Newsom signed nearly 800 laws — including big ones on housing and insulin

On Monday Gov. Gavin Newsom decided the fate of the remaining bills lawmakers sent to his desk in September. 

Throughout this legislative session, a total of 917 bills awaited the governor’s verdict, according to longtime lobbyist Chris Micheli. Newsom signed 794 into law and vetoed 123 — citing “significant fiscal implications that are not included in the budget” for part of his reasons behind several of his vetoes. Stay tuned later this week for more on the bills Newsom spiked. 

As for the latest batches of measures he approved, Newsom greenlit two hotly contested pieces of legislation that drew strong pushback from bill opponents:

• More housing near transit: Newsom is allowing denser housing projects located near major transit stations, reaffirming his alignment with the “Yes In My Backyard” movement. Opposed by local governments and neighborhood groups, the contentious bill went through 13 separate rounds of amendments that limited the measure’s reach to just eight highly urbanized counties and select transportation stops. Read more from CalMatters’ Ben Christopher.

• Caring for kids whose parents are deported: In response to the federal government’s crackdown on immigration, Newsom signed a bill allowing a broad range of relatives to step in as children’s caregivers if their parents are deported. The law widens who can sign a caregiver affidavit, which proponents say would help parents at risk of deportation be able to choose a trusted person to care for their children if they are detained. But Republicans, the religious right and parental rights’ activists argued it would make it easier for strangers to sign the affidavit, which would endanger children. Read more from CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.

Other bills Newsom signed, including those on consumer protections and public health:

• Insulin prices: On Monday the governor signed a bill capping insulin copays at $35 — a reversal of a bill he vetoed in 2023. More than 3.5 million Californians live with diabetes.

• Expanding CARE Court: People experiencing psychotic symptoms due to bipolar disorder will be eligible for treatment under CARE Court, a mental health program intended to help seriously ill Californians living on the streets. Since its introduction in 2022, only people with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders have had access to the program. Read more from CalMatters’ Jocelyn Wiener and Marisa Kendall.

• Pay for incarcerated firefighters: The hourly wage for incarcerated firefighters battling active wildfires will be raised from $1 to $7.25. The new policy is one out of five bills Newsom signed that seek to support incarcerated firefighters upon their reentry. Read more from CalMatters’ Cayla Mihalovich.

• Riding shotgun: Newsom signed a bill last week that originally proposed to ban smaller teenagers from sitting in the front seat, and require children as old as 13 to use a booster seat if they’re not tall enough. The measure has since been watered down and now requires children between the ages of 8 to 16, starting in 2027, to pass a five-step test to be considered properly restrained by a seat belt. Read more from CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow.

• Protection against chatbots: California companies that operate online chatbots will be required to monitor chats for signs of suicidal thoughts, and to take steps to prevent users from harming themselves. Read more from CalMatters’ Colin Lecher.

Restaurant servers, drivers for ride-hailing services, barbers and other tipped workers making less than $150,000 a year could deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal income taxes starting this tax year and through 2028.

But while President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge of “no tax on tips” may seem like a boon to these workers, some tax experts argue that the benefits may be limited.

As CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay explains, a Yale Budget Lab analysis found that a third of tipped workers do not make enough to owe income tax in the first place, and will not benefit from the provision. Experts also raised concerns that employers may cut workers’ pay because of the tax savings, and that consumers may stop tipping since they may assume all tipped workers will now be able to deduct their tips.

Most notably, however, is that the deductions may not be enough to offset the repercussions of the Republicans’ spending bill, said Kayla Kitson, a senior policy fellow at the California Budget & Policy Center.

• Kitson: “It’s a bit of a distraction from the overall bill. … Many low-income tipped workers will likely be harmed by the cuts to health care and food assistance and the failure to extend enhanced premium tax credits.”

Read more here.

Nearly a year after voters passed Proposition 36, a first-of-its-kind report reveals that few people are actually getting into the treatment promised by its proponents, writes CalMatters’ Cayla Mihalovich.

Released last week by the state’s Judicial Council, the report finds that about 9,000 people have been charged with a treatment-mandated felony within the first six months that the law took effect. Since then, 15%, or 1,290 people, elected treatment; 771 people were placed into treatment; and only 25 completed it.

The data also details how different counties are using the law: Orange County, for example, has the highest number of treatment-mandated felonies charged at 2,395, while Kings and Napa counties each had one.

Some supporters of the measure argue that district attorneys have difficulty implementing Prop. 36 because of a lack of state funding. Republican and Democratic state lawmakers requested as much as $600 million to implement Prop. 36, but Gov. Newsom and the Legislature ultimately approved a one-time allocation of $100 million in the state budget.

Read more here.

If Prop. 50 passes, Democrats hope to gain five more congressional seats in the upcoming midterm election. But the difference between the current maps and the ones proposed under Prop. 50 are similar in racial and geographic representation, according to a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Read more, and find out answers to other Prop. 50 questions from CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang.