SAN JOSE, Calif. — A whopping $45 billion budget surplus. Signs that we are (maybe, finally) rounding the corner on the coronavirus pandemic. Persistent, perennial problems like the sky-high cost of living and drought.
As Californians look deeper into 2022, what can we expect lawmakers in Sacramento to tackle this year? Is the Golden State, long a beacon of hope for progressives, set to swing more conservative as some residents demand a crackdown on crime and homelessness? Or will the fact that the pandemic showed just how interconnected we all are give new life to once-lofty ideas like single-payer health care?
Those battles will play out here as Republicans try to take back control of Congress and partisan issues like abortion and voting rights continue to roil the nation.
