In recent years, Californians have seen government intrusion on overdrive. From water rationing to cracking down on the “gig economy,” Sacramento has been telling us how to live our lives and run our businesses. Now, the state government has its eyes set on one of our most fundamental rights: the freedom of contract. Contracting is...
California’s central planners are determined to stay ahead of the entire world when it comes to renewable energy and achieving “net zero.” It is an expensive and intrusive experiment, and we’re the lab rats. But that doesn’t mean every renewables innovation is bad. And for the hardened skeptics, we can put it another way: At...
Last week in Sacramento at Cal Desal’s annual conference, one of the highlights was an appearance by Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources Secretary. In his remarks, and in answer to questions from the audience, Crowfoot sought to create the impression the Newsom administration is supporting desalination projects. “The last thing we want to do is put...
Academic achievement is no longer a priority in many school districts around the country. Unfortunately, many school boards veer from their main mission of academic excellence and have become preoccupied with pursuing cultural issues such as gender, social justice and equity. In many districts, there is more focus on critical race theory than critical thinking. ...
A very contentious election season is upon us. To better navigate the deluge of political propaganda, here are a few thoughts about choosing the best candidates who can stand as bulwarks of freedom from those who want to selfishly rule and reign over Californians. A campaign speech can reveal much about the timber of someone...
More than 150 parent advocates, school board members and school board candidates from 28 counties across California attended CPC’s Parents, Not Partisans Summit in Sacramento in March for two days of training, networking and advocacy at the State Capitol with our allies at Protection for the Educational Rights of Kids (PERK). The third annual...
A historic barrage of atmospheric rivers hit California. Across the Sierra Nevada and down through the foothills into the valley, rivers turned into raging torrents, overflowing their banks and flooding entire communities. California’s Central Valley turned into an inland sea, as low lying farms and grasslands were incapable of draining the deluge. That was 1861,...
California Policy Center (CPC) is thrilled to announce that Los Angeles attorney and child advocate Julie Hamill has joined CPC as the organization’s first full-time attorney. Hamill has come on board to build CPC’s justice center focused on dismantling government barriers to freedom and prosperity in California. “Julie is a top-notch attorney who has been...
On February 1, Public Counsel announced settlement of Cayla J. v. State of California, Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG20084386. The LA Times explains the settlement in further detail. Nutshell California’s pandemic policies harmed children, especially minority students in low-income areas. The settlement includes a promise by State government defendants to propose legislation reallocating resources toward helping students most...
This month, Governor Newsom released his proposed state budget for 2024-25. The $291.5 billion budget proposal sets aside $76.5 billion in state funds for K-12 education. This amount exceeds the proposed budgeted costs for transportation ($19.55 billion); corrections and rehabilitation ($18.12 billion); general government ($10.68 billion); legislative, judicial, and executive agencies ($10.72 billion); natural resources...
Debates over the efficacy of water projects often focus on the monthly cost to end users. For example, in May 2022, a few days before the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to deny the final permit to build a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, the influential Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik fretted that it “might drive up the...
State Senator Nancy Skinner and Assembly Member Buffy Wicks (who both represent Oakland, fyi) stood alongside Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday to talk about the ways social media companies exploit the developing adolescent mind. Which is true. A study from a decade ago published by the German Medical Association noted that adolescent brains have...
Using a simple metric, only six Inland Empire cities in California saw much movement in the fiscal rankings of its 52 cities for the year ending June 30, 2020 compared to the previous year (see “Every City in the Inland Empire Ranked According to Financial Health,” June 30, 2023). The majority stayed pretty much in...