Senate

Senate leader Kevin de Leon took the unusual step of withholding his support for Governor Brown’s nominees to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Cliff Rechtschaffen and Martha Guzman Aceves, arguing that they have many questions to answer before de Leon agrees to give them a vote by the full Senate.

The much awaited hearing in the Senate Utilities, Energy and Communications Committee this morning was largely a dud, but it offered some key admissions by the utilities and energy regulators.
 
Despite widespread warnings to the contrary, in the report issued by energy regulators and So Cal Gas that was the subject of the hearing, there will be no blackouts this summer due to Aliso's closure.  
 

The Medical Board, whose job it is to keep patients safe from dangerous doctors, should be notified when a doctor with addiction issues fails a drug test, right?

Senators Hill, Block and Jackson extracted that commitment from the California Medical Association and Senator Galgiani yesterday, at a hearing into Galgiani's bill, SB 1177, that would create a drug and alcohol abuse program for doctors at the California Medical Board.