The California legislature recently concluded its regular session at the end of August, having introduced and discussed more than 2,000 bills.
By the Sept. 30 deadline to sign or veto legislation sent his way, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed approximately 1,000 of those.
Some of those bills included ones that dealt with combatting extremism in the military and reducing dangers for bicyclists to expanding access to opioid treatment and curbing antisemitism.
Here’s a closer look at seven that made it across the finish line this year.
Combatting extremism in the military
California’s National or State Guard will no longer allow extremists — individuals who actively participate in, among other things, the “use of unlawful force, unlawful violence or other illegal means to deprive an individual of their rights” — to serve in their ranks under newly approved legislation. Once the legislation goes into effect next year, it will also require administrative discharge for extremists already serving in California’s National and State Guard.
“Just this year, the media exposed a public school teacher and member of the Arizona National Guard as a neo-Nazi,” said state Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, a retired Army colonel and author of the bill. “In life-or-death situations, members of the military must be able to trust each other implicitly without fear of discrimination or disparate treatment. And, in an emergency, all members of the public must be able to trust our National and State Guard.”
The legislation saw bipartisan support in the Assembly and Senate.
Improving bike safety
Beginning next year, the installation of new sharrows on highways with posted speed limits above 30 miles per hour will be prohibited.
A sharrow, as defined by legislation authored by Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, is the “pavement marking used to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane.”
Starting in 2026, the legislation will also prohibit the Active…
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