Back in the 1970s much was made of then-California Gov. Jerry Brown living in an unfurnished apartment near the Capitol rather than in the opulent Governor’s Mansion he had occupied for a bit as a kid while his dad was governor the decade before. But the famously...uh, frugal...Brown has nothing...

New York City Council Approves Ordinance The NEW YORK City Council approves an ordinance that would establish at least 20 waste collection zones, with service split up between three companies. Those firms would be selected through a city bidding process. There are currently 90 different companies...

Calling it “a step in the right direction," California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the state would closely monitor the NCAA’s decision to move toward allowing college athletes to profit from the use of their likeness, image or name. The move is a response to first-in-the-nation...

Eight states have enacted some version of the Data Security Model Law adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2017, according to the National Law Review. Three of the states did so in 2018, with the other five enacting measures this year. At least two other states have...

The impending California Consumer Privacy Act and other state data privacy laws have done more than motivate companies to rethink how they manage consumer data; it also has many organizations thinking more than ever about how they manage their cyber insurance coverage. Once considered a niche product...

CA City LA Temporarily Suspends The City of LOS ANGELES temporarily suspends rideshare company Uber’s permit to rent electric scooters and bicycles on city streets and sidewalks. The suspension comes over a dispute between the city and Uber over a city regulation that requires scooter companies...

Celebrities inserting themselves into political debates is nothing new. And on occasion it even helps! Case in point comes from the Land of LA, where the Hollywood Reporter informs us that a simple-retweet from A-list actor Josh Brolin has helped a Santa Monica councilman to see the light. As the story...

The world’s most popular social network is coming under a lot of criticism these days for, well a lot of things. But top on the list is Facebook leader Mark Zuckerberg’s response to claims his network fosters and even encourages a daily gusher of lies from politicos around the world. And...

As of Oct. 15, governors or public health agencies in seven states had imposed temporary bans on the sale of vaping products, four of which had been at least partially blocked by legal challenges, according to Time . At least five states have also introduced bills this year aimed at banning flavored...

As public health officials confront an outbreak of lung injuries linked to vaping from e-cigarettes, a patchwork of state and local responses have cropped up in lieu of federal regulation. But with a developing and not yet fully understood problem, and with several e-cigarette bans in a handful...

For all of its positives, there’s no denying that California also has its share of problems. It’s expensive to live here, the ground moves a lot, water can be scarce and, as the last few years have shown, wildfires are a constant threat. All of which is apparently joyous news to the folks...

One would presume that includes not spending money that isn’t yours to spend, a lesson apparently lost on former California Assemblymember Joe Canciamilla. As the East Bay Times reports , Canciamilla – the county’s top elections official - recently resigned after admitting he spent...

How bad is our current political discourse? Oh, it’s bad. Case in point today comes from California, where Donald Trump Jr. tried to have a promotional stop for his new book. (I know what you’re thinking – wouldn’t it better if he maybe read one? Yes, but that’s a different...

California Public Utilities Commission Votes The CALIFORNIA Public Utilities Commission votes unanimously to order an investigation into the intentional blackouts by Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities that left millions of Golden State residents statewide without power over the course...

Cuomo Threatens NYC Utility NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) threatened to revoke the license of a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island unless it begins providing natural gas to new customers on Long Island. Cuomo also vowed to take legal action against the utility National Grid...

North Dakota is currently the only state to have created a public bank, which it did way back in 1919. But momentum for more is growing at both the state and local level. The latest effort was launched last week in New Jersey, where New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) ordered the state to develop a...

In 2018 Texas had the most wildfires of any state, 10,541 of them, and the sixth highest number of acres burned, at 569,811, according to data compiled by the Insurance Information Institute from the National Interagency Fire Center. California had the second highest number of wildfires, at 8,054, and...

Fire-prompted power shutoffs that left millions of Californians in the dark have pushed Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), one of the nation’s largest utilities, to the brink of a state government takeover. The blackouts touched off public protests, calls by legislators and local officials...

Baltimore City Council Approves New Regulation The BALTIMORE City Council approves a new regulation that bans retailers from offering plastic bags to customers at checkout. The new law allows retailers to use small plastic bags to wrap deli products, meats and fish (FOXBALTIMORE.COM). San Diego...

Massachusetts House and Senate Approve HB 4203 The MASSACHUSETTS House and Senate overwhelmingly approve HB 4203 , which would ban Bay State drivers from talking on a handheld device while behind the wheel. It moves to Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who is expected to sign it into law (STATE HOUSE NEWS ...

California Governor Imposes A Moratorium CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) imposes a moratorium on new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and steam-injected oil drilling in the Golden State until the permits for those projects can be reviewed by an independent panel of scientists (CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State government will no longer buy cars from carmakers that don’t adhere to the state’s strict emissions rules. The boycott is a direct response to a bevy of car companies that recently sided with the Trump administration in its attempt...

CA Budget Surplus Could Grow to $26B by 2021 A report from CALIFORNIA’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office indicates the state’s cash reserves could reach a record $26 billion by 2021. Over a quarter of that sum would be unrestricted funds that state lawmakers could spend as...

As of mid-October, 26 states had introduced legislation this year dealing with the privacy of consumer data, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net legislative data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Seven of those states had enacted such measures, including Hawaii, where a consumer...

It’s the holiday season, and if most voters are thinking about politics at all they are probably pondering more about how to get through family festivities without a major blowup over differing political philosophies than they are about next year’s legislative agendas. But rest assured...