5 Bills Newsom Just Signed Target Medical Debt, Evictions, AI Porn

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom just signed a diverse suite of new bills this week to bolster protections for consumers, farmworkers, pet owners and even young influencers. Other laws target medical debt, failing sewer systems and more.

The legislature may have decided which bills got approved when they ended their session in August, but it's up to Newsom to make them law. Sept. 30 is the last day for the California governor to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature before Sept. 1 and in his possession on or after Sept. 1

The governor has hundreds of bills on his desk that he will be working his way through in the meantime.

Here's what five bills the Democratic governor just signed over the last few days will do.

1. Exclude Medical Debt From Credit Reports

SB 1061 will remove medical debt from consumers' credit reports to ensure that people are "not penalized for the high costs of necessary healthcare," according to Newsom's office. This would prohibit using medical debt that happens to be listed on a credit report as a negative factor against consumers. The bill is backed by Attorney General Rob Bonta and was authored by Sen. Limón.

"No Californian should be unable to secure housing, a loan, or even a job because they accessed necessary medical care," Limón said.

2. Lower Costs For Pet Owners

SB 1233 authorizes a veterinary school in California to develop a high-volume spay and neuter certification program to increase access to low and "no-cost" spay-neuter services. Such services typically run pet owners hundreds of dollars. Another bill, SB 1217, also signed by Newsom on Thursday will require more transparency from pet insurers, that will need to provide more clarity around coverage or premium changes based on age or geographic location of a covered pet.

"Every pet deserves a home – and every home is happier with a pet – but the rising costs of pet care and the growing number of animals in need of adoption present real challenges," Newsom said.

3. Criminalize Pornographic Deepfakes

SB 926 will outlaw the distribution of AI-generated pornography "with the intent to cause serious emotional distress to the person depicted in the image." The bill is sponsored by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office.

“This change in law was urgently needed to close a serious loophole in California revenge porn law, which meant victims had no recourse and law enforcement had no tools to combat the nonconsensual distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes,” said District Attorney George Gascón.

4. Give Tenants More Time To Respond To Eviction Notices

AB 2347 extends the time in which a property tenant has to respond to an eviction notice from 5 to 10 days. The bill was authored by Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose.

"AB 2347 will prevent default judgments that evict a tenant based on improper service of summons by requiring landlords to file proof of service with the court and providing tenants with a meaningful amount of time to respond," Kalra said. "In eviction cases, because the response period for tenants is uniquely short, proper notice of a court filing is critical."

5. Creates Trust Funds For Underage Celebrities

Newsom sat down with former child star Demi Lovato on Thursday to sign SB 764, which mandates the parents of child stars to put a percentage of their earnings into a trust account that cannot be accessed until the child is 18 years old. AB 1880 assists in that effort by ensuring that employers of child stars also place at least 15 percent of their gross earnings in trust until their 18th birthday.

"In order to build a better future for the next generation of child stars, we need to put protections in place for minors working in the digital space," Lovato said.

MORE LAWS SIGNED BY NEWSOM THIS WEEK

• Newsom Signs Law Banning Medical Debt From Credit Reports
• No More Plastic Bags At Grocery Stores Starting Jan. 1, 2026
• CA Schools Must Limit Or Ban Use Of Cell Phones Under New Law