October 10th 2023.
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill that would have offered free condoms to high school students. According to the Associated Press, the Democratic governor argued the bill was too expensive for the state, with its budget deficit currently over $30 billion.
The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 541, would have made it mandatory for public schools to provide free condoms to students in grades nine through twelve, and would have allowed access to condoms for grades seven through twelve as part of an educational or public health program. It would also have made it illegal to refuse condom sales to youth.
Despite recognizing the benefits of the bill, Newsom said the state needed to be more disciplined in its spending. He noted that the bill would add nearly $20 billion to the state budget, and that it should be taken into consideration during the annual budget process. According to the California Department of Education, the bill was expected to cost the state low millions each year with more than 1.9 million high school students enrolled in 4,000 schools in 2022.
Newsom has vetoed a number of bills in the recent past, including Senate Bills 58 and 90. Bill 58 would have decriminalized the possession and use of certain hallucinogens, while Bill 90 was designed to limit the price of insulin. However, one law did receive his approval – a measure that would eliminate the use of fossil fuels by 2035. The bill requires any new bus purchased or contracted by school districts to be zero-emission.
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