California Governor Gavin Newsom created and exacerbated California’s affordability problems by his support of the Biden-Harris administration’s open borders policy that added millions of migrants to California while shutting down private industry, including builders, during COVID, and shutting refineries.
Imagine how “Anti-Affordability” (to coin a phrase) the bills passed by the California legislatures were for that same Governor Newsom to veto them.
The irony increases when considering that the primary theme of the Governor’s Democrat Party, besides of course the obligatory “hate Trump,” is “affordability,” while stacking the ballot with multiple thinly hidden Propositions trying to convince voters to voluntarily send more money to Sacramento.
Anti-Affordability
Governor Newsom, perhaps influenced by his ambitions after being term limited out of the governorship, showed he opposed his party’s “Anti-Affordability” approach by vetoing several bills that were passed by the California legislatures dominated by his Democrat Party.
The California State Senate has 29 Democrats, including Santa Barbarian Monique Limon as President pro Tempore, only 10 Republicans, and one vacancy.
The California State Assembly has 60 Democrats, including Santa Barbarian Gregg Hart, an only 19 Republicans, and one vacancy.
Newsom’s Vetoes
The Governor’s vetoed attempts by the current legislators to reverse some of Governor Jerry Brown’s reforms, known as PEPRA, that maintained benefits for current government workers and retirees but reduced them for future hires and made employees shoulder a larger share of the financial burden.
In the early 1990’s I was involved in negotiating the same type of structure that saved my company a great deal of money while protecting the benefits current employees had negotiated.
AB 1383
California legislators passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1383, which was sponsored by a raft of public employee unions, to:
—Lower the minimum retirement age for state and local public safety employees (police officers and firefighters) enrolled in CalPERS from 57 to 55.
—Increase Pension Formulas by allowing public safety unions to bargain locally for higher pension benefit formulas (such as increasing maximum accrual/multiplier rates, e.g., up to 3% at 55).
—Compensation Cap Adjustments in order to modify limits on pensionable compensation caps for workers not enrolled in Social Security.
The bill won nearly unanimous approval in the Legislature, but Newsom rejected it, saying it would cost too much.
The Governor added “I still recall — before PEPRA’s passage in 2012 — the alarming forecasts, the fierce criticism of public employees, and the growing pressure to eliminate defined benefit plans all together.”
“This is an era of California history I do not wish to repeat.”
AB 1729
AB 1729, another union-backed bill aimed at making it easier for state employees to work from home, was also vetoed by Governor Newsom.
After all, why should public employees have to pay for the increased price of commuting that their actions caused?
Although Newsom had sanctioned remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has since cracked down, ordering state employees to work in their offices at least four days a week, with some exceptions.
AB 1729 provided that state agencies would need to provide a detailed, written explanation if they required employees to work in the office instead of teleworking.
Requiring a manager to write a “detailed” explanation for every employee on why they have to be in the office rather than requiring the employee to write an explanation why they should not, reminds me of the saying among employment lawyers “He who has the burden of proof loses.” You see, no matter how well you write the explanation there is a judge out there who will issue an injunction against you.
Senate Bill 954
Senate Bill 954 would have reinstated some of the California Environmental Quality Act regulations that the Governor and the Legislature had streamlined last year after rejecting environmentalists’ contentions that the 2025 overhaul went too far.
954 had many provisions, including restricting the “advanced manufacturing” exemption to final-tier operations (such as assembly or testing) rather than raw material processing, while implementing public health, environmental, labor, and tribal protection standards, that could prevent building projects.
In his veto message Governor Newsom called the 2025 action “a long-overdue overhaul to get California building again,” adding, “If implementation reveals problems, they should be addressed through targeted, evidence-based changes — not by pre-emptively rolling back our progress.”
Conclusion
Even Governor Newsom voted against the “Anti-Affordability” group.
Your turn to vote will be in October to November 3.
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Yet another example of why California is on the path to bankruptcy. It should be obvious by now who is running the state off the proverbial cliff. Public sector unions, specifically the SEIU, and their operatives who have consistently driven up costs of government that we the taxpayers, (home owners) must bear. Pension “spiking,” lowering pensions age, increasing wages and benefits all while our elected officials work both sides of the negotiating table. This, while simultaneously receiving political campaign donations from the Democratic machinery. Need more cash? No problem, simply float another Bond initiative and the SUCKER masses will fall for it!
Our only hope is to de-certify public unions, institute traditional 401k cafeteria style benefits and elect a conservative majority. Both of which will NEVER happen.
So there you go. NO relief for taxpayers, more fraud and grift, less services and higher operating costs. Why? Because the average California voter is either too stupid or too lazy to understand this relationship.
How truly pathetic, but hey at least we’ll have solar and wind power and our workplace will be more diverse.
This is a laughable moment. Read it and understand the amazing fast track the Left has to run the State into long term massive debt.
Who votes for it? Guess. Who did you put in office with a massive majority? Look in the mirror.
Newsom figures what he can get away with vetoing to make it look like he is rational.
Read the list Mr. Zepke has on this article. Then ask yourself if you own or operate a business and figure out if that business can exist long term in the not so great state of Calif.
People the well is dry. The other side has raised minimum wages, exploded public welfare, and are creating gov. owned and subsidized housing you the Taxpayer cannot afford.
The answer by these types is tax, tax, tax, because they believe there is a bottomless pit of pent up wealth stolen from the workers. So the next time you call a plumber, electrician and shake your head at the massive inflation the State has saddled upon you the property owner, figure out who voted for them. Then Look in the Mirror.
good aricle