Legislation in the realm of criminal justice has a history in California of swinging back and forth like a pendulum, overcorrecting itself each time. Tough-on-crime gets too tough, locking people away; reformers go too far, allowing crime to get out of ha

More than 20 state lawmakers gathered with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) on Thursday to telegraph their commitment to the fire-ravaged Los Angeles region and announce a sweeping legislation package to aid recovery efforts.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are “a catastrophe at an unprecedented scale in California’s history: thousands of homes and businesses gone, more than 100,000 people displaced, too many precious lives lost,” Rivas said.