caucus after last week's decision by the group's current chairman to leave office at the end of the month. Assemblymen Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) and Rudy Salas Jr. (D-Bakersfield) now share top billing of the so-called Moderate Caucus.
Commentary from the Sacramento Bee Millions of Californians will be paying billions of dollars in local government and school property taxes this week. The exercise will be repeated next spring as the second semi-annual property tax installment payment comes due and the grand total for the 2015-16 fiscal year will be somewhere north of $55
Gov. Jerry Brown said he is considering placing a measure on the 2016 ballot, possibly related to climate change, or engaging in an effort to defeat a threat to his Delta water project. “There’s a few things which I’m not ready to lay out for what we do,” he said. “We’re going to do something.”
In a memorandum issued days before he flew to France last week for the United Nations climate summit, Brown ordered his administration to review the impact of greenhouse gas emissions policies on poor and heavily polluted communities in California. The memo followed speeches in recent months in which Brown has emphasized an especially hazardous class
One of the goals of Californians who traveled to Paris for climate talks this week was to showcase green-energy businesses that are succeeding in the state. But it was the “coercive power” of government for which Gov. Jerry Brown was seeking credit. Regulations, he said at an event with billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer at an