Latest news with #CaliforniaLegislature
Epoch Times
a day ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
California Bill Seeks New Regulations for Self-Checkouts: Staffing, Signage, Item Limitations
A bill that is close to passing the California Legislature is seeking to implement new regulations for stores with self-checkout machines, including staffing requirements and item bans. Senate Bill 442, which is waiting for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations, is among the bills that state lawmakers could review as the Legislature reconvenes on Aug. 18.
CNN
4 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Texas Republicans call new special session for redistricting, with Democrats
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called a second special session to push through a redrawing of congressional maps to secure up to five more Republican seats in the US House. Unlike the first special session, the new 30-day session may end with the GOP-friendly maps being passed. Texas House Democrats who fled the state to stop the redistricting signaled Thursday they are prepared to end their standoff and return to the Capitol. The Democrats laid out two conditions for returning: the first special session ending and California introducing its new congressional map to offset GOP gains in Texas by producing up to five new US House seats for Democrats. The California legislature is set to convene on Monday to begin the legislative process around their proposed map. Texas House Democrats could return to Austin as soon as Monday, a source familiar with the matter said. In announcing the second 30-day session, which will begin at 12 p.m. Central (1 p.m. Eastern), Abbott blasted Texas House Democrats who stalled efforts on redistricting and other issues. 'Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,' Abbott said. 'We will not back down from this fight. That's why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.' The Texas House of Representatives and Senate adjourned the first special session Friday morning after state House Democrats remained out of the state for nearly two weeks to deny a quorum. Upon their return, the Democrats plan to make their case against the bill on the Texas House floor. Legal challenges to the map also are expected. In addition to redistricting, the second special session will address flood relief following the catastrophic storms in the Texas Hill County last month and a slew of other conservative priorities. The agenda largely mirrors the plans set forth for the first special session but adds in consideration of legislation relating to camp safety. Dozens of campers and camp employees died in the July 4 floods in the state.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Inside Newsom's ‘no regrets' strategy in fighting Trump, Texas
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is taking on what he calls a 'no regrets strategy,' saying he must 'fight fire with fire' in countering the President Trump-led redistricting efforts in Texas. In exclusive comments made to The Hill, Newsom said he is feeling 'very confident' about moving forward with his own redistricting plan, as the California Legislature returns to session next week. And while he acknowledged it's 'never a slam dunk,' he said he is optimistic about the signs of 'public unity' on the issue from Legislature leadership in his state. '[The] biggest risk is not taking one,' Newsom said to The Hill. 'Trump doesn't deserve the passivity, acquiescence. Democracy demands we at least try, eyes wide open, recognize the stakes.' 'I'm a longtime believer in independent redistricting, with receipts,' the governor said, acknowledging that 'these are not normal times.' 'As Lincoln said, 'The facts are new, we must think anew, we must act anew.'' Newsom sent a letter to Trump on Monday warning that if the president does not call off redistricting efforts in Texas, California would move forward with redistricting its own congressional lines to favor Democrats, nullifying any seats Republicans could gain. 'If you will not stand down, I will be forced to lead an effort to redraw the maps in California to offset the rigging of maps in red states,' Newsom wrote in the letter. 'But if the other states call off their redistricting efforts, we will happily do the same. And American democracy will be better for it.' 'You are playing with fire, risking the destabilization of our democracy, while knowing that California can neutralize any gains you hope to make,' Newsom added in the letter. 'This attempt to rig congressional maps to hold onto power before a single vote is cast in the 2026 election is an affront to American democracy.' When the California Legislature returns from summer recess next week, Newsom will need a supermajority in each chamber to move forward with a special election later this year. A redrawn congressional map for 2026, 2028 and 2030 would be on the ballot, after which California would return to its independent commission, Newsom told The Hill. In his comments to The Hill, Newsom said he was taking the action in order to stop Trump, saying he and his party shouldn't be 'bystanders watching our Democracy slip out from under our collective grasp.' 'We have agency and will ask voters to exercise it,' he said. The redistricting move is one in a string of resistance efforts he has led since Trump took office earlier this year, publicly contesting the administration while his name is bandied about as a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028. Political observers say his next moves in the redistricting fight could be pivotal in steering his political future. 'If he counters the Texas power grab by nullifying or even perhaps exceeding the number of seats that they steal, he will be an instant national hero to Democrats, no doubt about it,' said longtime Democratic strategist Garry South, who is based in California and worked on Newsom's 2010 campaign for governor. 'Democrats nationally are desperately looking for someone to get in Trump's face and to take strong actions to counter his authoritarian moves, and this would be about as strong a countermove as any governor could take, and it would have instant national political implications.' 'Governors do a lot of things in their states that they brag about if they run for president. 'I started a program here. I signed a bill there.' But very few of those successes have had national political import, and this certainly would,' South added. An Emerson College poll out earlier this month showed Newsom in third place in the race for the Democratic nomination in 2028, with 10 percent of the vote. He trailed former Vice President Kamala Harris, who had 12 percent, and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who led the field of would-be candidates with 17 percent. Newsom has distinguished himself as a competitive option in polls since Trump took office and even more so since June, when the governor publicly fought Trump over sending the National Guard into Los Angeles when protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement erupted across the city. But some operatives say Newsom can't push too hard or do too much. They say he has to walk a fine line between countering Trump and acting to advance his personal political aspirations. 