1. The legislature sent a bill to Governor Jerry Brown that would ban single-use plastic bags in the state, the LA Times$ reports. The legislation would make California the first state in the nation to outlaw single-use plastic bags. The bill was opposed heavily by the plastic bag industry and Republicans but had widespread support among environmentalists and Democrats.
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2. Organized labor joined with Republicans to defeat state legislation that would have required political ads for or against ballot measures to prominently list their major funders, the LA Times$ reports. The legislation also would have also banned major donors from disguising their identities by forming secretive groups with innocuous sounding names.
3. State lawmakers approved legislation that would require most employers in the state to provide at least three sick days to workers, the LA Times$ reports. The bill is now awaiting the governor’s signature.
4. The state legislature also sent a package of bills that would regulate the use of groundwater in California for the first time, the Bay Area News Group$ reports.
5. The legislature also overwhelming approved a bill that would require railroad companies to alert California emergency officials about crude oil shipments, Reuters reports (via Rough & Tumble). The legislation came in response to a deadly crude-oil train crash last year in Canada.
7. And President Obama’s approval rating continue to decline in California, as liberals have become increasingly disenchanted with him, the SacBee$ reports, citing a new Field Poll. Â