Newsom Vetoes Speeding Alerts In Cars, AI Bills, Menopause Coverage

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed dozens of bills over the past several weeks as he worked his way through hundreds of proposals he had to decide on by Monday.

Among the legislation he nixed were bills that would have required new cars to beep at drivers for speeding, provided insurance coverage for menopause treatment, protected farmworkers from extreme heat and expanded access to food stamps.

Possibly the most contentious was Newsom's decision to sign off on a smattering of bills regulating some artificial intelligence models but block what would have been the nation's biggest regulatory law on the booming technology.

The Democratic governor gave reasons ranging from a lack of funding to requests for further development for not signing dozens of proposals.

Here are a five bills the governor just nixed:

1. Alerts In Speeding Cars

Newsom vetoed SB 961 on Saturday, a bill that would have required all new cars to beep at drivers traveling over the speed limit.

It would have mandated all cars, trucks and busses with the 2030 model year be equipped with a speed assistance system to alert drivers when they go over the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.

In his veto message, Newsom said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration already regulates vehicle safety standards and adding California-specific requirements would undermine a federal effort.

The national agency is also still evaluating "intelligent speed assistance systems," he said.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco), said it was a setback for progress on traffic safety.

2. Health Care Coverage For Perimenopause And Menopause

SB 2467 would have forced insurance companies to cover the costs of evaluations and treatment options for those experiencing perimenopause and menopause. Insurers would have had to include at least one option for treatment and be required to provide clinical care recommendations for hormone therapy to contracted primary care providers annually.

Newsom called the bill "too far-reaching" and a law that could raise costs for patients. He encouraged the Legislature to work on a tailored solution.

3. AI Regulation

While Newsom signed a pile of bills targeting artificial intelligence, including one that criminalized deepfake revenge pornography, he vetoed the farthest-reaching bills. The governor walks a delicate line between supporting California's booming tech industry and establishing guardrails around AI to protect jobs and the public from harm.

SB 1047 would have required large AI developers to enact protocols to prevent their models from causing harm either by accident or misuse. The bill would have required a "kill switch" — a way of immediately shutting the model down if it went rogue. But Newsom argued it would've handed the public a false sense of security about controlling a fast-moving industry.

Meanwhile, SB 1220 would have prohibited state and local agencies from using public benefit-related call center services that use AI or tech that would "eliminate or automate the core job function of a worker."

In his veto message of SB 1220, Newsom said the state will soon issue criteria to evaluate how AI is impacting the workforce.

4. Expand Eligibility For CalWORKS And CalFresh

AB 274 would have exempted any grant, award, scholarship, loan or fellowship benefit received from consideration as income to determine eligibility to the state's family welfare program, CalWORKS and the state's food stamp program, CalFresh.

While Newsom said he appreciated the intent to support low-income Californians, he noted that the bill is out of compliance with federal laws because it doesn't specify limits on benefits identified to those used for education purposes.

He also said it would cost millions of dollars annually to sustain.

5. Crack Down On Hedge Fund Health Care Deals

AB 3129 would have given the state Attorney General the power to sign off private equity transactions of a healthcare facility or provide.

PE groups or hedge funds would have had to obtain the written consent from the Attorney General at least 90 days before the acquisition of a healthcare facility or provider. The proposal sought to limit consolidation and mergers of health care in the state.

Newsom argued that the state's Office of Health Care Affordability was established two years ago to assess such transactions and oversee market consolidation. Although OHCA cannot block a merger or acquisition, Newsom said the work is still best left to the agency.