This year, Governor Gavin Newsom affirmed access to abortion, calling California “a proud reproductive freedom state” and criticizing Republicans across the country for trying to take away the rights of families.
He signed legislation requiring insurers to cover in vitro fertilization. He supported limiting student cell phone use in schools and signed a landmark ban on food coloring in school snacks and drinks. And he supported a bill that would allow companies to operate Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes.
Still, in a heated election cycle that has seen Vice President Kamala Harris, a Californian, on the presidential ticket, the Democratic governor has been noticeably reluctant to impose additional industry regulations.
Newsom vetoed several health and safety bills, often citing cost considerations. But many of these proposals threatened to perpetuate the Californian stereotypes espoused by presidential candidate Donald Trump and other Republicans. The governor rejected warning labels for gas heaters, as well as speed warnings for new cars, and even received lukewarm praise on social media from GOP Assembly Leader James Gallagher, who credited Newsom for vetoing “some pretty bad/stupid bills.”
Most of the laws Newsom has approved will go into effect on January 1, 2025, while some have a longer phase-in period. Here are the governor’s actions on major health bills:
Healthcare
Group health plans and disability insurance must cover infertility and fertility services under SB 729, including for LGBTQ+ people, generally starting in mid-2025. The California Association of Health Plans warns of higher premiums as a result.
Local health officials can inspect private detention centers, including six immigration detention centers, under SB 1132.
And the governor signed AB 869, which would allow small, rural or “distressed” hospitals to get an extension of up to three years on the 2030 statutory deadline for earthquake renovations. But he vetoed SB 1432, which would have allowed all hospitals to request a deadline extension of up to five years.
Newsom also vetoed SB 966, which would have regulated the middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers and banned certain business practices that critics say raise costs and limit consumers’ choices. He also rejected AB 2467, which would have mandated health care coverage for menopause, and AB 3129, which would have required attorney general approval for transactions involving health care providers and private equity firms. And he vetoed AB 2104 and SB 895, which would have allowed some community college districts to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing.
Medical debt
Credit reporting agencies will be prohibited from including medical debt on consumers’ credit reports under SB 1061, but last-minute changes have weakened the protections. Earlier this year, the Biden administration proposed federal rules that would ban unpaid medical bills from affecting patients’ credit scores.
Medical
Medi-Cal, which provides health care to about 15 million low-income people, will cover hospital emergency room treatment of psychiatric emergencies under AB 1316.
But Newsom rejected AB 1975, which would have made medically assisted nutrition a Medi-Cal benefit, and AB 2339, which would have expanded Medi-Cal coverage of telehealth.
Mental health
Newsom signed more than a dozen bills aimed at boosting behavioral health care, including through California’s new court-ordered treatment program.
But citing costs, Newsom rejected an annual scholarship fund for students pursuing mental health professions if they worked in that new treatment program for three years. Critics believe SB 26 should have expanded the grant to all behavioral health programs in the county.
Abortion
California will increase penalties for obstructing or impeding access to reproductive health care, and for posting personal information or photos of a patient or health care provider. These are currently crimes; AB 2099 would criminalize them as felonies or misdemeanors.
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California also supported AB 2085, which eased the approval of new health centers, and SB 1131, supporting the California Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment) program for people with household incomes under 200 % of federal poverty level.
Aging
Newsom approved a dozen bills related to the aging population, including measures that would require more training for law enforcement officers (AB 2541) and health care professionals (SB 639) in helping people with dementia. AB 1902 requires increased access to prescription labels for those who have difficulty seeing or who need translated instructions. And he signed another package of bills aimed more broadly at helping people with disabilities.
Prevention of violence
Sexual assault or battery against a doctor, physician, nurse, or other health care worker within an ER can carry up to a year in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both under AB 977. That makes it the same maximum penalty as for assaulting a medical worker in the field. California law previously established a lesser penalty for assault within an emergency room.
The state is taking more steps to deter gun violence with 20 new laws. Among them, SB 53 increases requirements for the safe storage of firearms, following a push from the White House. AB 2621 will increase training for law enforcement and revise policies on the use of restraining orders for gun violence, while AB 2917 expands when courts can impose restraining orders for gun violence.
And hospitals will eventually be required to screen patients, family members and visitors for weapons at entrances under AB 2975.
Substance use
AB 1976 will require workplace first aid kits to contain naloxone or other medications that can reverse opioid overdoses, while protecting those administering the naloxone from civil liability.
Under AB 1775, local jurisdictions will allow retailers to sell non-cannabis food and beverages and host live music and other performances in areas where cannabis consumption is permitted. Assemblymember Matt Haney, a Democrat from San Francisco, said his intention is to allow Dutch-style cannabis coffeehouses. Newsom approved the measure despite his veto of Haney’s similar bill last year, amid concerns from critics that the measure would undermine California’s leading efforts to ban indoor smoking.
And AB 3218 furthers enforcement of California’s flavored tobacco ban, which passed in 2020.
Youth welfare
California is the first state to blanketly ban public schools from providing food containing red food coloring 40 or any of five other synthetic food dyes used in products like Froot Loops and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. AB 2316 follows legislation from Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, which banned a chemical in Skittles candy last year.
A bill to increase transparency through the use of restraint and seclusion rooms in state-approved short-term residential therapeutic programs became law with the high-profile help of the famed Paris Hilton. She supported SB 1043, which also requires the Department of Human Services to post the information on a public dashboard.
And school districts’ sex education curricula must include menstrual health under AB 2229.
But Newsom vetoed AB 2442, which would have expedited licensing of gender-affirming care providers, and SB 954, which would have provided free condoms in high schools.
Women’s health
The sale of menstrual products with intentionally added PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” would be banned under AB 2515. PFAS, short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to serious health problems.
AB 2319 was passed in an effort to improve enforcement of a 2019 law aimed at reducing disproportionate maternal deaths among Black women and other pregnant women of color.
AB 2527 aims to improve the treatment of pregnant women in prison. Critics liked the original version, which banned solitary confinement, and were angry when it was changed to allow up to five days of confinement if prison officials determine a security risk.
AB 518 is aimed at increasing participation in the CalFresh nutrition program, part of a healthy food package.
And under SB 1300, the public will receive more notice when hospitals plan to close their maternity units. The measure increases the notice period to 120 days, compared to the current 90 days.
But Newsom rejected AB 1895, which would have required six months’ notice to state agencies of potential maternity unit closures. The agencies would then be required to conduct a community impact assessment.
Social media
SB 1504 expands California’s Cyberbullying Protection Act, regulating social media platforms to apply to minors rather than students. Social media platforms that intentionally violate the law could face civil fines of up to $10,000, along with compensatory and punitive damages. These damages can be claimed by a parent, a legal guardian or various public prosecutors. Under current law, damages are limited to $7,500 and can only be prosecuted by the Attorney General.
SB 976 limits “addictive feeds” to minors, including banning social media notifications to minors during school hours.
And AB 3216 will limit the use of smartphones in schools.
This article was produced by KFF Health News, publisher of California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
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