Skip to main content

News

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.

Rural California can finally claim both legislative leaders as its own

The last time both legislative leaders came from rural districts was more than 50 years ago.

SACRAMENTO, California — It’s the first time in more than 50 years that both of California’s legislative leaders hail from rural districts. Local politicians accustomed to being on the outskirts of Sacramento policymaking are enjoying the view from the inside.

Rural interests, particularly agriculture but also forestry and local government, see an opening to finally make their mark on nation-leading policies, especially on the environment.

The Year Ahead: Assembly Speaker Rivas Discusses Priorities, Problems

(CBM) – Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas shared his legislative priorities and vision for the future of California during a luncheon hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in downtown Sacramento.

Titled a “Conversation with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas” for PPIC’s 2024 Speaker Series on California’s Future, the 44-year-old Democrat lawmaker from Hollister, who represents the 29th Assembly District, is the 71st speaker of the Assembly.

A bill to speed up reconstruction of the Pajaro river levee heads to Newsom’s desk

The California State Legislature has passed a bill that could significantly speed up the long-awaited reconstruction of the Pajaro River levee — a project that has been talked about for nearly 60 years.

The bill, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas who represents the region, exempts the project from some of those rules, and allows it to bypass review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that could have held it up for years. It also allows construction to begin next year instead of 2025, as originally planned.

Robert Rivas wants to use small-town charm to wield big political power in California. Will it work?

SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif.  —  In case it wasn’t obvious on the two-lane highway that carves through golden hills, cow pastures and rows of grapevines, a sign inside the roadside Paicines General Store makes the point clear: “Welcome to the country.”

When Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas was a boy in the 1980s, his grandmother would walk him and his brother to the store for ice cream before heading to her night shift at a local cannery.