Governor Gavin Newsom has signed 8 California Chamber of Commerce-supported bills and has vetoed three opposed bills.
More than 20 CalChamber priority bills and one job killer bill remain to be decided on. Governor Newsom has until Friday, September 30 to sign or veto the bills remaining on his desk.
Vetoed Oppose Bills
The Governor has vetoed the following CalChamber-opposed bills:
- AB 1880 (Arambula; D-Fresno): Would have increased health care costs for employers by requiring prior authorization and step therapy denial appeals be reviewed by clinical peers in addition to expensive new reporting requirements for health plans and insurers.
- AB 2784 (Ting; D-San Francisco): Would have set unreasonable and contradictory recycling requirements on packaging that would result in unfair and duplicative fines and penalties for material already covered by SB 54 (Allen), the most comprehensive recycling law in the world.
- SB 999 (Cortese; D-San Jose): Would have increased health care costs for employers by requiring plans and insurers to retain expensive health care providers to review step therapy and prior authorization appeals and denials.
Signed Support Bills
The Governor has signed the following CalChamber-supported bills:
- AB 1854 (Boerner Horvath; D-Encinitas): Would extend availability of workshare programs to allow employers’ the option of taking advantage of program when attempting to reduce workforce while minimizing salary loss for employees.
- AB 1923 (Mathis; R-Visalia): Would re-prioritize existing STEM grant funding to prioritize education for pupils that are underrepresented in STEM, including rural populations, economically disadvantaged populations, as well as other populations.
- AB 2046 (Medina; D-Riverside): Provides that appropriations from legislature in the next three budget years be used to support campus expansion or climate initiatives at the University of California Riverside, and the University of California Merced.
- AB 2101 (Flora; R-Ripon): Adds whole Orchard Recycling Projects to the list of eligible Carbon Capture Sequestration Registry projects that are eligible to seek funding from state agencies or private entities.
- SB 846 (Dodd; D-Napa): Extends for a limited time the operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies 8.6% of California’s total electricity supply and 17% of the state’s carbon-free electricity supply. Ensures supply reliability and safeguards residential health and safety, as well as investment in new industries that depend on a reliable electricity supply.
- SB 1161 (Min; D-Irvine): Requires the leading transportation agencies to gather data on the prevalence of harassment of women on their vehicles and in their stations. It also compels them to create data driven plans to help to limit this type of harassment that women endure each and every day in the future.
- SB 1205 (Allen; D-Santa Monica): Requires development of standardized methods for determining water availability for those seeking water rights permits.
- SB 1338 (Umberg; D-Santa Ana): Changes the state’s process for caring for those facing extreme mental illness or drug addiction. Creates a system with advocates for those who need care, but also provides wraparound services to ensure those most in need get the treatment that’s needed.