'If this is seen as a 'Newsom special,' it fails,' said one California political operative who is close to the Newsom administration. 'If it's seen as good governance, it might win.' 'What's more likely to resonate with voters is Trump's awful track record with California and the threat of two more years of his unchecked clown show,' the operative added. Strategists have little doubt that with anti-Trump messaging, the redistricting ballot measure would pass with flying colors among California voters, especially those who turn out for special elections in the state. 'In an odd-year special election in California, the turnout is always more blue. It's older, it's better educated, it's better informed,' South said. 'This will simply be a vote to screw Trump and to some degree, Texas, the state that Californians love to hate.' 'You have a double whammy here. You have Trump, and you have Texas. Two T's, I guess you could call it,' South added. But political observers say th whether or not Newsom succeeds, the effort is still politically advantageous for him and Democrats more broadly. 'It's OK to put up a fight and lose, because people understand right now the system is not set up for the non-Trump party to win anywhere,' said Christina Bellantoni, the director of the University of Southern California Annenberg's Media Center. 'No Democrat that wants to be instrumental in nominating the next presidential nominee … wants somebody that's just gonna sit around.' 'They want a fighter,' Bellantoni added. 'Come on now. This is not about compromise or making deals. This is about putting up a fight. And putting up that fight, surely you might lose.' But in his comments to The Hill, Newsom said he is well aware of the stakes for democracy — and his political ambitions. Still, he added, 'If it fails, we did what we could.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
31-07-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
She had to fight for help with medical bills. A new California bill could make it easier
Sierra Freeman has a rare genetic disorder that makes her prone to aneurysms and has sent her to the hospital repeatedly. In July 2022, the Stockton resident had surgeries to repair an aortic tear and a ruptured blood vessel in her brain and spent two months at Stanford Medical Center, which hosts one of the leading programs in connective tissue disorders like the one Freeman has. Over the next 18 months, she racked up more than $4 million in medical bills, most of which was paid through her employee health insurance. Her share was $14,343, which she says she'd still be paying if not for Stanford's financial assistance program. But Stanford, like many hospitals, didn't make it easy for her. It took months of research and persistence on her part before the hospital waived $13,971. 'I feel like I now have the knowledge and power to apply for this the next time it happens. But I wish more people knew about it,' Freeman said. A bill moving through the California Legislature would make the process of qualifying for hospital financial assistance easier for some patients. Assembly Bill 1312 would require hospitals to check whether patients are eligible for charity care or discounted payments before sending them a bill. Specifically, the proposal would require hospitals to presume people enrolled in means-tested programs, such as food stamps and cash assistance, are eligible for financial aid without having to apply. People who are experiencing homelessness or who qualified for assistance from the same hospital in the previous six months would be automatically eligible. It would also require hospitals to screen patients for eligibility if they are uninsured, enrolled in Medi-Cal with a share of cost or in a Covered California health plan before they are charged. 'We think, especially in light of the cuts that are happening at the federal level, that more and more this is going to be something that is needed in our community and throughout the state,' Sen. Pilar Schiavo, a Santa Clarita Democrat and author of the bill, said during the most recent meeting of the Senate Health Committee. 'This is a … way to ensure that people know upfront that these programs are available to them to prevent the kind of crushing medical debt that unfortunately can really ruin families and their financial situations.' Sen. Caroline Menjivar, chair of the Senate Health Committee, promised to continue discussions with Schiavo to add screening criteria for moderate-income patients with employer-sponsored insurance. The legislation has to pass the Senate by Sept. 12. The bill recently went through a round of amendments after negotiations with the hospital lobby. Among the changes is a two-year implementation delay so hospitals can acquire the software necessary to screen patients. If the bill makes it out of the Legislature and is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the earliest it could be enacted is July 2027. The California Hospital Association continues to oppose the bill as it awaits more possible amendments. Applying for financial assistance Under California law, hospitals are required to make financial assistance programs, also known as charity care, available to patients who earn up to 400% of the federal poverty level — $62,600 for a single person or $128,600 for a family of four — but also to patients whose medical expenses over the last year have exceeded 10% of their income. Jan Emerson-Shea, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, said some hospitals go beyond that income threshold. Hospitals already promote their financial assistance programs through signs around the hospital, online and on medical bills sent to patients, Emerson-Shea said. Still, many patients do not know about these programs, surveys and research have shown. A 2023 national survey by Dollar For, a nonprofit organization that helps people apply for financial assistance, found roughly half the patients who are potentially eligible for financial assistance do not apply. Freeman said she doesn't recall anyone at Stanford Medical Center telling her to apply for charity care, but she did find the application online. The first time she applied on her own she was denied, she said. She applied a second time, this time with the help from Dollar For. In April 2024 Freeman received a letter from Stanford letting her know that her balance was being waived. She was also able to get back the money she'd already paid. But the application process was not intuitive, she said. It took help from experts and emails back and forth with the hospital billing department. Yet, given her condition, it's a process she's likely to have to do again. 