• As kids grapple with a mid-summer heat wave, new state laws try to help

    CalMatters
    July 16, 2026

    This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that will require the state Board of Education to consider teaching students about the symptoms of heat illness in schools. Another law, which the governor signed in 2024 with a key deadline this month, requires schools to come up with rules for outdoor activities when there are extreme weather events like heat waves.  

  • Debt Collection Lawsuits Continue to Flood State and Local Courts

    Pew Research Center
    July 16, 2026

    A recent analysis from January Advisors finds that in 2025, debt lawsuits continued their upward trajectory, with filings growing rapidly in states and cities across the country. For instance, in Utah, debt filings are on track to surpass their most recent peak, hit in the wake of the 2007-09 Great Recession; and in Alabama, they have already reached their highest level on record. These trends also hold true at the county level: St.

    Related: Yahoo Finance

  • Judge tentatively finds California cannabis tax revenue changes constitutional

    Courthouse News Service
    July 16, 2026

    A Superior Court judge tentatively ruled Thursday that recently enacted California legislation reducing funding for programs subsidized by cannabis tax revenue and license fees is constitutional after a group of petitioners sought to void two bills they claim are amendments to Proposition 64 and violate the California Constitution.

  • Board Focuses on California Supreme Court’s NextGen UBE and California Component Order

    The State Bar of California
    July 16, 2026

    At its July 16, 2026, meeting, the Board of Trustees heard a presentation from Admissions Chief Donna Hershkowitz highlighting the California Supreme Court’s order approving the State Bar’s recommendation to move to the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) beginning in July 2028 and to prepare the addition of a California component for July 2029.