Today marks Governor Newsom’s final deadline to sign or veto bills, and we have a mix of good and bad news to share regarding the legislation we’ve been advocating for — and against — throughout the year. With your unwavering support, including countless phone calls, letters, and visits to the Capitol, we’ve made significant strides in this battle. Here’s an update on the bills we’ve been closely monitoring.
Good News
Good Bills Newsom Signed:
- SB 1414: Makes it a felony to buy children for sex
Currently, soliciting a minor for sex is only a misdemeanor. The new law lets a judge decide if soliciting is a felony or a misdemeanor for the first conviction and makes it a felony for subsequent convictions. For 16-17-year-old victims, the prosecutor also has to prove the minors were victims of human trafficking. Read CFC stories.
- SB 268: Makes rape of an intoxicated person a “violent” felony:
Currently, rape is not considered a “violent” felony if the victim was raped after being intoxicated by the assailant. This law makes the rape of an intoxicated person a “violent” felony if the rapist caused the intoxication by administering a controlled substance in order to sexually assault the victim.
Bad Bills Newsom Vetoed:
- AB 2442: Vetoed: Expedites licenses for doctors who sterilize kids with trans- treatments
This bill would have required medical licensing boards to expedite the licensure process for applicants willing to use sterilizing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and mutilating surgeries to “treat” gender-confused individuals. This also includes those medical professionals who provide mental health care that “respects the gender identity of the patient, as experienced and defined by the patient.” Read CFC Story. Read veto message. - SB 954: Vetoed: Mandates public schools distribute free condoms to 7-12 graders
The bill would have required all public schools in grades 9-12 to provide condoms free of charge and post a notice about the requirement. It would also require each public school to allow condoms to be distributed to 7-12 grade students in health classes. It would encourage schools to involve non-profits like Planned Parenthood to provide condoms and prohibit schools from prohibiting free condom distribution. Lastly, the bill mandates that retail stores may not refuse to sell condoms to minors. Read CFC story. Read veto message.
- AB 2490: Vetoed: Turning emergency rooms into abortion clinics
By establishing a grant program for training and equipment, this bill would have expanded the number of emergency rooms that do abortions across California. Read veto message.
Bad News
Bad Bills Newsom Signed:
- SB 729: IVF for opposite-sex and same-sex couples; single people too.
The law will blow holes in the biblical model of the family and make everyone’s insurance rates go up. The author of this law believes it isn’t fair that only opposite-sex unions can produce children. SB 729 seeks to fix this injustice by mandating that all private health insurance plans cover infertility treatments, such as ethically problematic IVF, for opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Single women and men will also be declared infertile, giving them access to the same IVF technology. Read CFC story here. - AB 1825: Limits the ability of public libraries to protect kids from sexually explicit material
This new law will prevent local oversight committees from overriding librarians’ judgment on the placement of books with sexual content. So if parents or a local oversight committee has concerns about displays or the placement of books in the children’s section of their local library, there will not be much they can do about it. The bill does not apply to school libraries, nor does it prevent the removal of books that are constitutionally defined as obscenity. Read CFC story here.
- AB 2319: Transgender indoctrination for maternal healthcare workers
This new law mandates implicit bias training for healthcare personnel in hospitals that provide maternal care. The training would include “recognition of intersecting identities, including, but not limited to, nonbinary persons and persons of transgender experience, and the multiple layers of potential biases that could come into play.” This bias would include thinking only women can give birth and requiring pregnant women to be referred to as birthing people. In practice, AB 2319 would marginalize medical professionals with biblical views about biology and reproduction.
- AB 2085: Strips city councils of their right to reject abortion clinics
This new law will force cities to approve abortion clinics as a legal right, removing their ability to decide otherwise. Currently, cities and counties have the authority to permit or reject businesses like casinos, tobacco stores, and adult entertainment venues within their jurisdictions. This law will prevent local governments from saying no to abortion clinics if they met pre-established development requirements. AB 2085 will also exempt abortion clinics from the CEQA environmental requirements that other businesses must follow. Read CFC Stories here.
- SB 957 Data reporting on sexual orientation and gender identity
This new law mandates the California Department of Health collect and report demographic data on sexual orientation and gender identity from third parties and on any forms or electronic data systems.
- AB 1810: Guarantees birth control and menstrual products for female inmates
CFC supports providing female inmates with menstrual products but questions this law’s requirement that “all birth control methods and emergency contraception approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall be made available to incarcerated persons who are capable of becoming pregnant.” Notice the new non-gendered wording they are using to describe female inmates. Birth control is only needed in women’s prisons because the state is letting incarcerated men, who identify as women, be housed with female prisoners.
