The California decision this week draws boundaries on what counts under a business owner’s right to free expression.

A conservative organization led by Trump adviser Stephen Miller sent letters to California leaders warning of ‘serious consequences’ over sanctuary policies that protect undocumented residents. San Jose became a sanctuary city in 2007. San Francisco also declared itself a sanctuary city in 1989.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the new Legislature to ‘protect’ California from Donald Trump on civil rights, reproductive freedom, climate action, and immigrant families. The session will start Dec. 2.

Instead, lawmakers agreed to tech firms’ proposal to help local newsrooms and explore artificial intelligence.

Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 to $18 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

Legislators blocked more than 270 bills, partly due to the budget crunch, in the second round of suspense file hearings this year. The 500 bills that survived must still win final approval by Aug. 31 to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

With President Joe Biden's announcement that he won’t seek reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, some California Democratic delegates quickly went along.

Many Californians were undecided heading into Election Day on Gov. Newsom’s Proposition 1, which funds new mental health treatment facilities. As of noon Tuesday with about 5.8 million votes counted, the measure was leading by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7%.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that has implications for how much power California officials have over homeless camps.

As extra pandemic benefits ended, California poverty rose in 2023. Pay increases in 2024 and labor activism could change the equation.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit, new spending is unlikely.

The number of Californians facing eviction was relatively low for years during a lengthy statewide moratorium. In the year after it ended in June 2022, cases soared and still remain high in large counties.

States across the United States are banning the practice of billing kids for the cost of their foster care. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in California, citing costs to the state.

Cities have often landed in court when trying to enforce camping bans, but the organizations said those cases haven’t clarified what’s allowed or required.

The definition of "adequate shelter" is at the heart of debates raging across California in the five years since a federal appeals court ruled that it’s cruel and unusual punishment to evict homeless people from public spaces when they have no other options.

Agreements between labor groups and the fast food industry would give workers a $20 minimum wage and pull a measure off the 2024 ballot. The Legislature has until Thursday to approve it.