Mark Leno

First Amendment advocates are accusing Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers of slipping a stealth attack on government transparency into the massive budget bills that passed last week. The measure, approved by the Legislature on Friday and expected to...

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown is poised to sign legislation that could reduce the public's access to basic government records that have long been used to scrutinize the actions of elected officials. The proposal, a late insert into the state...

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers passed a budget Friday that lays the groundwork for the largest expansion of public healthcare in the country, placing the state at the leading edge of President Obama's federal overhaul. The budget, which the...

Democratic lawmakers agreed to pare back and delay some of their spending plans after negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown, but they're not completely giving up hope. Some said Monday evening that they would try to speed up new spending if tax revenue...

By Jim Christie SAN FRANCISCO, June 3,(Reuters) - In another sign of improved fiscal health, California will not only approve its first budget surplus in years but also is expected to have it passed on time for the third year in a row. Democrats who...

One day before Gov. Jerry Brown is scheduled to release his updated spending plan, Democrats in the Legislature began lining up empty bills to streamline the budget process. The annual ritual is a reliable source of controversy in the Capitol, with...

SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate on Monday approved a measure that would expand instances in which law enforcement officers in California would have to get search warrants before they can access the public’s email. Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco)...

SACRAMENTO — Social network sites such as Facebook would be required to remove personal information about minors when asked to do so by their parents under a measure approved by state senators Thursday. Separately, the lawmakers voted to allow...

SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allow prosecutors to file misdemeanor instead of felony charges in cases of simple possession of heroin, cocaine and other hard drugs. State Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said he...

SACRAMENTO — The state will send dozens of new agents into California neighborhoods this summer to confiscate nearly 40,000 handguns and assault rifles from people barred by law from owning firearms, officials said Wednesday. The plan received the...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at taking handguns and assault rifles away from 20,000 Californians who acquired them legally but have since been disqualified from ownership because of a criminal conviction or...

SACRAMENTO — "Living in parallel universes," is how Senate leader Darrell Steinberg describes it. Gun control and gun rights advocates "talking past each other." Emanating from different cultures, incapable of agreeing on how to make us all...