Overview of 2023 Bill Actions by Governor Newsom

The 2023 California Legislative Session concluded just before midnight on September 14, and Governor Gavin Newsom had until October 14 to act on all the bills sent to his Desk this year.

Governor Newsom concluded his work in the evening on October 13, one day early. There were 1,046 bills that reached Governor Newsom’s Desk this year. Of those, the Governor signed 890 bills and vetoed 156 bills, which was a 14.9% veto rate.

For comparison, last year (2022 Session), 1,166 bills reached Governor Newsom’s Desk and he signed 997 and vetoed 169 of them, for a 14.5% veto rate.

The following is an overview of Governor Newsom’s final stats for 2023 bill actions:

Total bills acted on: 1,046

Signed Bills: 

85% of the bills were signed

63% of the signed bills were ABs

83% of the ABs signed were authored by Democrats

11% of the ABs signed were authored by Republicans

6% of the ABs signed were committee bills

37% of the signed bills were SBs

81.5% of the SBs signed were authored by Democrats

8.8% of the Bs signed were authored by Republicans

9.7% of the SBs signed were committee bills

Vetoed Bills: 

15% of the bills were vetoed

67% of the vetoed bills were ABs

88.5% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Democrats

11.5% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Republicans

33% of the vetoed bills were SBs

94% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Democrats

6% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Republicans

For comparison, the following is an overview of Governor Newsom’s final stats for 2022 bill actions:

Total bills acted on: 1,166

Signed Bills: 997

85.5% of the bills were signed

62% of the signed bills were ABs

80% of the ABs signed were authored by Democrats

11% of the ABs signed were authored by Republicans

9% of the ABs signed were committee bills

38% of the signed bills were SBs

82% of the SBs signed were authored by Democrats

7% of the Bs signed were authored by Republicans

11% of the SBs signed were committee bills

Vetoed Bills: 169

14.5% of the bills were vetoed

64% of the vetoed bills were ABs

84% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Democrats

15% of the ABs vetoed were authored by Republicans

1% of the ABs vetoed were committee bills or the Independent legislator

36% of the vetoed bills were SBs

92% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Democrats

8% of the SBs vetoed were authored by Republicans

Summary of Governor Newsom’s Prior Bill Actions

2021 Session

During Governor Newsom’s third year in office, 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.

In the 2021 Session, he signed 770 bills, which was 92.1% of the bills. 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. In addition, 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.

In the 2021 Session, Governor Newsom vetoed 66 bills. 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. In addition, 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.

2020 Session

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 (his second year in office), 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.

2019 Session

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 Brown’s (second) 8 years in office, between 870 – 1,200 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 10% – 15% of them.

• During Governor Schwarzenegger’s 7 years in office, between 890 – 1,265 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 22% – 35% of them.

• During Governor Davis’ 5 years in office, between 965 – 1,455 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 6% – 25% of them.

• During Governor Wilson’s 8 years in office, between 1,075 – 1,700 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 8% – 24% of them.

• During Deukmejian’s 8 years in office, between 1,455 – 2,140 bills were sent to him annually, and he vetoed between 9.5% – 20% of them.