In Session

In Session is back for another season with new host Maddy Orlando. This season, guests are explaining new laws in California addressing the state’s housing crisis, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. New episodes every week, starting next week.

Dayra Juarez talks with Thomas Gerhart about a piece of California legislation that attempted to close a loophole that lets folks literally get away with burglary.

Julie Wright talks with Thomas Gerhart about California SB 395, allowing Californians to salvage roadkill they find.

Nicholas Stotter talks with Thomas Gerhart about AB 302, a bill that would have permitted students experiencing homelessness to sleep in their cars on the college campuses they are enrolled at.

Colin Nystrom talks about AB 1133 a new law that allows beer distributors to give free glassware to retailers who sell their beer and how the bill massively favors “Big Beer” brands like AB InBev and MillerCoors over local, independent, craft breweries.

Arielle Percival talks with Thomas Gerhart about the recent baby step-sized victory in California to temporarily repeal the tampon tax.

On this episode, Emma Woidtke talks about SB 276 by Sen. Richard Pan. The bill was a piece of follow-up legislation to close a loophole in a law he previously authored that banned personal belief exemptions from vaccinations.

This week, Brittany Gamlen talks about AB 538, a bill that increases access to medical evidentiary exams – a.k.a. rape kits – by expanding the types of professionals and locations that are able to administer them. But the bill is not without its drawbacks.

Blade Runner promised a very different November 2019 than what we are currently living. On this week’s podcast Josh La Bella talks about a bill that failed to implement some new protections for state employees should their job be “retired” by AI.

Lauren Hirota talks about AB 1 – a piece of California legislation that aims to reduce or prevent concussions by regulating how much contact is allowed in practice for youth football. The biggest question around the bill, which mandates best practices already being used by many youth football leagues, including Pop Warner, is actually necessary.