STOCKTON– At the start of every year, it is customary for Congressional leaders to come together to discuss a new governmental spending deal. This deal allows the House and Senate committees to set funding levels for the individual spending bills for the federal government.  If an agreement is not decided upon, the government will administer a full federal shutdown. Throughout the years, there have been plenty of federal governments shut down, most notably during the Bill Clinton Administration for 21 days and the Barack Obama administration for 16 days. This year is no different as a budget must be agreed on before the January 19th deadline. After Congress returned from their holiday break, the Senate and House members negotiated to set this year’s  budget at $1.66 trillion. It is unclear now if they will be able to pass the deal in time to prevent a partial government shutdown, although it is possible that they could avoid this shutdown by passing another short-term funding bill if lawmakers are in a time crunch. The major terms that they would have to come to terms with would be fulfilling the veterans program, transportation and housing, agriculture and food and drug regulation, and energy and water projects. 

While leaders in the government handle the new spending deal, California governor Gavin Newsom authorized several bills that are in effect at the start of 2024. Overall, a total of 24 new bills have been approved. The most anticipated bill is an increase in the state’s minimum wage. This increase applies to fast food workers as their wage has increased from $16 per hour to now $20 per hour. Also, California healthcare workers will have an increase in minimum wage to $25 per hour. In addition, workers will be able to receive an additional two days of paid sick leave. This sick leave can also include caring for a sick family member. Another worker bill is for those who partake in the use of cannabis.  This new bill protects workers from employers not hiring or terminating an employee for the use of cannabis outside of work. Besides new bills to protect workers, a new alert system has gone into effect for the purpose of addressing missing Black children and young Black women between the ages of 12 and 25. This new alert is known as the Ebony Alert, and it can be activated by the California Highway Patrol. California is the first state to create an alert system such as this, which is a pivotal moment in this nation’s history.  

.