Explainers

California’s tax system, which relies heavily on the wealthy for state income, is prone to boom-and-bust cycles. Here's what you need to know.

California's Democratic lawmakers are pondering ways to lay the groundwork for a single-payer health care system in the state. Supporters say such a system would cover everyone, streamline an unwieldy bureaucracy and bring down costs. Opponents say it could lead to unacceptably high taxes, a flight of doctors to other states and a rationing of care as patients’ needs overwhelm providers. We explain.

The cost of retirement benefits for public employees from California's state state and local governments and schools and colleges has more than tripled since 2003—putting so much pressure on government budgets that many are having to choose between service cuts and raising taxes. We explain the forces at work.

After a particularly wet rainy season fueled growth of lush vegetation, the sweltering summer of 2017 dried those plants to a crackly, combustible crunch. Several locales had racked up record temperatures, including a historic thermometer high of 106 in San Francisco on Sept. 1. Wildfires were an inevitable consequence, but none so fierce as October's infernos that consumed vast swaths of the state's iconic Wine Country.

Addressing sea-level rise will cost a staggering sum of public and private money, and will particularly impact the poor and vulnerable. A look at the challenge California faces, and how the state is responding.

In the final days of the session, hundreds of bills landed on Brown’s desk. Here are some of the most consequential.

Half the state's households struggle to afford the roof over their heads. Here’s what you need to know about one of California’s most vexing issues.