Sameea Kamal
CalMattersSameea Kamal is a reporter at CalMatters covering the state Capitol and California politics. She joined CalMatters in June 2021 from the Los Angeles Times, where she was a News Desk editor. Sameea was one of three 2020 IRE Journalist of Color fellows, and previously worked for the Center for Public Integrity. She earned her bachelor鈥檚 degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and her master鈥檚 degree in journalism from Columbia Journalism School.
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Few bills fail in the Legislature because lawmakers publicly vote 鈥渘o.鈥� Instead, most bills die when they are shelved, without lawmakers having to take tough votes. -
Reflecting concern about too many bills, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas lowered the number legislators are allowed to introduce. -
About 90% of bills that Newsom blocked this year passed with the support of more than two-thirds of legislators 鈥� enough to override a governor鈥檚 veto. But the Legislature hasn鈥檛 attempted to do so since 1979. -
Unable to jam through bills he says will lower California gas prices, Gov. Newsom calls the Legislature back into session. -
State lawmakers often don鈥檛 know how well a program is working before deciding whether to cut or increase spending. Instead, they hear from advocates, interest groups and sometimes the public. Key budget hearings ramp up this week. -
The state鈥檚 multibillion-dollar shortfall shapes which spending bills survived the 鈥榮uspense file鈥� hearings by the Assembly and Senate appropriations committees. -
With continuing concerns about political violence, a bill would allow candidates and elected officials to use campaign donations for security expenses. Gov. Newsom vetoed a similar bill last year. -
After months of pressure and rising civilian casualties, California鈥檚 governor joins the calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. -
Two weeks after the California primary, only 12 of 58 counties have finished counting votes. While election officials say they need time to verify ballots, two new laws could help speed up the count. -
They had to get through the pandemic, election denial and suspicious envelopes. While some left, counties now say they鈥檙e having better luck recruiting poll workers. -
The Legislative Analyst鈥檚 Office projects the 2024-25 shortfall at $73 billion, putting more pressure on legislators and the governor to find savings. -
Gov. Newsom says the deficit is far smaller than what the Legislature鈥檚 analysts projected, and proposes only $8.5 billion in cuts by delaying spending and taking $13 billion from the state鈥檚 main reserves.
