By Katie Ngo
After the California State Legislature ended its regular session on August 31, the approved bills made their way through the State Senate and Assembly to the governor’s office, where the hundreds of bills will either be vetoed or signed into law by September 30. Here are some of the notable bills signed into law this year by Governor Gavin Newsom.
This bill authored by Assemblymember Philip Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, focuses on stopping legacy admissions for private colleges. This bars colleges such as Stanford and USC from factoring a student’s ties to donors or alumni into college admissions. It will come into effect on September 1, 2025.
The governor sided with social justice and education groups who believe that college admissions should be based on merit, stating that it would allow for greater equality among students, especially after the end of affirmative action. The Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities disagrees with Newsom’s choice, with concerns about legislators scrutinizing college admissions for private colleges, which only receive state financial aid for their low-income students.
Authored by Torrance Democratic Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, this bill places restrictions on book bans in public libraries. It requires all California public libraries to have a clear policy for their choice in banning books and to allow the public to voice their objections to a book ban. It also prohibits book bans due to race or sexuality, including sexual content. While librarians may choose whether or not to display a book, they cannot stop a minor from checking out a book with sexual content. The bill will come into effect on January 1, 2026.
In signing the bill, Newsom sided with groups such as the California Library Association, ACLU California Action and Equality California who wish to protect the diverse perspectives in public libraries, as threats of censorship and suppression continue to grow in the state. The California Family Council, a lobbyist for conservative Christian perspectives, argues that it makes it more difficult to ensure that inappropriate reading materials are kept out of reach from children.
Written with bipartisan authors, including Republican Josh Hoover, Democrat David Alvarez, Democrat Josh Lowenthal and Democrat Al Muratsuchi, this bill aims to regulate smartphone usage at schools. It requires schools and school districts to create and implement policies limiting or prohibiting student use of smartphones while they are at or under the supervision of the school. While it forces the state to reimburse any costs due to this act, it states that schools must implement this change by July 2026 and must update their policy every five years. Some school districts such as the Los Angeles Unified School District have already taken steps to regulate smartphones.
Among the supporters of this law include the California Teachers Association, who have stated that phone usage in classrooms causes distractions and harm for students, with correlation of poorer grades and cell phone use in classrooms. The California School Boards Association argues that it limits the decision-making authority of the schools and school districts forcing them to implement a policy even if it might ont be needed.
Sponsored by San Jose Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra, this bill gives tenants more time to respond to eviction notices. It doubles the previous time frame of five business days to ten. If the tenant does not respond within this window, they automatically lose the case.
Newsom signed this bill along with a few other consumer protections, with major supporters including affordable housing advocates, representatives for low-income tenants and the California Democratic Party. They argue that five days is not enough time to respond to an eviction notice, especially as tenants lose 40% or more eviction cases due to a late response or incorrect application filing. However, landlords say that the extra time results in extra cost, with months between an eviction notice and the reclaiming of property, which can lead to higher rents.
Authored by Senator Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, this bill makes it easier for homeowners to divide their property into multiple units, addressing a bill from 2021 along the same vein. It requires local governments to quickly approve any homes wanting to dive into different units and prohibits providing extra requirements for houses becoming duplexes.
Builders, landlords and “Yes in my backyard” advocates support this bill, which helps end single-family zoning and aids in solving the housing crisis. While the 2021 bill caused an uproar among anti-density advocates, this one has seen opposition from more local governments, who say that it reduces local authority while making everything more difficult for city planners.
These bills show only a fraction of the ones that Governor Newsom signed into law this September. To learn more about the various bills passed or vetoed, go to the California government’s newsroom.
