Newsom signs more than 1,000 bills and vetoes others in final year as California governor

Right · 1California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed and vetoed his last bills as governor, with the New York Post reporting he signed more than 1,000 bills in his final year. 1 Right · 1Newsom is a term-limited Democrat who is considering a 2028 presidential run, and the Post reports he marked his last signing by climbing to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. 1 Right · 1The most prominent AI measure is the "No Robo Bosses Act," which restricts employers from using automated decision-making systems or AI to fire, discipline or evaluate workers without human oversight; labor unions backed it and business groups opposed it over compliance costs. Newsom also signed rules on chatbots and social media feeds. 1

Right · 1Other new laws target immigration agents: a ban on wearable electroshock devices, a bar on ICE agents accused of serious misconduct later being hired as California peace officers or state employees, and a measure letting residents sue ICE agents. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said California has no authority to regulate federal agents. 1 Right · 1Gun-related laws require a four-hour class for people with newly purchased guns from 2029, a firearm safety certificate for people moving to California with guns from 2028, and detection-and-blocking features on consumer 3D printers to stop printing of homemade firearms. Gun rights groups called the class requirement a Second Amendment violation, while Newsom said the bills help keep firearms out of dangerous situations. 1 Right · 1Newsom also signed a ban on single-use vapes, with fines of $500 for a first violation and potentially $2,000 for later ones, and new menu warnings for drinks with more than a day's recommended added sugar; restaurants and other critics objected to the food measures while public health advocates praised them. 1

Right · 1On Sept. 30 Newsom vetoed AB 2186 by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, which would have exempted reparations payments from state personal income tax for taxable years 2028 to 2032 if qualifying reparations programs were established. 2 Right · 1In his veto message Newsom thanked McKinnor and cited the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery he signed last year, but said "fiscal caution is warranted" because the exclusion's scope was unknown and should be considered in the annual budget process. His office told Fox News Digital that "the veto message speaks for itself." 2 Right · 1McKinnor said she was "deeply disappointed," argued that taxing reparations would take part of them back, and said she would seek to bring the bill back in 2027 with the new governor. 2

Right · 2Newsom did sign AB 2599 by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, a first-in-the-nation law requiring companies with over $100 million in worldwide gross receipts that existed on or before Dec. 31, 1964 to file sworn affidavits on searches for slavery-era transactions, with first filings due by January 2029 once the Legislature funds it. 2 1 Right · 2Both outlets note that state-level cash reparations have moved slowly: Newsom created the reparations task force in 2020, but direct payments have stalled, and Fox says they stalled over budget concerns and legal vulnerabilities. 1 2