Gov. Gavin Newsom has a lot of decisions to make over the next month.
His desk is stacked high with hundreds of bills recently passed by the state Legislature in the session that just ended this weekend. With the stroke of his pen, those bills would become law.
Our reporting team has created this tracker to help you easily monitor the fate of the most consequential of those bills.
The governor will have a lot of complex state issues to consider – as well as his new national role.
The Legislature has plopped some significant issues on his desk, like:
- A sweeping overhaul of California’s energy and climate policies
- A suite of regulations to put guardrails around AI
- A number of direct responses to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign
Last year, Newsom nearly 16% of all 1,200 bills passed by the Legislature. The typical reasons for his vetoes: bad or redundant policy, costs, controversy or powerful special interests.
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Other Stories You Should Know
Newsom’s redistricting plan already affecting 2026 races
Voters haven’t yet passed Newsom’s proposal to gerrymander districts to favor Democrats.
But it’s already forcing political candidates to make big decisions about what job they want next – and, in some cases, where they’re going to live.
Newsom created Prop. 50 in response to President Donald Trump’s demand that Republican states redraw their maps to solidify House Republicans’ precarious majority in 2026.
As Maya Miller reports, Darrell Issa, an 11-term Republican congressman, is suddenly facing new Democratic challengers.
Marni von Wilpert has experience flipping formerly conservative districts blue. She did so in winning a seat on the San Diego city council in 2020. Now, after assessing the new maps, she’s going to challenge Issa.
- von Wilpert: “When the lines were redrawn, it did open up a valuable opportunity.”
Solar farm bill withers away
From CalMatters water reporter Rachel Becker:
Assemblymember Buffy Wicks shelved a divisive bill that would have incentivized farmers to plant solar panels on parched fields, citing “implementation” concerns from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.
The Oakland Democrat said she will work with the governor over the fall and hopes to advance the bill next year.
The bill, AB 1156, aimed to clear away financial penalties under a 60-year-old law called the Williamson Act, which gives farmers substantial property tax breaks in exchange for keeping their land undeveloped. It passed the Senate with 25 lawmakers supporting it, 8 voting against it, and 7 with no vote recorded.
The bill divided the farming industry. Some saw solar as a way to put dried out fields to use, but others said it undermined a vital protection for California’s farmland.
Yue Stella Yu contributed reporting to this item.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: California legislators left the Bay Area transit bailout in limbo at the end of the session.
Other things worth your time:
The UC president warns of Trump’s looming push into campuses and hospitals // LA Times
California’s sex abuse law has gotten really expensive, but it’s hard to fix // Politico
Santa Monica is a prime example of how costly the law’s become // LA Times
Arnold Schwarzenegger came out against Newsom’s redistricting plan // NY Times