From zero-emission buses to condoms at schools: What Gavin Newsom signed or vetoed this weekend

With only a few days left to decide on hundreds of bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom took action on more than 400 proposed laws over the weekend.

He signed new measures to require businesses to disclose their carbon emissions, to ban the purchase of gas-powered school buses by 2035 and to hold social media platforms accountable for curbing the spread of child sexual abuse materials.

In the same stroke, he vetoed legislation that would have limited the price of insulin, allowed for the creation of cannabis cafes in California and provided free condoms at high schools.

Here’s a look at a few of his high-profile signings and vetoes.

Legislation signed by Gavin Newsom

Social media: Platforms will be barred from “knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation” beginning in January 2025. They are also expected to permanently block any instance of reported material from their platforms. A court will be required to award damages of between $1 million and $4 million for any act of child sexual exploitation facilitated or aided by a social media platform. A company could fend off litigation by performing biannual audits to try to detect problematic features.

Corporate emissions: The first-of-its-kind legislation will require large corporations to publicly disclose their carbon emissions and financial risks posed by climate change. Starting in 2026, companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue must disclose their emissions, including pollution estimates from their supply chain.

School buses: By 2035, all newly purchased or contracted school buses must be zero-emission. School systems may request a one-time extension of up to five years if purchasing or acquiring such buses is not feasible due to route constraints. Newsom wrote in a signing message that the legislation “demonstrates our state’s commitment to maintaining a healthy environment for our children through improved air quality.”

Food additives: California is joining dozens of countries across the world and prohibiting the use of certain chemicals in food. The measure will ban the sale, delivery of offering of any food products containing brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben or red dye No. 3.

California bills vetoed by the governor

Cannabis Cafes: Assembly Bill 374 could have brought Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes to the Golden State. The legislation would have allowed cannabis lounges to serve food or drinks and permitted customers to consumer cannabis on-site. The bill’s author, Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, likened his proposal to wine bars, where people pay a premium to drink in a social environment. In his veto message, Newsom said that he appreciated Haney’s intent but was concerned the bill would “undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections.

Condoms: Senate Bill 451 would have provided free condoms to all California teenagers who attend public high school. The governor said he agreed that condoms were “important to supporting improved adolescent sexual health” but cited fiscal restraints for rejecting the proposal. In his veto statement, he wrote that the bill would “create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process.”

Displaced workers: In a loss for labor, Newsom rejected Senate Bill 627, the Displaced Worker Transfer Rights Act. The legislation was meant to discourage corporate chain employers from using store closures in a discriminatory or retaliatory manner. It would have required businesses to notify workers 60 days in advance of closing their workplace and grant them transfer rights within the company. The governor said in his veto message that the bill would “impose significant burdens on employers” and he anticipated challenges with implementation and enforcement.

Insulin: Senate Bill 90 called for capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 for a 30-day supply and prohibiting health plans from imposing a deductible on insulin prescription drugs. Newsom said the state is already actively working to bring down the cost. Earlier this year, California secured a $50 million contract with the nonprofit drug manufacturer Civica to sell insulin through the state’s generic drug label, CalRx, at just 10% of the typical cost for cash-paying patients.