Deadline today for the final bills Newsom will see as governor

Today is the practical deadline for the state Legislature to pass bills before adjourning and lawmakers are in the final frenzy to cross the finish line. Many proposals still need to be resolved before they’re sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s his final year in office and Newsom’s last round of signatures and vetoes will be closely examined as he gears up for a likely White House run.

Here are some highlights:

• Climate fund: Legislators and Newsom haven’t agreed yet on how to spend the state’s main climate fund that comes from its carbon-trading program. Under new rules the Newsom administration adopted this year, money the state uses to finance climate programs could shrink by half, putting dollars for various legislative priorities in jeopardy.

• Monopolies: The Legislature late Sunday passed a contentious bill that would give Californians the ability to sue large companies for using monopolistic practices to stifle competition. Unions back it while businesses are strongly opposed. 

• Sex assault claims: Lawmakers recently brokered a deal limiting the risk schools face in paying out lawsuit settlements in sex abuse claims. But some survivor advocates are urging Newsom to veto the proposal because it would raise the bar for evidence in older claims. The Legislature passed it Sunday night.

• Data centers: The Legislature still needs to cast final votes on a handful of bills regulating data centers, including ones that would shift electric infrastructure costs toward data center operators and away from residential customers and another to mandate that data center projects undergo environmental review.

• Film tax credit: To help support California’s struggling film industry, lawmakers introduced a last-minute deal that would mitigate some of the effects of a $5 million annual tax credit cap that studios argue undermines their ability to film in the state. Read more from Yue Stella Yu.

Meanwhile, legislators hammered out other deals in recent days, and sent bills to the governor’s desk:

• Utilities’ wildfire liability: The proposal would create a “fast-pay” program for survivors of utility-caused fires and deny bonuses for utility CEOs in the years their companies cause fatal fires. Newsom initially wanted utilities to have to pay less to insurance companies, survivors and local governments for the wildfires they cause, but backed off that proposal after facing strong opposition. Read more from Jeanne Kuang and Levi Sumagaysay.

• CEQA exemptions: This bill would reduce the number of manufacturing facilities that can qualify for exemption in California’s environmental review laws. Environmental groups say the proposal is a viable compromise, but business groups argue they are still stifled by regulations that hinder economic and job growth. Read more from Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.

• Undercover agents: This measure would prohibit law enforcement agencies from targeting certain people in custody under age 26 for operations that involve undercover agents eliciting information from suspects. Critics of these operations say they are coercive and risk false confessions. Read more from Cayla Mihalovich.

More than a dozen California colleges and universities lost over $6 million after the U.S. Department of Education canceled funds geared towards students interested in or currently attending college, writes Kahani Malhotra of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network.

In its effort to eliminate diversity and equity programs, the department canceled over $40 million for more than 100 TRIO programs in the U.S., which offer students from often low-income backgrounds resources to succeed in higher education, including college application help, financial aid information and campus visits.

The federal cancellations affect 7,000 California students, particularly rural students who are some of the least likely to enroll in or graduate college.

• Sofia Santos-Arriola, a former TRIO adviser for Cal Poly Humboldt: “This does seem like it was so directly targeted against poor people, against first-generation immigrants, against first-generation college (students).”

Read more.

CalMatters has welcomed its newest cohort of students for the College Journalism Network fellowship. The 12 students represent community colleges, Cal States, UC campuses and private universities from all over California. From the vantage point of their campuses, these journalists will spend the academic year covering higher education stories to show the impacts of state policy on their communities.

During a two-day kickoff event in Sacramento, the students spoke with campus senior officials, student government leaders and other experts in higher education. They also learned about the mission and impact of CalMatters from editors and reporters and connected with each other to share the major issues facing their campuses. Some of the topics they plan to investigate this year include artificial intelligence, privacy and surveillance, student housing, degree pathways, transfer programs, college affordability and jobs.

Check out prior reporting by the College Journalism Network and full bios of our incoming student journalists at the College Beat page on the CalMatters website.

Meet the CJN Fellows for 2026-27:

• Nikki Yunker, El Camino College
• Dylan Arreola, UC Berkeley
• Sterling Davies, Stanford University
• Noelle Doblado, Cal Poly Humboldt
• Mariam Farag, UC Irvine
• Aaron Friesen, Riverside Community College
• Max Guerra, UC Santa Cruz
• Jackson Mills, USC
• Natalia Mochernak, UCLA
• Tom Nolan, Cal State Monterey Bay
• Skylar Stock, Cal State Long Beach
• Anahid Valencia, Fresno State

Newsom recently signed a law expanding privacy protections for people who provide legal aid, counseling or other types of assistance to immigrants. Republicans strongly denounced the law, characterizing it as a threat to the First Amendment. Read more.