Here’s what Newsom vetoed

In Tuesday’s newsletter, I mentioned some of the new laws California will enact. Now let’s dig into what didn’t make it past the governor’s desk.

At the end of this year’s legislative session, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed 123 out of the 917 total bills lawmakers sent to him — a slightly lower veto rate of 13.4% compared to last year’s 15.7%. 

One of the bills he spiked Monday would have raised the cap car dealers can charge to process Department of Motor Vehicles’ and other paperwork from $85 to $260, writes CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow.

In his veto message, the governor said that consumers could be charged “hundreds more for only minutes of data entry” even though there are no new state requirements and DMV processes are getting more streamlined.

Read more here.

Newsom also rejected a handful of bills intended to expand health care coverage, such as ones that would have required health insurers to cover a year’s worth of prescription hormone therapy; treatment for menopause; and behavioral health visits for wildfire victims. In his veto messages, he repeatedly said California lawmakers should avoid enacting policies that would drive up health care costs “at a time when individuals are facing double-digit rate increases in their health care premiums” nationwide.

Other notable bills Newsom vetoed:

• ‘Forever chemicals’ and microplastics: The governor rejected a bill that would have banned the sale of cleaning products, dental floss, cookware and other items that contain PFAS substances, which can be toxic. He also vetoed a bill that would have banned cosmetics that include plastic glitter.

• Immigration raids and schools: Citing “substantial cost pressures,” Newsom vetoed a bill that would enable schools to avoid defunding due to drops in attendance from “immigration enforcement activity.” The bill was introduced in response to January’s federal immigration raids in Kern County. 

• Honey bees: Newsom shot down a bill that would have established a health program for struggling managed honey bees arguing that the issue should have been considered in the state’s annual budget process instead.

One bill Newsom did approve was a highly contentious measure intended to curb antisemitism in schools by restricting what teachers could mention and teach in classrooms. The bill forced many Democratic lawmakers to grapple the needs of Jewish communities, a key voting block, with the intense outrage of a growing pro-Palestinian base, report CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu and Mikhail Zinshteyn.

After several rounds of rewriting, Assembly Bill 715 ultimately bans using professional development materials that violate the state’s anti-discrimination laws. It also requires “factually accurate” instruction that is free of “advocacy, personal opinion, bias, or partisanship.”

Issuing warnings that the measure could censor free speech, some Democratic lawmakers voted to pass the bill nonetheless. Others abstained, including Assemblymember Robert Garcia of Rancho Cucamonga, who said the bill “only reinforces broader national trends of … erasing historically relevant curriculum.”

The issue was so controversial that when the bill arrived in June before the Senate Education Committee, it still had no substantive language, said Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez. The Pasadena Democrat and chairperson of the committee added that some lawmakers told her either to no amend it as well, or left it up to her to “take care of it.”

• Pérez: “The ball got thrown to me. And people knew that they were doing that.”

Read more here.

From CalMatters health reporter Kristen Hwang:

At 7 a.m. sharp Tuesday, tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente employees across California walked off the job, starting the largest strike in their union’s history. 

The union — United Nurse Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals — represents 31,000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other health workers.

Many, holding umbrellas and signs saying “Fair Contract NOW,” stood outside medical centers in the pouring rain.

The strike, which Kaiser called “unnecessary and disruptive,” will end Oct. 19. 

At issue are salaries, benefits and staffing levels. The union wants a 25% raise over four years and limits on how many patients providers see in a day.

• Christopher Pereida, a nurse practitioner in Lancaster: “The strike is about patient care, patient safety and having Kaiser put patients over profits.”

Kaiser argues the union’s demands would force the company to increase premiums for patients.

Twelve thousand Kaiser workers in Oregon and Hawaii are also striking. 

On Tuesday San Mateo County’s board of supervisors voted to oust Sheriff Christina Corpus from office — wrapping up what it considered “a tragic, destructive and grossly expensive chapter” in the county’s history. It is the first time California has removed a sheriff from their post. Read more from CalMatters’ Nigel Duara.