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One of the hardest-fought political battles in 2024 happened inside California's Capitol between a group of grieving parents who lost their kids to fentanyl and a handful of powerful politicians who were opposed to increasing criminal penalties.
This year-long investigation, led by CBS News California investigative correspondent Julie Watts, combines gripping statehouse investigative reporting with groundbreaking AI-assisted data journalism to provide an unprecedented look at how California's one-party supermajority legislature systematically avoids transparency and accountability by killing controversial legislation without voting on the record.
They fought for fentanyl legislation, but it was killed before lawmakers even got to vote. Four grieving moms wanted to know why.
We begin with their uncovering of the truth using a new AI tool designed to help everyday Californians hold lawmakers accountable.
In 2024, CalMatters' new Digital Democracy Database gave us the tools to analyze hundreds of thousands of votes and dozens of hours of legislative hearings in ways that simply weren't possible before.However, it was Alexandra's Law that gave us a case study and exposed California's supermajority politics at its best, or worst, depending on who you ask.
If you ask Alexandra's parents, they'll tell you lawmakers used their daughter as a political pawn.
While California lawmakers would not increase criminal penalties for fentanyl, they did decriminalize fentanyl test strips, which were considered drug paraphilia until 2022. Along with Narcan, state law now requires test strips on college campuses.
However, as fentanyl test strips are normalized, our testing found that test strips alone can provide a false sense of security. That is one of the many lessons learned from the increasing number of fentanyl death investigations... Lessons grieving parents and law enforcement hope you'll share.
One of the hardest-fought political battles in 2024 happened inside California's Capitol between a group of grieving parents who lost their kids to fentanyl and a handful of powerful politicians who were opposed to increasing criminal penalties.
"California's fentanyl fight" presented a unique opportunity to produce this narrative case study of California's supermajority politics through the eyes of real people.
For years, California lawmakers have operated without much scrutiny due to a shrinking California Capitol Press Corps and a growing "super(duper)majority" in the State Senate, Assembly, and the Governor's office.
As a result, many consequential decisions and votes are made behind closed doors.
In 2014, CalMatters' groundbreaking AI-powered Digital Democracy Database gave journalists - and members of the public - new access to the inner workings of California's capitol.
In collaboration with our CalMatters reporting partners, Digital Democracy provided the tools to analyze millions of votes and hundreds of hours of legislative hearings in unprecedented ways.
Among the findings:
Next, relying on deep sourcing and traditional statehouse investigative reporting, CBS News California obtained critical non-public documents, memos, emails, and voicemails that helped reveal the story behind the data.
In an effort to translate our findings in a way that was understandable to the general public, we told the story through the lens of *real people* who were impacted by these complicated and opaque policy practices.
Not only does this reporting serve to educate viewers about how their elected lawmakers really work (or don't work) on their behalf, but it also arms the public and other journalists with the tools to hold lawmakers accountable.
This reporting also put lawmakers on notice that we are paying attention... and we're already beginning to see changes in their behavior.
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THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS & EDITORS JOURNAL: "Crunching legislative data with AI in California"
VARIETY: "CBS Invests in Statehouse Investigative Reporting With 'California's Fentanyl Fight' Special"
TV NEWS CHECK: CBS News California Investigates Debuts New Year's Day Special 'California's Fentanyl Fight: Politicians V. Parents'
NEWS BLUES: CBS O&O Stations in California Investigate How Lawmakers Oppose Fentanyl Fight
