Newsom vetoes big bills on AI, aid for undocumented workers

Gov. Gavin Newsom holds a press conference at a Home Depot in San Jose to sign retail crime legislation on Aug. 16, 2024. Photo by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom has until midnight tonight to act on the fewer than 40 bills remaining on his desk. As of Sunday, the proportion of bills that Newsom has vetoed since the Legislature adjourned Aug. 31 is about 19% (or 181 of nearly 960 measures). 

Some notable bills the governor spiked over the weekend:

Artificial intelligence: A high-profile and controversial bill that would have regulated AI technology by requiring companies to test their AI models for societal harm. In his veto message, Newsom said the bill risks “curtailing the very innovation that fuels advancement in favor of the public good.” The proposal was backed by some prominent tech researchers and Hollywood, and fiercely opposed by Big Tech.

Undocumented immigrants: After vetoing two bills earlier this month that would have expanded homebuyer aid to undocumented immigrants and enabled undocumented students to work on college campuses, the governor vetoed another that would have directed the state to explore extending unemployment benefits to undocumented workers.

Farmworkers: A bill to make it easier for farmworkers to file for workers’ compensation for heat illness. Newsom said the state’s workplace safety agency, Cal/OSHA, should enforce heat safety rules — not the workers’ compensation system.

Public health: A number of bills related to public health and health care, including ones to regulate pharmacy middlemen; authorize the state Attorney General to oversee private equity takeovers of doctors’ offices and related businesses; speed up the licensing process for gender-affirming healthcare providers; and allow some community colleges to issue bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

Media access: A bill to permit news media to interview incarcerated people in person. Newsom said the bill could elevate “the celebrity status” of certain prisoners, “which could glorify their actions and hurt victims and their families.”

Gov. Newsom also signed these bills:

Anti-union meetings: Saying that “California has a rich history of standing up for workers’ rights,” Newsom signed a bill prohibiting employers from forcing workers to attend anti-union meetings.

Domestic violence: A measure to give the families of domestic violence victims the right to review death investigations they deem suspicious.

Book bans: A bill requiring public libraries in to establish a clear policy for choosing books, but also prohibit banning material solely because it deals with race or sexuality.

Voter IDs: A measure to ban local governments from requiring voters to present identification to vote.

Health care: A handful of bills addressing health care, including one that requires some insurers to cover in vitro fertilization.

Food and alcohol: Several bills, including one that bans six common synthetic food dyes in food sold at schools; requires tortilla makers to add folic acid to help pregnant women; and permits local governments to create “entertainment zones” where people can drink outside.

And a mixed record on places to give birth:

Newsom approved one bill and vetoed another that were meant to inform the public about hospitals’ closing their maternity wards. He signed one that requires hospitals to give four months of notice when closing their maternity wards, giving the community time to plan, and vetoed another that would have required hospitals to notify the state if they are at risk of losing maternity services. These bills follow a CalMatters investigation into the state’s maternity-care deserts.

Left to right: former state Controller Betty Yee, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and state Sen. Toni Atkins during a governor candidate forum hosted by the National Union of Healthcare Workers and the Los Angeles Times in San Francisco on Sept. 29, 2024. Photo courtesy of Karna Roa, NUHW

The 2026 primary election is about 20 months away, and the four top gubernatorial Democratic candidates were busy making their cases to be the state’s top public executive, writes CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff.

On Sunday, former state Controller Betty Yee, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and state Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego spoke at a forum hosted by National Union of Healthcare Workers and the Los Angeles Times. Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is running again after an unsuccessful bid in 2018, was invited but was unavailable to attend, according to a spokesperson.

The candidates shared similar views on most issues. But when it came to this November’s Proposition 36, which would increase penalties for theft and drug trafficking, they began to differentiate themselves: Yee was the only candidate to say she’d vote against it. Atkins said she would likely not support it, while Thurmond and Kounalakis said they were undecided.

The health care union will not officially endorse a candidate until some time next year, but Thurmond notched an early political advantage by winning the non-binding straw poll after the event. 

Read more about the forum in Alexei’s story.

As for that other election taking place roughly a month from now, Vice President Kamala Harris spent the weekend campaigning and raising money in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where on Saturday she called herself the underdog in the race, according to KQED.

The campaign said she raised a total of $55 million at the events.

Voter registration: California has a record 22.3 million registered voters, nearly 1.1 million more than four years ago.

The proportion who are no party preference voters has declined from 23.7% to 21.9% since 2020, while the percentages for Democrats (46.4% to 46.1%) have dipped slightly and for Republicans (24.2% to 24.8%) have ticked up a little, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Instructor Alana Woodin teaches her ninth grade class in an outdoor learning pavilion at Orange Cove High School in Orange Cove on Sept. 23, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Let’s get to some education news:

Pandemic relief money: In 2021, the federal government gave about $13.5 billion to California schools in one of several waves of pandemic relief grants. But as CalMatters K-12 education reporter Carolyn Jones explains, about $1.8 billion remains unspent, and schools have until today to know how they’ll spend the relief money. Otherwise, they’ll need to return the money to the U.S. Department of Education. School districts spent the unprecedented windfall on one-time investments, including new heating and ventilation systems. Most of California’s largest districts, such as Los Angeles Unified and San Francisco Unified, had spent nearly all their funds by mid-September. But other school districts, particularly with small administrative staff, have been slower to spend the money. This is partly because of the complex guidelines and reporting requirements. Learn more about the pandemic aid money in Carolyn’s story.

Part-time faculty: Around two-thirds of California’s community college faculty are classified as part-time workers, reports Delilah Brumer of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network. Current law caps part-time faculty members at teaching 67% of a full-time load at any single campus during a semester, and oftentimes these instructors must commute between multiple campuses to make a living. Last week, Gov. Newsom vetoed a bill that would have raised that cap to 85%, citing “potentially significant costs.” Bill opponents argued that the proposal could have required colleges to expand health care coverage for part-timers. But faculty unions in support of the measure disputed this, and said the bill would have improved faculty members’ quality of life. Read more about part-time faculty members in Delilah’s story.