Tracking Newsom’s record on pro-LGBTQ+ laws signed and vetoed this session

As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s national profile rises and as he considers a presidential campaign, some LGBTQ+ advocates have questioned the governor’s commitment to queer and transgender constituents.

That’s given statements about transgender people on his podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, and a conversation with the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in which Newsom called it “deeply unfair” to allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports.

But Evan Low, former assemblymember and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, a political PAC promoting LGBTQ+ progressives, says Newsom is still a staunch ally of the community, one who helped secure marriage equality in the state as well as civil rights protections for adoption, hospital visitation and the workplace.

“He has that track record and that history and that should not be lost on members of the community,” Low said. “All of these things happened because we were able to build bridges [and] build coalitions versus that of an overly simplistic polarization of infighting.”

So, what was Newsom’s record in this latest legislative update?

What legislation did Newsom sign supporting LGBTQ+ Californians?

1. AB 82: This law expands current privacy protections for reproductive health care providers and patients to also include gender-affirming health care providers and patients. California won’t assist other states in investigating patients or doctors for providing reproductive health care like abortion or gender‑affirming care.
2. AB 678: This new law makes a change to a group that recommends solutions to homelessness to the state government. The Interagency Council on Homelessness now must coordinate with representatives from LGBTQ+ communities to better serve queer people experiencing homelessness.
3. AB 727 An existing law, which went into effect this summer, requires schools to print the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on student ID cards for grades 7 and up. This law will expand that rule to include the phone number and text line for the LGBTQ+ suicide-prevention hotline from the Trevor Project.
4. AB 822 This new law extends the Commission on the State of Hate for an additional four years. It is intended to help state agencies, law enforcement and the public stay informed about hate crime trends.
5. AB 1084 The law makes the process of changing legal documents (name, gender or sex identifier) faster and less burdensome, especially for adults. For minors who want to change their name or gender marker on their birth certificate or ID, as long as all living parents sign forms, there doesn’t need to be a hearing to approve it.
6. AB 1487 The bill renames a fund that offers grants for programs aimed at improving health care access for gender nonconforming people. It also broadens its scope to serve younger people and immigrants.
7. SB 59 This means that when someone files a legal petition to change their name or their gender marker on an official document in California, the court records are kept confidential. Previously, those protections applied only to minors, but this law immediately extends them, with the goal of minimizing the risk that court records could be used to out someone.
8. SB 278 The bill allows health care providers to share some anonymized HIV test results without written consent. The administrators of Medi-Cal plans say they need the data in order to identify gaps in care. Patients can opt out.
9. SB 450 The law protects adoption rights for LGBTQ+ parents. It means LGBTQ+ adoptive parents who leave California for a state with less inclusive adoption laws won’t lose their parental rights to children born in California.
10. SB 497 The law bans health care providers from disclosing medical records related to gender‑affirming care services in response to civil or criminal actions under other states’ laws.
11. SB 504 aims to improve how quickly HIV cases are tracked and treated in California by allowing health care providers to share identifying information about a person with HIV with local public health agencies — when necessary — to connect the person with care. It still limits who can access this information and specifies when sharing the information is actually necessary.
12. SB 590 expands existing laws around paid family leave to include chosen family members. That means LGBTQ+ people can designate a non-blood-related person to be considered a family member so they can receive benefits while caring for that person.

What bills did Newsom veto?

Newsom vetoed two notable health care access bills, including one — SB 418 — which would have offered an additional safeguard for people who receive hormone therapy to access treatments without disruption, amid federal attacks on gender affirming care.

“At a time when transgender people are being singled out for targeted discrimination, removal of their health care, and denial of their existence, it is heartbreaking that this bill was vetoed,” said state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando, who wrote the bill, in a statement. “SB 418 was the most tangible and effective legislative tool introduced this year to help [Transgender Gender Diverse, and Intersex] folks weather this political storm.”

In Newsom’s veto statement, he said he supported the intent of protecting access to treatment, but thought the bill risked raising already high health insurance premiums. Craig Pulsipher, legislative director for Equality California, a co-sponsor of both vetoed bills, pushed back against the governor’s answer.

“The data and analysis on this bill show that the impact on health insurance premiums would be negligible,” Pulsipher said.

“The governor’s decision leaves trans Californians and many others who rely on hormone therapy vulnerable to treatment disruptions at a time when they are facing really extreme attacks from the federal government.”

Newsom rejected AB 554 for a similar reason. It would have required most private health plans in California to cover antiretroviral drugs, devices, or products like PrEP without delays in access caused by plans requiring prior authorization, step therapy, or cost‑sharing.

Medi-Cal managed care plans would have been exempt, but in his veto message, Newsom raised concerns about increased costs to health plans under cost-sharing provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

“We have seen many attacks from the Trump administration, including from the U.S. Health Secretary RFK Jr., threatening to fire members of a federal body that makes recommendations around preventive healthcare,” Pulsipher said. “We are extremely concerned about the impact of those actions in California on access to PrEP, which is a really important medication to prevent HIV.”

Pulsipher said he plans to address the governor’s concerns and reintroduce both bills next legislative session.