IN THE NEWS

Sacramento Snapshot: Legislative effort to ensure ‘extremists’ can’t serve in the California Guard

While there are already procedures in place for the National Guard to discharge members, the bill is meant to cut through some "murkiness" in those guidelines


Meet California’s chief gatekeeper for AI rules

California lawmakers want to enact some of the most ambitious, first-in-the-nation regulations on artificial intelligence,


Bill to let cities help state with rogue rehabs dies despite wide support and making sense

Column: State Sen. Tom Umberg's bill racked up unanimous support. Then it was killed.


Daily Journal: Our Justice System is Finally Warming up to Tech

PDF of full article attached. This piece contains legal commentary on Senate Bill 241 (Umberg, Statutes of 2021). Senate Bill 241 revolutionizes our justice system by expanding access to our courts and incorporating greater uses of remote technology.


Tom Umberg: California’s fentanyl crisis demands a strong legislative response

107,500 people died last year of drug-related deaths — over 21,000 in California alone. Illegal drugs are now the number one cause of death for those between ages 24-45. To put that into perspective, more people died of drug-related deaths last year than the number of service members lost in the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. This is a level of death and destruction that should frighten every parent, teacher, health professional, cop and lawmaker.


Californians want to use Zoom for court appearances. Will lawmakers let them?

Each year, California lawmakers pass temporary extensions to COVID-era rules that allow people to attend court remotely via video conferencing services. One of the state’s most powerful unions has been a barrier to making the popular feature permanent.


LEGAL ETHICS California State Bar Proposes Rule Requiring Lawyers to Report Ethical Violations

In a move aimed at enhancing lawyer oversight and addressing concerns of professional misconduct, the State Bar of California’s board of trustees has voted in favor of a new ethics rule that would require lawyers to report fraudulent activities, misappropriation of funds, and other criminal acts committed by their fellow attorneys.


Sacramento Snapshot: Senate wants influencers who post for campaigns to disclose payments

Maybe you’ve scrolled through your Facebook feed during an election season and stumbled upon an influencer’s post encouraging you to get out the vote for a certain candidate. Or you’re on TikTok and the algorithm let through a celebrity’s snappy video advocating for a specific campaign.


Families who lost loved ones from fentanyl demand action

"Families who lost loved ones from Fentanyl..."