SACRAMENTO — On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he’d signed 35 new bills into law, and vetoed 13.
The announcement came three days before Newsom made national headlines when he signed Senate Bill 206, known as the “Fair Pay to Play Act”—which will allow student athletes to be compensated for the use of their names and likenesses.
The bills Newsom signed Friday make changes to existing state law regarding healthcare, drinking water, fairgrounds labor, environmental justice, greenhouse gases and more.
Here’s a look at a few of the new laws:
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: AB 1237 — Introduced by 4th District Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the law will require government agencies that receive monies from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund—a depository for revenues from California’s cap-and-trade emissions program—to post online the guidelines they will use to distribute those funds via grants.
“AB 1237 requires competitive financing programs funded with Cap and Trade dollars to provide information online about application timelines, eligibility criteria, technical assistance, and agency staff contacts,” reads a statement from Aguiar-Curry’s office.
By better publicizing information about grants, Aguiar-Curry said, the law will “increase access to environmental project funding for communities in rural California.”
Pest control: SB 449 — This new law is targeted at curbing the spread of the grapevine-killing Pierce’s disease via the extension of funding used to keep disease carriers like the glassy-winged sharpshooter at bay. Provisions that were set to expire in 2021 will now last until March 1, 2026. A statewide coordinator for the control of Pierce’s disease will also be instated.
2nd District Senator Mike McGuire, who authored the bill, said “SB 449 extends the existing Pierce’s Disease Control Program to 2026 which will help keep California’s multi-billon dollar wine industry thriving for decades to come.”
Medi-Cal provider tax: AB 115 — Authored by the state budget committee, this law will create a tax on managed healthcare organizations that contract with the California Department of Health Care Services, and funnel the ensuing tax revenues into the new “Health Care Services Special Fund.” The tax dollars will be used to fund the portion of Medi-Cal healthcare service rates not funded by the federal government.
Drinking water: AB 508 — Aimed at improving drinking water quality for California residents, this law will require some private well users to hook up to a consolidated water system if their water quality consistently tests highly for unhealthy substances. Authored by 25th District Assemblymember Kansen Chu, the law will allow the state to require more well-dependent residents to switch to consolidated water supply.
According to the law’s official summary, it will “authorize consolidation or extension of (water) service if a disadvantaged community, in whole or in part, is substantially reliant on domestic wells that consistently fail to provide an adequate supply of safe drinking water.”
