May 23 was the deadline to turn in 42,802 valid signatures of voters in the district, which includes parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties.

A suite of five bills introduced this week seeks to protect election integrity from bad actors using AI, especially on social media.

The Assembly has until the end of January to decide the fate of the youth tackle football bill, which would prevent kids under 12 from playing the sport to protect them from brain trauma.

With the March 5 primary just three months away and a campaign period interrupted by the holidays, the candidates – a total of five Democrats and two Republicans so far – have a big fundraising challenge ahead of them.

The Santa Clara County supervisor says he already has raised $600,000 in federal campaign funds.

Speaker Robert Rivas seems to be laying the institutional groundwork for an aggressively pro-housing legislature next year.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian says he'll likely make it official next week and Assemblymember Evan Low says he is a few conversations away from his announcement, but the pair are likely opponents in California's 16th Congressional District.

Southern California school boards have been battling with Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta over book bans and other culture wars in the classroom. 

On Monday, the Assembly finished its votes on Newsom’s series of infrastructure streamlining bills, although not without reservations. Today, the Senate is expected to take its final vote on the infrastructure package, agreeing to some Assembly amendments before sending it to Gov. Newsom’s desk.

After a prolonged transition, the Hollister Democrat was sworn in as Assembly speaker today, taking over from Anthony Rendon of Southern California. It’s been a meteoric ascent for the 43-year-old who grew up in farmworker housing, and worked as a high school counselor and community college teacher while serving as a San Benito County supervisor.

Much of the Assembly Public Safety Committee's debate centered on whether it's better to treat the fentanyl crisis as a public health issue, or to see it as a public safety emergency where harsher punishments could deter drug dealers.

The California Journalism Preservation Act directs big tech companies to pay publishers a “journalism usage fee” each time they use local news content and sell advertising alongside it. In turn, the bill requires news publishers to invest 70% of the profits from the usage fee in journalism jobs.

One in 10 state lawmakers is related by blood or marriage to other legislators past and present. State Sen. Dave Cortese, a Campbell Democrat, is one of these, who has benefited from name recognition: His father, Dominic, served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors before nabbing a seat in the Assembly.

Nearly one-third of lawmakers — at least 37 of 120 — will be new to Sacramento, paving the way for new political dynamics and new legislative priorities.

The governor also signed six climate bills into law, including one that keeps the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant to stay open until 2030.

Supporters swayed moderate Democrats by removing a provision that would have put fast food corporations on the hook for labor violations at franchise locations, but industry lobbying and opposition from his own Department of Finance could convince Newsom to veto the bill.