Overview of 2021 Bill Actions by Governor Newsom

The 2021 Legislative Session concluded the early evening of September 10 and October 10 was the last day for Governor Gavin Newsom to act on the hundreds of bills sent to his Desk during the final weeks of the Session. Governor Newsom concluded his work in the late afternoon on October 9. There were just over eight hundred bills that reached Governor Newsom’s Desk this year, including almost 700 bills acted upon during the final month.

This year, there were 836 bills that reached the Governor’s Desk out of 2,421 bills introduced (Senate – 828; Assembly – 1,593). So, 34.5% of the bills introduced made it to the Governor’s Desk. 32% of the bills introduced got signed into law, while 2.7% of the bills introduced got vetoed.

The following is an overview of Governor Newsom’s final stats for 2021 bill actions:

Total bills acted on: 836

Signed Bills: 770

92.1% of the bills were signed

66% of the signed bills were ABs

75% of the ABs signed were authored by Democrats

11.5% of the ABs signed were authored by Republicans

13.5% of the ABs signed were committee bills or the Independent legislator

34% of the signed bills were SBs

76% of the SBs signed were authored by Democrats

8.5% of the Bs signed were authored by Republicans

15.5% of the SBs signed were committee bills

Vetoed Bills: 66

7.9% of the bills were vetoed

68% of the vetoed bills were ABs

91% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Democrats

4% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Republicans

5% of the ABs vetoed were committee bills or the Independent legislator

32% of the vetoed bills were SBs

86% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Democrats

14% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Republicans

Summary of Governor Newsom’s Prior Bill Actions

During Governor Newsom’s second year in office, when 9 weeks of Session were lost and the total number of introduced bills to be considered were reduced by 76%, just over 425 bills were sent to him, and he vetoed 13% of them.

In terms of the bills that Governor Newsom signed in 2020, 68.5% of the signed bills were Assembly Bills and, of those 255 ABs, 79.6% were authored by Democrats and 5.5% were authored by Republicans (the remaining ones were committee bills). 31.5% of the signed bills were Senate Bills and, of those 117 SBs, 69% were authored by Democrats and 12% were authored by Republicans (the remaining ones were committee bills).

In terms of the bills that Governor Newsom vetoed in 2020, 64% of the vetoed bills were Assembly Bills and, of those 36 ABs, 89% were authored by Democrats and 11% were authored by Republicans. 36% of the vetoed bills were Senate Bills and, of those 20 SBs, 95% were authored by Democrats and 5% were authored by Republicans.

In Governor Newsom’s first year in office, he signed 1,016 bills (83.5% of the bills sent to him) and vetoed 201 bills (16.5% of the bills sent to him). That year, 65% of the signed bills were ABs and 79% of the ABs signed were authored by Democrats and 77% of the SBs signed were authored by Democrats. Of the vetoed bills that year, 74% of those were ABs and 84% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Democrats and 94% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Democrats.

Historical Look at How Many Bills Get to the Governor’s Desk

• During Governor Wilson’s 8 years in office, between 1,050 – 1,700 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 8% – 24% of them.

• During Governor Davis’ 5 years in office, between 950 – 1,450 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 6% – 25% of them.

• During Governor Schwarzenegger’s 7 years in office, between 900 – 1,250 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 22% – 35% of them.

• During Governor Brown’s (second) 8 years in office, between 850 – 1,200 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 10% – 15% of them.