Gavin Newsom

Policy #22: Inmate Gender Transitions: Hormones and Surgery in Custody Harmful

Signer: Signed SB 132 (Sept 26, 2020). CDCR: Newsom signs SB 132

Measured outcome: 1,127 requests to move into women's prisons since 2021; 49 approved, 234 still pending. CDCR does not track assaults by gender identity. [1] [2]

Policy #57: Free Speech Harmful

Signer: Signed AB 2655 (Sept 17, 2024) and AB 2839. CA Legislature: AB 2655 history

Measured outcome: 2 of 2 laws struck down in federal court in Aug 2025 (Kohls v. Bonta): AB 2839 failed First Amendment review, AB 2655 was preempted by Section 230. [1] [2]

Policy #66: Absentee Ballots, Harvesting & Voter Rolls Mixed

Signer: Signed SB 1174 (Sept 29, 2024), barring local voter-ID rules. CA Legislature: SB 1174 history

Measured outcome: California-specific measured outcome: needs source. The research found no audited count of harm tied to AB 1921; nationally 98.8% of returned mail ballots were counted in 2024. [1] needs source

Policy #72: California death-row commutations Helpful

Owner: Announced universal commutation of 548 death sentences to life without parole (Nov 5, 2026). Governor's announcement, Nov 5, 2026

Measured outcome: 548 death sentences slated to become life without parole; no one is released. California's last execution was Jan 17, 2006. Not final yet: 382 cases need state Supreme Court review. [1] [2]

Policy #42: San Francisco APEC Cleanup: Temporary Homeless Removal for Xi Visit Harmful

State role in security/hospitality: APEC hosting role. AP: SF cleanup for APEC. apnews.com

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom

Verdict: Bad governance signal. If SF can clean for Xi in days, the year-round squalor was a choice.

Policy #46: Do the Rich Pay Their Fair Share? Mixed

Against: Opposed Prop 40 and endorsed Prop 42 (ban on wealth taxes); says he backs a national minimum tax instead. CalMatters: Prop 40 billionaire tax appears headed for defeat (calmatters.org)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Verdict: The claim that the rich pay little federal income tax is false on standard data. The claim that the wealthiest avoid tax on most of their economic gains is true.

Policy #53: US Healthcare Mixed

For: Signed SB 770 (2023) to pursue federal waiver toward unified financing; 2018 campaign backed single-payer. CA Legislature: SB 770 (2023) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Verdict: The US system is bad value: world-leading spending, middling results, and a price problem that both parties avoid because providers fight back. The ACA was a net good on coverage and mortality.

Policy #54: Gun Control Mixed

For: Signed SB 2 (2023) and other gun-safety laws. CA Legislature: SB 2 (2023) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Verdict: Targeted access laws (licensing, waiting periods, child-access prevention, red-flag orders) are good policy on the evidence and fit the Bruen and Rahimi framework. Assault weapons bans use a lot of political capital for unproven gains.

Policy #55: Concealed Carry Mixed

Against: SB 2 (2023) restricts carry in "sensitive places"; partly enjoined in court. CA Legislature: SB 2 (2023) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA); Sen. Anthony Portantino (D)

Verdict: The right to carry is settled law, and abolishing arbitrary may-issue regimes was fair. On the evidence, though, more carrying doesn't reduce crime and probably raises it modestly.

Policy #58: Red vs Blue States Mixed

For: Championed Prop 50 (Nov 4, 2025) for temporary legislature-drawn maps to counter Texas; passed 64%. AP: California voters approve new US House map (Prop 50) (apnews.com)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Mixed: Debated state models on Fox News (Nov 30, 2023). AP: DeSantis, Newsom debate on Fox (apnews.com)

Listed in the research as: Newsom vs. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL)

Verdict: Blue-state housing and permitting policy is clearly bad. It is the strongest support for the claim and explains much of the cost-of-living gap and out-migration.

Policy #62: Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports Not graded

For (qualified): Called trans athletes in women's sports "deeply unfair" (podcast, Mar 2025); has not changed CA law. CNN: Newsom says trans athletes in women's sports "deeply unfair" (cnn.com)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Verdict: Sex-based eligibility for post-puberty competitive female sports is good policy and fits Title IX's purpose. The evidence shows retained advantage that hormone therapy does not remove.

Policy #64: Inflation vs Wages Harmful

For: Signed AB 1228 (2023), $20 fast-food minimum wage. CA Legislature: AB 1228 (2023) (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA)

Verdict: The 2021 policy mix was bad on net for inflation. The ARP was oversized for a recovering economy and the Fed moved late, so a supply shock became broad inflation.

Policy #65: Child Labor in EV Batteries Mixed

For: Champions the Advanced Clean Cars II rule (100% zero-emission new-car sales by 2035), which H.J.Res. 88 revoked. CBS SF: House votes to block California gas-car ban (cbsnews.com)

Listed in the research as: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA); CARB

Verdict: Child and forced labor in battery supply chains is a real moral failure, and US policy treated it inconsistently. It was strict where China was the target, close to silent on DRC artisanal mining, and it subsidized EVs without requiring traceable minerals.

Policy #47: Homelessness in California Harmful

Related action: Ordered state agencies to clear encampments after Grants Pass (Jul 25, 2024). Gov. Newsom: encampments order

Note: Research does not tie a specific spending decision to the governor; not counted in tally

Policy #48: Crime: No Prosecute Mixed

Related action: Opposed Prop 36, the 2024 rollback of Prop 47. LA Times: Democrats and Prop 36

Note: Research shows opposition to the rollback, not a Prop 47 endorsement; not counted