CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: August 17, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Cars, Care, and Climate As lawmakers return from their summer recess, Sacramento is getting ready for the final legislative sprint of 2015. Hundreds of bills will be debated and voted on, but the focus will be centered on three areas of policy debate: transportation, healthcare, and climate change. The four-week stint also offers Gov. Jerry Brown another opportunity to burnish his legacy as he wraps up the first year of his ... August 17, 2015 CMA, Legislation Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: August 5, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Recess, but Not Rest It may be recess for the Legislature, but that doesn’t mean a rest for politics. While lawmakers were scattered off to their districts or far-away lands for the summer junket season, the anti-vax forces were busy gathering signatures to recall Senator Richard Pan, MD, for authoring Senate Bill 277, which removes the personal belief exemption from school vaccination requirements. While it is unclear whether an actual referendum ... August 5, 2015 CMA, Legislation Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: July 22, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. An International Impact Gov. Jerry Brown is at the Vatican this week, where he will join Pope Francis and leaders around the globe for a climate change conference. The gathering weaves together threads throughout the former Jesuit seminarian governor’s life that have all shaped him in profound ways. Before Brown was an elected official, he was a student at a Jesuit seminary at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos. He ultimately ... July 22, 2015 CMA, Legislation Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: June 10, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Long Legislative Days, Dry Summer Nights It was a frantic week in Sacramento, with hundreds of bills passed by the Senate and Assembly as the Capitol wrestled with deadline week. Last week, it was the house-of-origin deadline. All bills that started in the Assembly or Senate had to clear that house by Friday. The results were long legislative days, swarms of lobbyists huddled outside the Assembly and Senate chambers, and hundreds ... June 10, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: May 26, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Only Time Will Tell As a bill to require children to receive vaccinations before entering public school moved off the Senate floor, the tactics of the California Chiropractic Association were brought into question through a number of independent journalism reports. The California Medical Association will continue to fight hard for what we believe is good public health policy. And while we understand that there can be honest and open disagreement about ... May 26, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York: May 11, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Ballot Measures and Budgets The fight for 2016 is officially underway, as initiative proponents begin to file their ballot proposals with the attorney general’s office. Among the major policy proposals beginning the process is a new tobacco tax backed by health care providers to help ensure network adequacy for California’s poor. The new Save Lives California Coalition, which includes the American Heart and Lung Associations, as well as the California Medical ... May 11, 2015 CMA, Legislation Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: March 16, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. The Budget Showdown Begins It’s showdown season in the Capitol, as lawmakers and administration officials begin sparring early over the issues that will shape the 2015–16 budget. Looming large are questions over Medi-Cal, which was back in focus in Sacramento this week. The Assembly and Senate health committees held an oversight hearing on the growing government healthcare program. The four-hour hearing featured Jennifer Kent in her new roll as director of the ... March 16, 2015 CMA, Legislation Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Hot Button Healthcare As lawmakers return to Sacramento this week, much is still to be decided about the future of healthcare reform. State legislators will deal with a number of hot-button issues in the first half of 2015, many of which will have dramatic impacts on California’s healthcare policy and potentially the future success of the Affordable Care Act. It all begins on Monday when Gov. Jerry Brown gives his inaugural ... January 5, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight With Anthony York CMA Capitol Insight Is a Biweekly Column by Veteran Journalist Anthony York, Reporting on the Inner Workings of the State Legislature The Calm Before the Storm July is the eye of the hurricane in the state capital. The town is eerily quiet. As temperatures skyrocket, politicians scatter for their districts — or places ever farther afield. More on that in a minute. In the meantime, there’s not a lot of visible activity under the dome. The Legislature is on its annual month-long summer recess, and the town has ground to a virtual ... July 21, 2014 CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »