Graham Ostrowski
Graham Ostrowski covers the governor, the Legislature, state agencies and the state budget for the Sacramento Report.
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An appeals court lets California’s emissions-reporting law take effect for companies’ own emissions, but blocks the supply-chain and climate-risk rules
A divided Ninth Circuit panel held that SB 253’s Scope 1 and 2 reporting is commercial speech the state may compel, while Scope 3 reporting and all of SB 261 likely violate the First Amendment.
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A Shasta County judge permanently blocks Measure B, the county’s voter ID and hand-count law
Judge Benjamin Hanna ruled that state election law preempts the voter-approved charter amendment; its supporters say they are weighing an appeal and have 30 days to decide.
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Inquirer Investigation: Four donors supplied nearly all of the $62 million raised by three tech-funded committees in California’s legislative races
Campaign filings show Chris Larsen, Tim Draper, Meta and Google funded nearly all of Grow California, California Leads and Meta’s own committee; here is where the money went, race by race, and what the committees say…
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Becerra wants to freeze utility bills and home insurance premiums. The power to do it rests mostly with others
The governor-elect’s team says the details are still being worked out; under state law, the Public Utilities Commission and the elected insurance commissioner set rates, and the leading insurer group says a freeze would be illegal.
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Becerra has eight weeks to staff a government and write a budget. Here is what the transition has to do before Jan. 4
The governor-elect must fill hundreds of appointed posts and propose a state budget by Jan. 10, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office says its first look at that budget arrives Nov. 18.
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Newsom asks the California Supreme Court to clear the way for commuting all 548 death sentences
The governor says no one would be released or become eligible for parole; 382 of the commutations need the court’s recommendation, and prosecutors and victims’ groups are urging the justices to say no.
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Voters reject Prop. 45’s CEQA overhaul, and both sides turn to the Legislature
The Associated Press called the measure Saturday evening, with unofficial returns showing about 56 percent of voters opposed to a California Chamber of Commerce-backed rewrite of the state’s environmental review law.
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Newsom orders a Highway 1 task force and suspends some environmental rules for El Niño flood work
Two executive orders signed Oct. 27 set a Dec. 15 deadline for a plan to protect Highway 1 and let local agencies seek waivers of the state’s environmental review and wildlife laws for flood and erosion…
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Inside the consultant travel that preceded the high-speed rail chief’s exit
An Inquirer Investigation reads the inspector general’s report behind Ian Choudri’s resignation, which found the rail authority paid $595,600 in travel it should not have and corrected its own count of unapproved travel upward to $800,900.
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State tells Menlo Park it must revisit its housing plan if voters pass Measure P
In a letter sent four days before the election, the state housing department said the parking-lot measure would force Menlo Park to reopen a certified housing plan that counts on downtown lots for at least 345…