California

Blog

California Needs To Go Nuclear – Again

California policymakers have indicated that when the state converts to a renewables-only energy framework in 2045, wind and sun will be the only sources permitted. Categorical renewables such as hydroelectric power and nuclear will not be considered. Narrowing the potential sources for electricity generation this way makes the goal nearly ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – Making it Rain in California

PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden joins us to discuss his new study on the State and Local Tax cap in the 2017 federal tax reform legislation.  Wayne discusses how the legislation amounted to taxpayers in low-tax states subsidizing Sacramento’s high tax burden and out-of-control spending, and ...
California

Kerry Jackson Comments on Gig Economy Bill in Forbes

The state of California recently passed a bill that mandates app-based companies such as Lyft and Uber should treat their workers like employees instead of entrepreneurs. This could set a precedent for other states to sign up their own similar legislation on these ride-sharing companies. . . . . .Kerry ...
Blog

California State Senate Hands Newsom Decade-old Political Lightning Rod in Redevelopment Agencies

Since 2011, the California State Legislature has been itching to bring back redevelopment agencies. Governor Jerry Brown’s nixing of the 70-year-old program scored the California state budget several billion dollars during the Great Recession in 2011.  At the time of their elimination, redevelopment agencies collected around 12 percent of all ...
Blog

Is California Already Tired of Newsom’s “Winning” So Much This Legislative Session?

President Trump said many times during the 2016 election that the American people would “win” so much under his administration that they would get tired of winning. Now that the 2019 legislative session is over, Gov. Gavin Newsom may be making the same boast.California’s new governor was, by all accounts, ...
California

California — Still Crazy After All These Years

The California Legislature session has ended for the year, so there’s little it can wreck over the next few months. But enough damage was done since January to last beyond 2019 and deep into the Blue future. It’s easy for the rest of the country to dismiss Sacramento’s lawmaking. After ...
California

Steven Greenhut – 2019 End-of-Session Wrap-Up

Longtime Capitol journalist Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute joins us for our annual end-of-session wrap-up.  We discuss all the hot issues from this legislative session, including the debate over who is an independent contractor and who is an employee, the fight over charter schools, the potential return of ...
Blog

California Homeless Czar Overthrown In Favor of Task Force

Gov. Gavin Newsom will not after all appoint a homelessness czar, as he had promised he would during the 2018 campaign. Now, if he would just disband the homelessness task force that was formed in the spring. While running for governor last year as the state’s homeless crisis became a ...
California

Battle over “progressive” solutions leaves independent contractors on edge

As the final week of the legislative session was winding down, the Senate and Assembly in party-line votes approved Assembly Bill 5, which will codify the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling, leaving as many as 2 million freelance workers with an unsure future. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who publicly endorsed the ...
Blog

Is Universal Basic Income Really a “Freedom Dividend”?

On Thursday night, the Democratic presidential candidates will meet for the next presidential debate in Houston. One surprising candidate who qualified for the Houston debate and has attracted a small but growing following of supporters (known as the Yang Gang) is Andrew Yang. Yang’s platform consists primarily of one issue ...
Blog

California Needs To Go Nuclear – Again

California policymakers have indicated that when the state converts to a renewables-only energy framework in 2045, wind and sun will be the only sources permitted. Categorical renewables such as hydroelectric power and nuclear will not be considered. Narrowing the potential sources for electricity generation this way makes the goal nearly ...
Business & Economics

Wayne Winegarden – Making it Rain in California

PRI Senior Fellow in Business and Economics Wayne Winegarden joins us to discuss his new study on the State and Local Tax cap in the 2017 federal tax reform legislation.  Wayne discusses how the legislation amounted to taxpayers in low-tax states subsidizing Sacramento’s high tax burden and out-of-control spending, and ...
California

Kerry Jackson Comments on Gig Economy Bill in Forbes

The state of California recently passed a bill that mandates app-based companies such as Lyft and Uber should treat their workers like employees instead of entrepreneurs. This could set a precedent for other states to sign up their own similar legislation on these ride-sharing companies. . . . . .Kerry ...
Blog

California State Senate Hands Newsom Decade-old Political Lightning Rod in Redevelopment Agencies

Since 2011, the California State Legislature has been itching to bring back redevelopment agencies. Governor Jerry Brown’s nixing of the 70-year-old program scored the California state budget several billion dollars during the Great Recession in 2011.  At the time of their elimination, redevelopment agencies collected around 12 percent of all ...
Blog

Is California Already Tired of Newsom’s “Winning” So Much This Legislative Session?

President Trump said many times during the 2016 election that the American people would “win” so much under his administration that they would get tired of winning. Now that the 2019 legislative session is over, Gov. Gavin Newsom may be making the same boast.California’s new governor was, by all accounts, ...
California

California — Still Crazy After All These Years

The California Legislature session has ended for the year, so there’s little it can wreck over the next few months. But enough damage was done since January to last beyond 2019 and deep into the Blue future. It’s easy for the rest of the country to dismiss Sacramento’s lawmaking. After ...
California

Steven Greenhut – 2019 End-of-Session Wrap-Up

Longtime Capitol journalist Steven Greenhut of the R Street Institute joins us for our annual end-of-session wrap-up.  We discuss all the hot issues from this legislative session, including the debate over who is an independent contractor and who is an employee, the fight over charter schools, the potential return of ...
Blog

California Homeless Czar Overthrown In Favor of Task Force

Gov. Gavin Newsom will not after all appoint a homelessness czar, as he had promised he would during the 2018 campaign. Now, if he would just disband the homelessness task force that was formed in the spring. While running for governor last year as the state’s homeless crisis became a ...
California

Battle over “progressive” solutions leaves independent contractors on edge

As the final week of the legislative session was winding down, the Senate and Assembly in party-line votes approved Assembly Bill 5, which will codify the state Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling, leaving as many as 2 million freelance workers with an unsure future. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who publicly endorsed the ...
Blog

Is Universal Basic Income Really a “Freedom Dividend”?

On Thursday night, the Democratic presidential candidates will meet for the next presidential debate in Houston. One surprising candidate who qualified for the Houston debate and has attracted a small but growing following of supporters (known as the Yang Gang) is Andrew Yang. Yang’s platform consists primarily of one issue ...
Scroll to Top