SACRAMENTO —
When Gov. Gavin Newsom put down his veto pen Friday night, closing the book on his fifth year of making laws for California, what emerged were signs that in his second term leading the state, the liberal Democrat from San Francisco is drifting toward the political center.
He vetoed bills to decriminalize psychedelic drugs and allow Amsterdam-style cafes for smoking pot. He bucked powerful labor unions in rejecting a bill that would have allowed workers to receive unemployment benefits when they strike.
He repealed two laws that were initially championed by the left but proved ineffective — a ban on government travel to states with anti-LGBTQ policies and a law punishing doctors who spread COVID misinformation.
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And he threw his weight behind legislation to overhaul the mental health care system and increase criminal penalties for child sex trafficking that had significant support from Republicans — and put him at odds with many of his progressive allies. In signing the trafficking bill, Newsom faced criticism for enacting the first expansion in years of California’s “three strikes” law that criminal justice reform groups blame for filling prisons.
Newsom’s move toward centrism this year was more of a step than a leap, to be certain. He still signed about 85% of the roughly 1,000 bills the Democratic Legislature sent him and embraced progressive first-in-the-nation measures that will raise wages for workers in the fast-food and healthcare sectors...
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE: ELF) investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims arising from alleged false statements about the strength ...