Latest news with #CaliforniaLegislature
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lawmakers said the measure would help restore trust in elections where they said people have complained about outdated voter rolls and an inadequate signature review process, with some also casting doubt on election results.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.
San Francisco Chronicle
16-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
California Republican lawmakers launch campaign to require voter ID
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — 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. 'The courts would be on our side because we carefully drafted this initiative. It's constitutional,' he said.
E&E News
14-07-2025
- Business
- E&E News
California lost $3B by delaying cap-and-trade overhaul, report says
California lost up to $3 billion in potential revenue over the past year because it stalled action updating a key climate change policy, a report released Monday said. The money would have come through California's carbon market cap-and-trade program, which sets a yearly limit on greenhouse gas emissions and forces the state's top polluters to buy pollution allowances. The state spends some of the allowance revenue on programs that address climate change. But the price of pollution allowances dropped significantly over the past year following delays in cap-and-trade updates that had been planned in 2024 to make the program more aggressive in restricting emissions, a new report from Clean and Prosperous California said. The nonprofit advocates for action on climate change. Advertisement The update is now stalled indefinitely. The law authorizing the program expires in 2030, and the California Legislature has said it plans to extend authorization through 2045.
Los Angeles Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Hollywood soundstage operators are reeling. Will state tax credits help?
The announcement last month that Occidental Studios would be put up for sale marked a historic turning point in a studio once used by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks to make silent films. It also underscored how dramatically the market has shifted for the owners of soundstages across Los Angeles that have been buffeted by a confluence of forces — the pandemic, strikes in 2023 and the continued flight of production to other states and countries. As film activity has fallen to historic levels in the L.A. region — film shoot days dropped 22% in the first quarter of 2025 — the places that host film and TV crews, along with prop houses and other businesses that service the industry, have been especially hard hit. Between 2016 and 2022, Los Angeles' soundstages were nearly filled to capacity, boasting average occupancy rates of 90%, according to data from the nonprofit organization FilmLA, which tracks on-location shoot days in the Greater L.A. area. That rate plummeted to 69% in 2023, as dual writers' and actors' strikes brought the industry to a halt. Once the strikes were over, production never came back to what it was. In fact, last year the average occupancy rate dropped even further to 63%, according to a FilmLA report released in April. So far this year, there is 'no reason to think the occupancy numbers look better,' said Philip Sokoloski, spokesperson for FilmLA. 'It's a trailing indicator of the loss of production,' he said. 'The suddenness of the crash is what caught everybody by surprise.' Studio owners, who have watched their soundstages go from overbooked to frequently empty, are celebrating the new state tax credits meant to boost their industry and create action on their lots. The California Legislature's decision to more than double the amount allocated each year to the state's film and television tax credit program to $750 million could be a tipping point toward better times, studio owners said, but the climb out of the doldrums is still steep. 'This is definitely a defining moment and to see whether or not L.A. is going to get itself back up to the occupancy levels that it had prior to COVID,' said Shep Wainwright, managing partner of East End Studios. 'Everyone's pretty bullish about it, but it's obviously been such a slog for the past few years.' Sean Griffin of Sunset Studios called the tax credit boost signed into law last week 'a massive stride in the right direction' while Zach Sokoloff of independent studio operator Hackman Capital Partners called the decision 'an enormous win for the state.' Sokoloff hopes to see its Southern California facilities, which include Radford Studio Center and Culver Studios, perk up the way their New York properties did when the state increased its film and TV subsidy to $800 million in May. 'We had stages that had been sitting empty, and almost 24 hours after the passage of the tax credit bill in New, York, our phones were ringing,' he said. 'We had renewed interest in soundstage occupancy there.' Los Angeles Center Studios, where such shows as 'Mad Men' and 'Westworld' filmed, also has felt the effects of the production slump. The 26-year-old facility in downtown L.A. has six 18,000-foot soundstages and three smaller stages, along with a number of practical locations on the lot for shooting. Before the pandemic, its stages were 100% full for more than 10 years, said Sam Nicassio, president of Los Angeles Center Studios. He declined to state the studio's current occupancy rate, though he said it was above the average for about 300 soundstages throughout the area, which his company tracked at 58%. 'It's been a struggle,' he said. 