'The tricky thing is I'm supposed to be very low stress, right? Because I have a heart condition, and the disorder is made worse if your blood pressure is high, if you're getting stressed,' Freeman said. 'Like, I should be very calm, but I'm always thinking about the bills.' The burden of medical debt A handful of other states, including Maryland, Illinois and Oregon, have financial assistance screening requirements similar to what California is attempting. A recent report from Oregon's health agency showed that in the first five months its state law was in effect, hospitals reported challenges — primarily, with the software from third-party vendors that hospitals purchased to help check people's income against publicly available financial data sources. Oregon health officials estimated in January it would take up to nine months before the program ran smoothly. Los Angeles County is working with the Hospital Association of Southern California to develop a presumptive eligibility tool that would be available to local hospitals, saving them the need to go to third-party vendors. 'There's nothing else like it in the country, and it really solves the problem of, OK, we know this is a good thing to do, but how do we make sure every hospital can do it?' said Dr. Naman Shah, with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Automatic qualification for financial assistance is critical for preventing medical debt, Shah said. About 4 in 10 Californians, or an estimated 15 million people, carry medical debt, according to the California Health Care Foundation. That includes hospital bills, but also debt owed to doctors and dental offices. Research has shown that even small amounts of debt can disrupt people's lives and the fear of it often keeps them from seeking timely care. Many patients who are unaware of financial assistance programs resort to GoFundMe accounts, borrow money from family or friends, or charge their medical bills onto a credit card, said Selene Betancourt, a senior policy manager at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, one of the bill sponsors. 'And that makes it even harder to relieve because now it's owned by a credit card company, a bank, and not by the hospitals,' Betancourt said. Given the pervasive burden of medical debt and the lack of federal action, states and local governments have taken it upon themselves to provide at least some relief. Last year, for example, the California Legislature passed a law to prevent medical debt from showing up on credit reports. The Biden administration announced a similar effort nationwide last summer, but recently, a judge, with support from the Trump administration, blocked the rule from taking effect. At a more local level, Los Angeles County earlier this year rolled out a medical debt relief program, eliminating debt for approximately 134,000 residents so far, according to county health officials. To do this, Los Angeles County partnered with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt to purchase debt in bulk at a discounted rate from health systems and collection agencies. The nonprofit runs similar projects in other states. Debt relief efforts don't fundamentally solve the issue of medical debt, 'But when people are bleeding, they need a band aid,' said Allison Sesso, CEO of Undue Medical Debt. 'There could be future debts for these individuals, but let's remove the ones that are in front of them, so that the hill isn't that much higher for them to climb.' Sesso's organization last month also announced that a recent donation allowed the group to pay off medical bills for an additional 47,000 Californians, largely in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Those people should have started to receive notifications at the end of June, according to the nonprofit. ___ This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
16-07-2025
- Politics
California Republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter ID
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Two California Republican state lawmakers launched a campaign Wednesday to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would require voter identification and proof of citizenship at the polls. The proposal would require the state to verify proof of citizenship when a person registers to vote, and voters would have to provide identifications at the polls. Those who vote through mail-in ballots would have to give the last four digits of a government-issued ID such as a Social Security number. 'We do not want to make it harder to vote. In fact, our initiative makes it easier to vote because it streamlines the process to verify someone's identity,' Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who's leading the effort, said at a Wednesday news conference. The Republican lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results. The effort was not new. DeMaio unsuccessfully attempted to place a similar measure requiring voter identification on the ballot the last election. While voting by noncitizens has occurred, research and reviews of state cases have shown it to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to sway an election. Voter fraud is also rare. California is among 14 states and the District of Columbia that do not require voters to show some form of identification at the polls or to register to vote. The California campaign came as congressional Republicans were working to advance their own legislation to overhaul the nation's voting procedures at the urging of President Donald Trump. Across the country, lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to require proof of citizenship for voters, according to National Conference of State legislatures. Opponents argued that such requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, especially the elderly, those with disabilities and those without driver's licenses. Democrats in the California Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, in April rejected a bill by DeMaio aiming to enact similar voting rule changes. The statewide proposal also came as the state continued to challenge a local measure passed by voters in the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls. The state last year sued the city over the new rule, and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit local governments in California from establishing and enforcing laws that require residents provide identification to vote in elections. Sen. Tony Strickland, who helped pass the Huntington Beach measure as a city councilmember last year, said he expects a similar fight from state Democrats over the issue.
