Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic state lawmakers agreed Monday on a state budget plan that would avoid the deep cuts to essential health care services that the governor had initially proposed.

“California’s business owners have been hit hard by COVID-19,” said Commissioner Lara. “Workers’ compensation premiums should reflect that many employees are performing less risky duties, and my Order will provide some financial relief for employers when they need it most.”

The nonprofit health care giant was accused of using its market dominance in Northern California to illegally drive up prices.

The California tradition of summer fun — barbecues, garden parties, group excursions to beaches and mountains — is colliding with the state’s desperate efforts to prevent new surges of coronavirus cases as the economy opens up and people begin freeing themselves from months of stay-at-home rules.

Small businesses still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic and the related economic lockdown could receive a second loan through the Paycheck Protection Program under new legislation introduced by a group of Democratic lawmakers.

California is seeing a growing number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and intensive care unit cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, making it all the more necessary that people follow his mandatory mask order in public.