On the last day to make his decision, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill prohibiting school districts from enacting policies requiring faculty to disclose to parents if their child identifies as LGBTQ or non-binary.
Brandon Richards, Newsom spokesperson: “This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents. It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and Equality California thanked Newsom. But the California Family Council, which opposed the measure, said it “undermines parental rights.”
Elon Musk called the law the “final straw” and said he will move the headquarters of X and Space X from California to Texas.
The legislation originated after several school boards imposed parental notification (or forced outing) policies last year, despite pushback from state officials. In response to the bill’s passage, Democratic Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat and author of the bill, urged parents to “talk to their children, listen to them, and love them unconditionally for who they are.”
Newsom also signed into law Monday a measure that would exempt from state taxes payments received from the California Victim Compensation Board. The legislation, which goes into effect immediately, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Fong, a Monterey Park Democrat, after the 2023 mass shooting in that city left 11 dead.
But the governor vetoed a bill to require annual reviews of state money sent to cities and counties for homelessness programs, saying it was redundant and wouldn’t provide “additional accountability or transparency to taxpayers.”
