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New California laws boost family leave, protect trans youth. Here’s what Newsom signed, vetoed

California’s legislative season is coming to a close, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed or vetoed hundreds of bills — decisions that will have a significant impact on millions of state residents for years to come.

Newsom on Friday signed one of the last high-profile measures on his desk, a bill from Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, extending a temporary boost in family leave benefits.

California approved a benefit hike in 2018, increasing funding from 55% of wages to between 60% and 70%, based on applicants’ income levels. That boost will expire next year if the governor does not sign Senate Bill 951.

The measure would also increase benefits to 70 to 90% of wages starting in 2025.

On Thursday night, the governor vetoed a bill from Assemblyman Chris Holden, D-Pasadena, that would have limited solitary confinement to 15 days in prisons, jails and private immigration detention facilities. Assembly Bill 2632, also known as the California Mandela Act, would have prohibited solitary confinement entirely for prisoners younger than 25 and older than 65, pregnant people and inmates with certain disabilities.

In his veto message, Newsom called the measure “overly broad” and said it would “categorically prohibit the placement of large portions of the incarcerated population in segregated housing — even if such a placement is to protect the safety of all incarcerated individuals in the institution.”

On the same night, Newsom signed a bill from Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, that would protect transgender children seeking gender-affirming care in California.

Among the bills still awaiting the governor’s signature is from Assemblyman Evan Low, D-Campbell, which would penalize doctors for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

Here is a list of the key bills Newsom has signed or vetoed this month.

Abortion

  • Vetoed: Creation of a five-county pilot program to improve reproductive healthcare at primary care clinics, especially for patients from marginalized groups.

  • Signed: A bill that bars criminal or civil liability in the event of a pregnancy loss.

  • Signed: Measures that prohibit health care providers and law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state criminal or civil cases against abortion patients or providers.

Animals

Environment

Criminal justice

Housing/homelessness

Labor

Equity