It’s all over, as the governor signs final bills
Gov. Gavin Newsom completed this year’s legislative handiwork on Saturday by deciding on the remainder of the 836 bills that arrived on his desk. All told, he signed 92% of the bills that came before him, which means that 770 new laws will go into effect — a startling reminder of why government continues to grow more meddlesome.
We’ve previously covered some of Newsom’s more noteworthy signings. We were pleased, for instance, that he signed a wide-ranging package of police-accountability bills and approved two bills that loosen up land-use and zoning restrictions.
A few of the governor’s final decisions were laudable, too. Newsom signed Senate Bill 332, which declares that, “no person shall be liable for any fire suppression or other costs otherwise recoverable for a prescribed burn” if, for instance, they are undertaken to reduce fire risk.
But too much of this year’s legislating expands the scope of the state government without sufficient justification or benefit. The most notable example, perhaps, was Newsom’s signing of Assembly
Bill 1346, which phases out the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment beginning as early as 2024 — even though current electric mowers and generators don’t have the same range as gas-powered versions and are much costlier.
The Legislature is engaged in “technology forcing” that mandates “currently unachievable and uneconomic performance standards to be met at some future point in time,” as the Senate analysis explains. It’s irresponsible to mandate regulatory changes that are no yet achievable and will serve only to torment consumers and businesses.
Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 1084, which forces larger retailers that sell childcare items and toys “to maintain a gender neutral section or area” with a “reasonable” selection of items. The Legislature shouldn’t be telling retailers how to merchandise their products.
The Legislature ought to leave school curriculum to school districts, but Newsom signed the nation’s first mandated ethnic-studies requirement. He vetoed a similar bill last year after it sparked opposition from those groups excluded from the course mandates. Assembly Bill 101 is more inclusive, but expect divisive battles as school districts hammer out the details.
On the criminal-justice front, the governor signed a package of bills that limit the use of some sentencing enhancements in criminal cases, which can double the length of a prison sentence. These enhancements coerce defendants into accepting one-sided plea bargains rather than risk losing in court and facing vastly expanded prison terms.
Newsom also signed legislation by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, granting judges discretion over a broader set of nonviolent drug offenses to sentence individuals to probation rather than incarceration. California’s trend toward of dismantling the racist, unjustly punitive War on Drugs should be lauded by anyone who recognizes the folly of prohibition and the harms of overcriminalization.
On the veto front, the governor rejected a vast expansion of the state’s Cal Grant student-aid program even though Assembly Bill 1456 passed without any “no” votes. “The bill results in significant cost pressures to the state, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually,” he wrote in his veto remarks. It was a rare — but welcome — fit of fiscal restraint.
It was a mixed session, but at least it’s over until January.