MJP –
A bill that would have mandated that all students in ninth through twelfth grades in California’s public high schools be provided with free condoms was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Starting with the 2025–26 academic year, SB 954 would have mandated that all campuses post condoms and instructions on how to use them in at least two places.
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Stores also would not have been able to refuse to provide nonprescription contraception to anyone based on their age alone according to the measure.
Although Newsom acknowledged the bill’s dedication to student safety and health, he vetoed it because it would have put the state under continuing financial strain “in the millions.”
Last year, Newsom vetoed a measure with like goals; in his veto statement, he stated that the consideration of bills with continuing expenses ought to be a component of the yearly budget procedure.
Although the author “championed” $5 million in this year’s budget, Newsom vetoed the measure because it would be one-time financing and would “not adequately address the fiscal concerns associated with this bill.”
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Although lawmakers have the power to override vetoes, this has not been done in state government in the past.
Along with the announcement of the veto, the governor’s office included a lengthy list of laws that he had either signed into law or rejected.