Governor Survives Recall Effort, Begins Acting on Legislative Measures

On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom handily defeated the effort to recall him from his gubernatorial post with over 60 percent of voters voting to reject the attempt to remove him from office. With his post retained, Governor Newsom shifted his focus to the state’s business, including acting on measures sent to his desk by the California Legislature.

Recall, the Legislature last Friday adjourned its first year of the 2021-22 Legislative Session. CHEAC, upon the adjournment of session, issued an End of Session Memo highlighting actions of interest to CHEAC Members and local health departments. As a reminder, measures sent to the Governor on or after the last day of the legislative session (September 10) must be acted upon by the Governor within 30 days; measures without affirmative action taken (signed into law or vetoed) automatically become law. A final bill chart will be issued following the October deadline for the Governor to act on measures.

Among measures signed into law by Governor Newsom this week were a set of housing and residential development bills. The measures, SB 8 (Skinner), SB 9 (Atkins), and SB 10 (Wiener), all seek to address aspects of the state’s challenging housing landscape. SB 8 extends provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 through 2030. SB 9 facilitates the process for homeowners to build a duplex or split their current single-family lot to expand housing options for residents of all income levels. SB 10 creates a voluntary process for local governments to access a streamlined zoning process for new multiunit housing near transit or urban infill areas.

Additional information on the Governor’s housing-related actions is available here. A listing of other measures signed into law this week is available here.