'The slowdown in overall production activity, coupled with coming out of the strikes and all of us expecting to have a jump-start again and we didn't, was very difficult. There's a lot of soundstages for not a lot of users right now.' Not long ago, private equity firms saw L.A. studio stages as good business opportunities. A number of firms participated heavily in the construction of new facilities, which seemed like smart bets due to advancements in production technology, the desire of studios and streamers to cut down on unpredictable risk from on-location shoots and — especially after the pandemic — health and safety systems like air filtration and more space to prevent workers from getting sick. 'Stages are critical to being able to do, especially TV, on time and on budget,' said George Huang, a professor of screenwriting at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. 'They are the backbone of making movies in Hollywood.' But after the pandemic, strikes and a cutback in spending at the studios, production slowed. Then in January, the Southern California wildfires hit, further affecting production and causing many in the industry to lose their homes — and reconsider whether they wanted to stay in the Golden State. As Hollywood production slowed, soundstage operators looked for new ways to make up revenue, including shoots for the fashion industry, music videos, DJ rehearsals, video game production and even private events like birthdays or weddings. Hackman Capital Partners, which owns and operates Television City in Los Angeles, recently announced a partnership with Interwoven Studios to open a boutique production facility catering to social media influencers, online media brands and other creators who work in nontraditional formats such as YouTube. Among the well-known creators who have worked lately at Television City — home to such classic shows as 'All in the Family' and most recently 'American Idol' — are Logan Paul and Jake Shane, actress-singer Keke Palmer, livestreamers FaZe Clan and hip-hop artist Big Sean. 'As the segment of the content-creation universe grows on the smaller end of production, we're going to be a partner to them,' Sokoloff said. 'Necessity is the mother of invention.' Sunset Studios, which operates 59 stages in the Los Angeles area, has long made a point of working with short-form creators through its smaller Quixote division, said Griffin, who is head of studio sales. 'We've always been involved with influencers, music videos and commercials.' Such tenants working on smaller stages sometimes move up to TV and movie-sized stages when they land a big television commercial or music video, such as Selena Gomez's 'Younger and Hotter Than Me' music video recently shot at Sunset Las Palmas Studios. Paul McCartney leased a studio at Sunset Glenoaks Studios to rehearse for his 2024 tour and and made a music video there. In general, though, stages are still underused, he said. 'Once the strikes ended, we got a about a good healthy quarter' of production, he said. Then business 'really quieted down, and we haven't seen the show counts rebound very much.' The vacancies have created a tenant-friendly market as studio owners compete for their business on rental prices, Griffin said. 'This is a very tough market,' he said. 'Everyone is competing very, very hard.' One reason for optimism about the new tax credits is that they apply to 30-minute shows for the first time, he said. 'L.A. is a television town,' Griffin added. 'Opening up the tax credit to 30-minute comedies is going to be really helpful.' And there are signs of life for longer scripted shows that take multiple stages and shoot for longer than other productions, Griffin said. Developer David Simon is betting heavily on a turnaround. He is building a new movie studio from the ground up in Hollywood. His $450-million Echelon Studios complex is set to open late next year on Santa Monica Boulevard. 'We think content creation is here to stay in various forms,' he said, and that big soundstages will continue to be used even as the technology to make content changes. Simon said he is close to signing leases with fashion brands that are creating content with celebrities and collaborating with influencers. 'We're not nearly where we were prepandemic,' he acknowledged, but 'California is the entertainment capital of the world, and the producers and directors and actors that want to stay in state will help bring back and retain our fair share of production.' For now , at least, soundstage operators are still 'treading water,' said Peter Marshall, managing principal at Epic Insurance Brokers & Consultants, who works in media insurance and counts some L.A.-based soundstages as clients. 'Most operators are pretty concerned,' he said. Yet, the fact that there are still new soundstages opening and others are in development suggests a 'high level of confidence' that production will eventually return to L.A., Sokoloski of FilmLA said. 'I am optimistic that we will keep more production here than we have in the last few years,' Nicassio said. The new tax credit program 'puts us on a competitive level now with other states and countries.' Others in the industry say that more is needed and have advocated for a federal tax credit that would help make California a morecompetitive location. Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed for the idea, urging President Trump to work with him on the issue. 'When you have a governor and big private equity firms both focusing on promoting one thing, that might, who knows, get the federal government involved,' Marshall said. 'That would be the game changer.'
