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Even though the state could reap a huge windfall if the four health plans lose the case, Gov. Brown’s administration has sided with the plans, arguing that the 1968 case is being misapplied and that the state Legislature long ago determined these plans should be separately taxed and regulated. The lawsuit, the state’s attorneys warn, could disrupt California’s health care delivery system and cause consumers’ premiums to soar.

The state average climbed to $2.78 a gallon on Christmas Eve, up 13 cents in the past week after steadily falling since Labor Day. That’s compared with $2.01 a gallon across the U.S.

California students continue to perform near the bottom of states in reading and math, 2015 test results released Wednesday show. And even when taking into account factors like the predominance of English learners and poor children, a new analysis indicates that the state would still end up in the academic cellar.

Schools have added translators and other help for parents, tutoring and alternatives to discipline, a sampling of Bay Area schools shows — but many also are investing in buildings, trying to divert funds to teacher salaries and ignoring their poorest students.

The San Francisco-San Mateo area is even more dependent on high-tech for its economic expansion. During the same one-year-period in question, tech jobs accounted for 25,800 of the 41,700 total payroll jobs added in that region — 62 percent of the total.

The move to reclassify contractors comes amid heated political commentary on the topic — 2016 presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush have weighed in on the matter — and mounting lawsuits from workers. In addition to Instacart, courier service Shyp, valet-parking service Luxe Valet and home tech-repair company Eden have each changed at least part of their workforce from independent contractors to employees. Among those facing lawsuits: ride-booking company Lyft, on-demand laundry service Washio, repair service Handy, delivery service Postmates, as well as Instacart and Shyp.

As the condition of the pavement worsens and the price to repair it grows, ideas that seemed outlandish a few years ago are back on the table, including a plan by a San Jose lawmaker that would raise vehicle license and registration fees as well as the gas tax.

As the condition of the pavement worsens and the price to repair it grows, ideas that seemed outlandish a few years ago are back on the table, including a plan by a San Jose lawmaker that would raise vehicle license and registration fees as well as the gas tax.

But tucked away on one of the final pages of the 104-page summary of the spending plan was a surprising revelation: Not only will the budget survive when Proposition 30’s temporary taxes are phased out, but general fund revenues are also expected to continue climbing.

Current gas-tax revenue covers only about $2.3 billion of the state’s $8 billion in annual highway repair needs, Brown’s plan notes, and so there’s $5.7 billion each year in deferred maintenance.

The labor strife not only slowed shipments through the enormous facility and its network of trains and trucks that transport goods throughout the country, it also created an opening for competitors to show that they could fill the void. As containers sat and goods spoiled during the port slowdown in California in January and February, the ports along the Gulf of Mexico and on the East Coast took advantage by stepping up to handle the cargo with greater efficiency.

The latest version — the third in three years — brought down the cost from $25 billion to $17 billion. But it made the project even more risky politically.

The legislation doesn’t pick a spot for the campus, which Gatto envisions being akin to the private California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and specializing in science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. Gatto has said it might be in an area near Silicon Valley, Hollywood or in a part of the state without a nearby UC campus.

About four out of five students who entered high school in fall 2010 graduated last June — 80.8 percent, up from 80.4 percent for the previous class. But 11.6 percent of those destined for the class of 2014 dropped out, up from 11.4 percent for the previous year’s class.

California’s incentives to purchase electric vehicles are under attack, as data shows most of the money goes to consumers who earn twice the national average yet collect cash rebates on Tesla Motors luxury models.