(CALMATTERS NETWORK) – With the legislative session ending on Sept. 10, state lawmakers have less than two weeks to decide the fate of 740 bills — but they lightened their load on Monday by sending two controversial housing bills to Newsom’s desk. The governor has until Oct. 10 — about a month after the recall election — to decide whether to sign or veto them:
- A bill that would eliminate single-family zoning in California by allowing up to four units on single-family lots statewide — and which a group is already trying to overturn via a proposed constitutional amendment for the November 2022 ballot. In the newest episode of the “Gimme Shelter” podcast, CalMatters’ Manuela Tobias and the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon talk with Democratic Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de Leon about why the bill has caused so much furor.
- A bill that would allow up to 10 housing units on single-family lots in transit-rich urban cores — as long as local governments approve.
Another contentious bill still wending its way through the Legislature: one that would give farmworkers more ways to vote in union elections. Business groups say the proposal is a job killer and would leave farmworkers vulnerable to pressure from union organizers, while supporters say it would limit employers’ ability to deter workers from forming unions, CalMatters’ Grace Gedye reports.
But at least one explosive proposal won’t be making its way to Newsom: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, said Monday that she is no longer advancing a plan to mandate vaccines for many indoor venues and force employers to require worker vaccinations or regular COVID testing.