The State of California Audacy

California Republicans wrapped up their statewide convention over the weekend in Burlingame. 

And they know that the road to keeping their House majority runs through several key Congressional districts here in California. The GOP has only a narrow 4-seat majority in the House and needed Democrats to help keep Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in power, staving off a conservative rebellion.

A handful of closely contested races in California could help determine which party controls the next Congress. That was one of many key points of focus at this weekend’s gathering of California Republicans, who had to weather a bit of controversy since their keynote speaker was South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a rising star who was at the top of many pundits’ short list to be Donald Trump’s running mate—until she revealed in her new memoir that she had shot and killed her own disobedient dog because she hated him so much.

For more on all of this, KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern and Patti Reising were joined by Shawn Steel, longtime Republican National Committeeman for California.

This is the State of California: Doug Sovern and Patti Reising are away today.

The Justice Department has proposed reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule 3 drug, which would ease federal restrictions on cannabis if approved. 

This move, deemed "monumental" by President Biden, follows his moves to pardon those convicted of simple marijuana possession, and highlights his administration's focus on marijuana policy reform. 

Although Marijuana is legal in California, there are still federal laws that prevent its use in certain instances in the state. And to break it down, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart was joined by David Downs, the Senior Editor at Leafly, an online marijuana resource. 

 

This is the State of California, Doug Sovern is off today. Berkeley is making history by being the first city in California to allow residents to sell their accessory dwelling units, otherwise known as ADU's, as condominiums within the next year. 

These days, owning a home is becoming more out of reach for Californians due to sky-high costs, but the bill authored by Assembly Member Phil Ting of San Francisco aims to make home ownership more attainable in one of the Bay Area's most costly markets. 

For a closer look, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising were joined by Berkeley City Council member Rashi Kesarwani. She is the one who led the city to adopt the bill.

The debate over restaurants items being categorized as goods and services is heating up. Starting July 1st, businesses in California will have to inform customers of any fees before they get the bill, and many restaurants are not happy with it.

As that date approaches, the California Restaurant Association sent a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta this week, pushing him to remove restaurants in the list of businesses that must be transparent with junk fees. 

For a closer look, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising were joined by Laurie Thomas, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and the owner of two neighborhood restaurants in San Francisco. 

This is “The State, Of California,” Doug Sovern is away, today KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising are joined by Jared Moffat, Campaign Director for the Alliance for the Safer Use of Psychedelics

As a bill to legalize magic mushrooms and other hallucinogens goes before an Assembly appropriations committee this week, the Alliance for Safer Use of Psychedelics launched today. 

This group is dedicated to facilitating access to psychedelics and enhancing public education on their use in California.

This initiative comes in response to Governor Newsom's veto last fall of a bill that would have decriminalized magic mushrooms for personal use.

Governor Newsom announced a revised budget plan this morning, acknowledging a $28 billion deficit. However, the true deficit could be closer to $45 billion.

This proposal includes significant cuts to both one-time and ongoing spending, with a reduction in state operations and the elimination of 10,000 unfilled positions. Newsom also aims to preserve major initiatives and safety net programs while implementing necessary cuts. For a better understanding of the new budget proposal, KCBS Radio's Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising were joined by Chris Hoene, the Executive Director at the California Budget & Policy Center, a non-partisan research and analysis non-profit.