.... California has the largest population of residents who speak other languages at home. But even at the highest levels, the state has trouble providing language access to those seeking to participate in civic life. And the pattern holds for people trying to obtain government services and benefits at agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Down in the trenches of California’s seemingly perpetual clashes over housing, warring factions are employing two decades-old state laws as weapons.

One is the famous — or infamous — California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), signed by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970, that requires authorities to determine whether proposed developments have environmental impacts that must be mitigated.

After a proposal to create a statewide Lunar New Year holiday was suspended in California’s legislature, San Francisco’s community college will discuss their own plans to make the popular Asian festival a campus day-off. Trustee Alan Wong of City College of San Francisco (CCSF) will bring this topic up at Thursday’s board meeting and formally lay out the plan.

The state has eliminated all late traffic fines and dropped the price of existing fees for all Californians.

"We punish people extravagantly for traffic violations," said Rio Scharf, an attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. "Not just with fines, but also with a ton of mandatory fees." AB 199 - California Assembly (20212022) - Open States

Assembly Bill 199 aims to cut down costs - eliminating all traffic late fees imposed before July 1.

The state has eliminated all late traffic fines and dropped the price of existing fees for all Californians.

"We punish people extravagantly for traffic violations," said Rio Scharf, an attorney for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. "Not just with fines, but also with a ton of mandatory fees."

.... Assemblyman Phil Ting says prior to AB199, civil assessment fees were extracting around $100 million from California courts - mainly impacting low-income families who struggled the most to pay ticket debt.

LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Californians are part of a coalition of community groups and state lawmakers pushing to stem a tide of hate crimes against API individuals and others that has been rising since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are focused this week on advancing two bills in the California Legislature collectively called the No Place for Hate Campaign.

Weeks after California approved sweeping legislation meant to drastically curb plastic pollution, some environmental groups and legislators are urging the state to go even further by approving a separate bill that targets waste generated by online shopping.

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The long-desired plan to rehaul Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown just got a boost from the state to help it cross the finish line.

Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, on Friday announced a $4 million state budget investment in the huge project to reconstruct and improve Portsmouth Square, an enterprise in the works since 2013.