Political Briefs Top stories Dan Walters: California Capitol emulates Congress — The Legislature once prided itself on being different from its larger cousin in Washington – more transparent, more creative, less hidebound, etc. Politicians who made the transition from the Legislature to Congress would often lament losing their ability to draft and carry single-subject pieces […]

Political Briefs Top stories For a price, lobbyists keep Sacramento watch for Valley organizations – Sacramento is swarming with lobbyists, and central San Joaquin Valley governments, trade groups and others are paying for their services. Sometimes a lot. Valley organizations have paid more than $400,000 in lobbying fees just in 2015, according to data on […]

Political Briefs Top stories  Dan Walters: Kamala Harris’ summary miscasts measure – Does Harris’ summary invent an unjustified description? It certainly appears so. Did she do it for political reasons? Whatever her motives, it could backfire. Walters column in Sacramento Bee California senator proposes immigration holds on felons in country illegally — Outraged by the […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu! Political Briefs Top stories  $240 million education contract illustrates state lobbying loopholes — California’s murky disclosure laws make it nearly impossible to know exactly what kinds of work private companies do to influence how […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu! Political Briefs Top stories John Myers: Local governments spend big to influence Sacramento — Annual scorecards and power rankings rarely take notice of the lobbyists for local governments in California’s statehouse, focusing instead on […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu Political Briefs Top stories Without immigration reform, California citizenship will have to do –  It started with in-state tuition. Then came driver’s licenses, new rules designed to limit deportations and state-funded healthcare for children. […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu   Political Briefs Top stories  40 years later, Jerry Brown is still evolving on agricultural labor law — Though the Democratic governor signed the labor relations act when he was governor before, from 1975 […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu Political Briefs Top stories  Prompted by Sodomite Suppression Act, bill would raise initiative filing fees tenfold — A bill in the state Senate would raise the filing fee for a proposed ballot initiative tenfold, […]

Receive the Maddy Daily in your inbox every morning! To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to Ana Melendez at ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu Political Briefs Top stories California lawmakers raise more than $24 million in first half of 2015 — Recently filed campaign-finance reports show that, during one of the quieter stretches on the political calendar, members […]

Political Briefs Top stories Valley GOP leader wants party’s immigration stance to be less offensive — It’s been a hard, two-decades-long fall for California’s Republican Party, and one of the major reasons has been its alienation of Latino voters. Some in the party say tweaking the immigration plank of the state party’s platform might help […]