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
California walks back environmental law for housing, advanced manufacturing
This story was originally published on Construction Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter. The California Legislature has rolled back provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act in an effort to spur housing construction and cut red tape for other types of projects, according to a June 30 news release from Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed the legislation the same day. The rollbacks, which came as part of the state's 2025-2026 budget and are now in effect, will exempt certain types of projects from the environmental reviews necessary under the CEQA. Exemptions, according to a blog post from law firm Allen Matkins, include: Urban infill housing developments. Housing element rezoning. Advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and broadband projects. High-speed rail projects. Day care centers not located in residential areas. Rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and nonprofit food banks/pantries. Agricultural employee housing projects. Certain wildfire risk reduction projects. Certain public parks and nonmotorized recreational trail facilities. Certain community water system and sewer service projects. Updates to the state's climate adaptation strategy. The CEQA, which was signed into law in 1970 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, is commonly referred to as a piece of landmark environmental legislation. The CEQA required state and local governments to study and publicize what it considered likely impacts to the environment around projects. Because of the rollbacks, housing developers won't face the ongoing threat of open litigation that has been the norm in the state under the rule, CalMatters reported. Phillip Babich, an attorney in law firm Reed Smith's San Francisco office, said that the implications for higher-density housing projects are significant. The environmental impact process, before the changes, could take a year and a half from beginning to end. This time didn't count administrative appeals or litigation, the latter of which routinely put developers on edge. 'I would say that it was happening frequently enough where project developers would be discouraged in terms of moving forward with the proposal, and also public agencies would be shy at approving project applications for housing and other types of projects unless there was a clear path toward an exemption or an exception,' Babich said. Babich said that significantly, a time-consuming Environmental Impact Report is not required for these projects. Previously, a challenger could put forward their own evidence and say that a project would, in fact, have a significant impact on the environment. Under these changes, Babich said, that is no longer the case. However, Babich said the law still requires what's called a Phase One Environmental Site Assessment. This, Babich said, looks at the historical uses of the property, the possibility of any toxic contaminants, its proximity to other toxic sites, and potentially the existence of any underground storage tanks. 'There will be a fairly thorough look at a property before the housing project qualifies for the exemptions. And I think that's something that the public should be aware of,' Babich said. Depending on the backlog, Babich said, projects have the potential to be approved, and permits issued, within two to three months. Newsom, in an effort to push the changes through, tied his support of the state's $321 billion budget bill to the CEQA rollbacks, CalMatters reported on June 30. The outcome is far different from a 2016 attempt to take a hatchet to the legislation, which was stymied by a coalition of opponents that included local governments, construction labor unions and environmental activists, per CalMatters. Detractors of the law criticized it for providing cover for groups and individuals who wished to stop or hinder a project through the threat, or filing, of lawsuits. Tom Soohoo, vice president of business development and marketing at San Francisco-based builder Webcor, said that the company has witnessed the unintended consequences of CEQA over time. 'We've seen well-conceived projects get delayed for years, driving up costs and pushing much-needed housing further out of reach for Californians,' Soohoo said in a statement. He now hopes that the rollbacks will achieve an equilibrium between public input and environmental safeguards. 'If the recent CEQA changes can strike that balance — ensuring that sustainability and community voices are still prioritized while reducing unnecessary delays — then we see it as a constructive step forward,' Soohoo said in a statement to Construction Dive. 'We support efforts that bring stakeholders together to achieve shared goals: building more housing, strengthening communities, and protecting the environment.' Supporters of the environmental law decried the process that pushed the rollbacks through, which they called undemocratic. The Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, an environmental advocacy organization based in the state, said that the rollbacks would pave the way for toxic developments. 'This bill represents the worst anti-environmental, anti-safety and anti-public health legislation California has seen in recent memory,' said Ana Gonzalez, CCAEJ's executive director, in the news release.
