ALT State Sen. Shannon Grove speaks before other lawmakers during a floor session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on April 24, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

ALT From left, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel and state Sen. John Laird. Photos by Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Fred Greaves for CalMatters

ALT Every year, California agencies report to the state technology department on their use of "high-risk" decision systems. The seal of the State of California on the Edmund G. Brown Jr. State Office Building in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento for CalMatters

ALT The sign above the front desk of the Department of Motor Vehicles in central Fresno on Dec. 13, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters

ALT Attorney General Rob Bonta addresses the media during a press conference at the California Department of Justice in Sacramento on Feb. 4, 2025. Photo by Fred Greaves, CalMatters

ALT A client peruses cannabis products for sale at the Barbary Coast cannabis dispensary in San Francisco on Jan. 28, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

ALT Gov. Gavin Newsom in Sacramento on Feb. 11, 2026. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

ALT A sampling plate covered with golden mussels that was removed from the Stockton Channel at the Port of Stockton on Oct. 23, 2025. Detection plates are used to monitor the spread and density of golden mussels. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

ALT A worker with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) helps a person experiencing homelessness move a cart with their possessions in Los Angeles on on Jan. 28, 2021. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon, AFP via Getty Images

ALT Students measure a part of a tractor engine in their agricultural mechanics class at Reedley College in Reedley on Sept. 11, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

ALT A voter fills out their ballot inside a voting site at the San Diego LGBT Community Center in San Diego on June 2, 2026. Photo by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters

ALT Derek Canizalez, 10, is administered a COVID-19 vaccine at one of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center mobile health clinics outside of Helen Keller Elementary School in Los Angeles on March 16, 2022. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters

ALT Jeanelle Couch holds a photo of her son, David Couch, while standing in Cascade Park in Redding on April 8, 2026. David Couch was killed in a shooting involving a California Highway Patrol officer in front of his home in February 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters

ALT Progressive Randy Villegas at the Kern County Fair in Bakersfield on Sept. 26, 2025. Photo by Larry Valenzuela

ALT Water is sprayed onto a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove on May 22, 2026. Photo by Ethan Swope, AP Photo

ALT A split screen of Steve Hilton and Xavier Becerra.

ALT From left, insurance commissioner candidates Jane Kim and Ben Allen. Photos by Beth LaBerge, KQED, and the California State Senate

ALT Bryce Collins, 16, plays basketball in his backyard in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 7, 2026. Collins enjoys playing basketball to clear his head. He will be a senior during the upcoming Fall semester and hopes to study sports medicine after graduation. Photo by Jules Hotz for CalMatters

ALT Ozempic, an injectable weight-loss drug, is displayed in Houston on July 1, 2023. Photo by David J. Phillip, AP Photo