Gov. Newsom vetoed these California bills

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - While California Gov. Gavin Newsom took out his pen and signed nearly 1,000 bills into laws, he also said no to many proposals before him.

In fact, CalMatters reported that Newsom vetoed 183, or 18%, of the bills put in front of him this legislative season.

Last year, he vetoed 15% of the 890 bills he signed into law. In 2021, CalMatters said he vetoed fewer than 8%. 

As CalMatters points out, sometimes though, he explains that he's not signing a bill into law because he thinks it's bad policy, too costly, redundant or if they're too controversial.

And sometimes he doesn't give a reason at all. 

While the Legislature can override vetoes, it takes a two-thirds vote in both the Assembly and Senate and that rarely happens. Governors can also allow bills to become law without their signature, but that doesn’t occur very often, either.

Here are some of the bills that Newsom vetoed. 

SB 1047 Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) 

The bill would have enacted first-in-the-nation safeguards to protect the public from Artificial Intelligence being used to conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure; develop chemical, nuclear or biological weapons; or unleash automated crime. It would have also established CalCompute, a public cloud cluster to speed the development of responsible AI systems by providing low cost access to compute to researchers and startups. 

Newsom said that a broader strategy is needed.

 "By focusing only on the most expensive and large-scale models, SB 1047 establishes a regulatory framework that could give the public a false sense of security about controlling this fast-moving technology," he wrote in his veto message. 

SB 1050 Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Inglewood) 

The bill would have helped Black families reclaim or be compensated for property that was unjustly taken by the government. It would have also created a process for families to file a claim with the state if they believe the government seized their property through eminent domain due to discriminatory motives and without providing fair compensation. 

"I thank the author for his commitment to redressing past racial injustices," Newsom said in a statement. "However, this bill tasks a nonexistent state agency to carry out its various provisions and requirements, making it impossible to implement." 

Bradford said he was very disappointed. 

AB 2693 Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) 

The bill would have changed the statute of limitations to give people sexually abused in juvenile facilities more time to sue. 

The bill built on a 2020 change in state law that opened a three-year window for victims to sue in cases where the statute of limitations had expired. 

Newsom argued that it would have encouraged similar efforts to set aside the statute of limitations, including in cases where "key evidence" had been lost. 

The LA Times noted that the main public opposition to the bill came from L.A. County, which has recently been sued by thousands of adults who say that staff at county juvenile facilities raped, molested or fondled them.

SB 227 Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) 

The bill would have directed California to explore extending unemployment benefits to undocumented workers. Newsom wrote that it "sets impractical timelines, has operational issues, and requires funding that was not included in the budget."

AB 2586 Assemblyman David Alvarez (D-Chula Vista) 

The bill would have made California the first state in the nation to allow public colleges and university students who are undocumented to work at their campuses. 

AB 2513 Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) 

The bill would have required appliance makers to put labels on gas-burning ranges and cooktops, warning potential buyers that they emit harmful pollutants. Newsom said he was concerned the bill was "highly prescriptive" and would be difficult to amend in the future. "This static approach falls short in enabling timely updates to the labeling content that should align with the latest scientific knowledge so that consumers are accurately informed about their purchases," he wrote. 

SB 254 Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) 

The bill would have allowed news organizations to interview incarcerated people and use video cameras, which is typically not allowed under current policies. The legislation would have also allowed lawmakers and other state officials to access prisons in order to improve transparency and oversight. 

AB 2178 Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco)

The bill would have put a cap on empty prison beds. Newsom said he "fundamentally disagreed" with the approach.

AB 544 Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Culver City) 

The bill would have tried out an in-person voting pilot program in jails in three counties. Newsom said the money for the voting tests should be part of the budget process.

SB 966 Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) 

The bill would have required the state insurance department to license pharmacy benefit managers. It would also have required pharmacy benefit managers to disclose prices paid to drug manufacturers and mandated 100% of any discounts negotiated be passed down to consumers. 

Newsom wrote that his administration is already taking steps to bring down the cost of health care through other programs, and that an existing office has a mandate to review the market effects of health care consolidation. 

Wiener responded to the veto by writing: "This veto is nearly certain to kneecap the Governor’s own CalRx plan to have the state directly manufacture affordable generic insulin. As long as PBMs remain virtually unregulated, and as long as they have an incentive to push expensive name brand drugs, the health plans they control will not cover CalRx’s insulin and most patients won’t access it. Californians will continue to suffer from skyrocketing drug prices, including the 3 million Californians living with diabetes. This veto is a massive fail."

SB 961 Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)

The bill would have mandated that all new cars in the state have a system that alerts drivers when they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.  

In his veto message, Newsom said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already regulates vehicle safety standards, "and adding California-specific requirements would create a patchwork of regulations" and that the agency is already studying such systems, "and imposing state-level mandates at this time risks disrupting these ongoing federal assessments."

AB 3129 Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Ukiah)

The bill would have given the state more power to block the sale of health care companies to for-profit investors, such as hedge funds and private equity firms. The bill was also introduced by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. 

Newsom's justification was its redundancy with the California Office of Health Care Affordability's existing regulatory framework, explaining that it would be "more appropriate for OHCA to oversee these consolidation issues as it is already doing much of this work." 

SB 1170 Sen. Caroline Manjivar (D-Van Nuys) 

The bill would have allowed candidates to use campaign funds to address mental health-related issues that arise during a campaign, but Newsom wrote that it could allow for other changes to campaign fund use that go "beyond what a reasonable donor would expect." 

SB 954 Sen. Caroline Manjivar (D-Van Nuys) 

The bill would have required public high schools to provide condoms to students. Newsom vetoed the bill, writing that "one-time funding does not adequately address the fiscal concerns associated with this bill." 

SB 278 Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) 

The bill would have temporarily halted transactions of $5,000 or more if banks suspect fraud in an effort to curb elderly customer scams. In his veto message, he said the bill could delay legitimate transactions and needs further legal review: "I encourage the Legislature to continue refining this concept to ensure it is both implementable and strikes a better balance between consumer protection and individual rights." 

SB 936 Sen. Kelly Eyarto (R-Murrieta)

The bill would have required Caltrans to conduct a road safety study and come up with an improvement plan. In Newsom’s message, he wrote that Caltrans is already working on road safety, so the bill would be redundant. 

AB 2903 Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) 

The bill would have required state homelessness programs to more closely track and report spending data.  Newsom wrote in his veto message that he’s already signed legislation that strengthens reporting requirements for California’s two largest programs.

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