Bills, Bills, Bills

Thanks to the Legislature’s partnership, California continues to lead the nation across every category. Here are some of the new laws to help Californians:

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

You want to talk about freedom? California is making sure that you have the freedom to do what you want with your body. Rest easy knowing your medical records are protected, everyone has easier access to affordable abortion care and birth control, and nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives can perform abortion care procedures. We’ve launched abortion.ca.gov to help people in and outside of California access abortion care. And, we’re launching a pilot program to add wellness vending machines stocked with contraceptives, menstrual products and more. This is all thanks to the work of Pro tem Atkins, Senator Leyva, Senator Caballero, Senator Skinner, Senator Gonzalez, Senator Kamlager, Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, Assemblymember Bonta, Assemblymember Wicks, Assemblymember Petrie-Norris, Assemblymember Weber, Assemblymember Garcia, Assemblymember Carrillo, Assemblymember Cooper and Assemblymember Calderon.

She works hard for the money and, in partnership with the Women’s Caucus, we just signed bills so she can keep it! California took a big step towards closing the pay gap, thanks to Senator Limon, by requiring wage transparency for applicants and employees. And that’s not all – with Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan, we eliminated the pink tax, so women aren’t being fined for buying products that are marketed for women.

CARE Court is changing the game – creating a long overdue paradigm shift that forces all of us, state and local governments alike, to take responsibility for how we help those most in need. With authors Sen. Umberg & Sen. Eggman, California is bringing healing and housing to people with untreated behavioral health and substance abuse issues, and bringing peace of mind and help to families and communities – and making all of them a part of the solution.

To solve our affordable housing crisis, California is doing what we do best – getting creative and innovating. We’re treating housing as an affordability issue and a climate issue, by streamlining the approval process for building homes, and building them near public transit lines to encourage environmentally friendly commutes. We’re also making sure we prioritize people over cars by eliminating parking requirements in new developments near transit.

California is investing to fight the climate crisis on the scale of what other countries spend. To support our $54 billion climate commitment and combat climate change, the Governor signed almost 40 bills, including Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Cristina Garcia’s bill to codify our goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045, Senators Lena Gonzalez and Monique Limón’s bill to establish a setback distance of 3,200 feet for new oil and gas wells, Senator John Laird’s bill to create clean energy targets of 90% by 2035 and 95% by 2040, Senators Anna Caballero and Nancy Skinner’s bill for safe and equitable deployment of carbon removal and carbon capture, and Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia and Robert Rivas’ bill to enlist nature-based solutions to climate change. And if you were feeling the heat last month, we’re doing something about that too, with legislation that includes the creation of the nation’s first extreme heat ranking system to prepare communities for heat waves.

Fast food workers work hard and any trip to a fast food restaurant proves that. We’re committed to supporting those workers. Governor Newsom signed Assemblymember Holden’s bill to give fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry.

Here are a bunch of bills the Governor signed that you can use as conversation starters this weekend:

CATALYTIC CONVERTERS: To your Aunt who had her catalytic converter stolen: People are stealing catalytic converters because of the money they get when they recycle them? The Governor just signed Senator Gonzalez and Assemblymember Maratushi’s bills to require recycled catalytic converters to be tracked, which will help stop people from stealing them!

MOVING TO DROUGHT TOLERANT YARDS: To your neighbor who waters their lawn too often: Hey! Not sure if you heard, but Governor Newsom just signed Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel’s bill sweetening the deal when you replace your lawn with water efficient landscaping. Some water districts have turf rebate programs available now and the state will soon be announcing plans for the $75 million program. If you take advantage of one of those programs, you won’t have to pay state income tax on that money. Save Water, Save Money.

STREET VENDORS: To your BFF who wants a hot dog at 1am: Yo – did you know Governor Newsom just signed Senator Lena Gonzalez’s bill making it easier for street vendors to get local health permits? Yeah! This supports small businesses led by immigrants and allows them to take care of their families.

STUDENTS: California continues to make historic investments to transform our education systems! With new bills signed into law last week, more students will graduate from college faster – increasing student success and saving students money, we’re giving middle & high school students the chance to take one excused absence per year to participate in a civic event; AND with the LA 2028 Olympics & Paralympics on the horizon, we’re offering in-state tuition fees to athletes so they can train and learn in California.

IMAGINATION LIBRARY: Pour yourself a cup of ambition, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is coming to California! Thanks to the work of Senator Grove & Pro tem Atkins, children 0-5 will be able to sign up to receive free books! PLUS this is the first time the program will be bilingual so more of California’s kids have books that work for them.

FREE SPEECH: What do Meek Mill, Tyga, YG, Too $hort, Killer Mike, Ty Dolla Sign, & E-40 have in common? They joined Governor Newsom & Assemblymember Jones Sawyer to sign a bill ensuring creative content – like lyrics and music videos – can’t be used against artists in court without judicial review.

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