California Mandates Coverage For IVF
In a bill signed Sunday, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom also expanded health care coverage to LGBTQ+ families, saying “California is a proud reproductive freedom state — and that includes increasing access to fertility services that help those who want to start a family."
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Signs Bill Requiring Health Insurance Companies To Cover IVF
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Sunday that requires large health insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization — a win for reproductive health advocates amid nationwide concerns about the future of access to fertility treatments. The bill also expands healthcare benefits to LGBTQ+ families seeking to have children, changing the definition of infertility for insurance purposes to include “a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention.” (Mays, 9/29)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom Signs Bill Pushing For Narcan In Workplace First Aid Kits
Workplaces in California could eventually be required to stock their first aid kits with naloxone or another medication that can stop an opioid overdose under a bill signed this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom. ... Assembly Bill 1976 requires California regulators to craft rules requiring first aid kits in workplaces to contain naloxone or any similar medication approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Such a proposal would have to go before a state board for possible adoption by Dec. 1, 2028. (Alpert Reyes, 9/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Boy Who Died In Blisteringly Hot P.E. Class Inspires New Law To Protect Students During Extreme Weather
When 12-year-old Yahushua Robinson died while running during a P.E. class in triple-digit temperatures, his mother could not help but feel like the tragedy was preventable. Now, a little more than a year later, Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill aimed at ensuring all California students are better protected during heatwaves. (Harter, 9/28)
Bloomberg:
California Governor Rejects Health Warnings On Gas Stoves
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday vetoed a bill that would have required gas stoves sold in the state to come with warning labels about their air pollution emissions and health risks. Similar bills also failed to gain traction this year in Illinois and New York. Gas stoves are particularly popular in California. While about 38% of households nationwide use natural gas for cooking, some 70% of households in California do, according to a 2020 survey conducted by the US Energy Information Administration. (Hirji, 9/28)
On artificial intelligence —
AP:
California Governor Signs Bills To Protect Children From AI Deepfake Nudes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pair of proposals Sunday aiming to help shield minors from the increasingly prevalent misuse of artificial intelligence tools to generate harmful sexual imagery of children. The measures are part of California’s concerted efforts to ramp up regulations around the marquee industry that is increasingly affecting the daily lives of Americans but has had little to no oversight in the United States. (Nguyen, 9/29)
AP:
California Gov. Newsom Vetoes Landmark AI Safety Bill
California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday. The decision is a major blow to efforts attempting to rein in the homegrown industry that is rapidly evolving with little oversight. The bill would have established some of the first regulations on large-scale AI models in the nation and paved the way for AI safety regulations across the country, supporters said. (Nguyen, 9/29)
More news from California —
Politico:
California 2026 Governor Hopefuls Come Out Strong For Single-Payer Health Care
Four California governor hopefuls made big promises on single-payer health care but skimped on details Sunday during a candidate forum at a health workers’ union conference in San Francisco. The candidates — state Sen. Toni Atkins, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond and former state Controller Betty Yee — all said they supported establishing a single-payer health care system in California, renewing aspiration for a lofty goal progressives have tried but failed to accomplish on state and national stages. (Katzenberger, 9/29)
KFF Health News:
California Voters Consider Tough Love For Repeat Drug Offenders
California voters are considering whether to roll back some of the criminal justice reforms enacted a decade ago as concerns about mass incarceration give way to public anger over property crime and a fentanyl crisis that has plagued the state since the covid-19 pandemic hit. Proposition 36, on the November ballot, would unwind portions of a 2014 initiative, known as Proposition 47, that reduced most shoplifting and drug possession offenses to misdemeanors that rarely carried jail time. (Thompson, 9/30)
