In many ways, resistance to Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to overhaul California's school financing system is a function of simple math.

Jerry Brown – who made "lower your expectations" a catchphrase of his first governorship – is back in that mode during his second stint, especially on spending.

Experts say that while a total collapse seems unlikely, if Caltrans miscalculated corrosion estimates a major quake could cripple sections of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Joel Sayre, a former spokesman for the Bay Bridge project, brought concerns about corroded skyway tendons to The Bee in November 2011.

The Bee's ongoing investigation into California Department of Transportation testing and construction has prompted changes in how state government safeguards bridges and roadways.

Corroded tendons were one of many problems that have plagued the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge since its inception.

California will collect more than $3 billion in additional state revenue, the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst said Friday, setting the stage for a Capitol fight among Democrats over spending.

California's employment picture improved significantly in April, but the Sacramento area did even better.

An anti-gay rights group has purchased hourly radio spots to urge parents to keep their children home from school on Harvey Milk Day, which honors the gay rights pioneer.

California state government violated civil service rules by giving hundreds of salaried managers part-time jobs that paid them an hourly wage, according to an audit released Friday.

Tough congressional grilling Friday of fired IRS chief Steven Miller failed to get answers about which agency employees subjected applications from tea party groups to special scrutiny but yielded a startling new admission: The Internal Revenue Service actually planted the question posed at a legal conference a week earlier that triggered the current political firestorm.

An anti-gay rights group has purchased hourly radio spots in Sacramento to urge parents to keep their children home from school on Harvey Milk Day, which honors the gay rights pioneer.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor projected state revenues Friday that are $3.2 billion higher than those projected by Gov. Jerry Brown this week in his revised budget proposal.

Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, right, is releasing his take on Gov. Jerry Brown's revised May budget today.

A new report on recidivism rates calls into question whether Gov. Jerry Brown's sweeping prison realignment plan has really had any effect, Dan says.

Millions of Californians who contact the state's new health exchange to buy insurance will be given the opportunity to register to vote, too, a move that some Republicans fear could benefit Democrats.

A Sacramento appellate court ruled Thursday that state workers covered by expired job contracts were not exempt from the state's elimination of two paid holidays.

The Assembly passed a bill Thursday designed to reduce the number of deportations and immigration holds for people arrested, charged or convicted of minor crimes.

Sequestration strikes again.

When voters passed Proposition 30 last year, they unwittingly accelerated one of the most perilous trends in California governmental finance – an ever-increasing reliance on income taxes from rich people to finance schools and myriad other state and local services.

Lawmakers don't make the grade with UC students

The California Employment Development Department said today that a $158 million shortfall in federal funds over the next year is forcing it to dramatically reduce hours for telephone service at unemployment insurance customer service centers.

A new survey finds that "the picture is brightening" for the state and local government civil service workforce as fewer employers resort to hiring freezes and layoffs -- although they're continuing to whittle away at employee benefits costs.

Most of the delegations that visit Sacramento to meet with lawmakers have a few bills they're advocating for, or at least a vague agenda, but it's a little hard to press your cause if you lack opposable thumbs and the capacity for abstract reasoning.

Gov. Jerry Brown's revised 2013-2014 budget blueprint may pass political muster, but Dan's not so sure it passes an accounting test.

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to get Californians through college faster, arguing that a speedier education will open up seats for others so more students can get a degree.

"Darrell 'El Matador' Steinberg" reads lettering on the back of a boxer's robe hanging from the Senate leader's coat rack.

In a rare display of bipartisanship on major legislation, the U.S. Senate passed Sen. Barbara Boxer's water resources bill Wednesday.

California officials say the state cannot retain enough trained workers to efficiently run and maintain its complex water delivery system, a problem that has consequences for cities and farms statewide.