SACRAMENTO, California — Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken action on a number of bills. He has until Oct. 14 to act on legislation lawmakers sent to his desk.
Newsom vetoed several Saturday, including one making California the first state in the nation to ban caste discrimination and another decriminalizing the possession and use of some hallucinogenic substances, including psychedelic mushrooms. He also signed several bills into law, most notably a sweeping mandate requiring large corporations to disclose a wide range of planet-warming emissions.
Here’s an overview on the other bills Newsom signed on Saturday:
FOOD INGREDIENT BAN
California on Saturday became the first state to ban four chemicals used in popular candy and other foods and beverages that have been linked to certain health problems.
Newsom signed a bill banning the chemical red dye No. 3, which is used as a food coloring for products like Peeps, the marshmallow treat most associated with Easter. The chemical has been banned from makeup for more than 30 years because it has been linked to cancer.
The law also bans brominated vegetable oil, which is used in some store-brand sodas, and potassium bromate and propyl paraben, two chemicals used in baked goods.
Newsom said in a signing statement that the additives addressed in the bill are already banned in several other countries. All four chemicals are already banned in food in the European Union.
“Signing this bill into law is a positive step forward on these four food additives until the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews and establishes national updated safety levels for these additives,” Newsom’s statement said.
Just Born Inc, the company that manufactures Peeps, has said it has been in search of other color options for its products.
The bill’s author is Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Los Angeles.
“The governor’s signature today represents a huge step forward in our efforts to protect California’s children and families from dangerous and toxic chemicals in our food supply,” Gabriel said in a statement Saturday.
The law doesn’t take effect until 2027, which Newsom said should give businesses enough time to adjust to the new rules.
UNIONIZING LEGISLATIVE STAFF
After lawmakers passed several labor initiatives amid a summer of strikes by hotel workers, actors and writers, Newsom signed a law allowing legislative staff to unionize.
Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, an Inglewood Democrat who authored the bill, said at a July Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that it’s hypocritical for lawmakers to ask staffers to write legislation expanding other workers’ union rights when those staffers can’t unionize.
“Our employees aren’t looking for special treatment,” McKinnor said. “They’re looking for the same dignity and respect given to all represented workers.”
The law allows lower-level staffers to join and form a union, but it does not apply to lawmakers, chiefs of staff or appointed officials in the Legislature.