Gallagher Calls on Newsom to Veto Four Bills

SACRAMENTO – Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (Yuba City) is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto four pieces of legislation sent to him by Democratic lawmakers. The four bills, SB 81, SB 553, SB 770 and SB 799 would make life harder for already-struggling Californians by weakening Medicare, raising costs on employers and threatening public safety. 

“With crime and the cost of living continuing to soar, life in California is hard enough,” said Gallagher. “The last thing people need is a set of radical bills from out-of-touch politicians in Sacramento making things even harder.” 

In four letters to Newsom urging him to reject the bills, Gallagher highlighted the problems with each proposal and offered alternative solutions: 

• Senate Bill 81 will create a presumption that prison inmates should be granted parole as early as possible unless they present a “current, unreasonable risk of danger to others,” regardless of their behavior in prison, their future risk of reoffending or the impact of granting parole on victims. 

• Senate Bill 553 will impose a costly mandate that shifts the burden of preventing workplace violence onto employers, even as Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies have led to a wave of lawlessness in many retail businesses. 

• Senate Bill 770 will seek permission from the federal government to divert funds from Medicare and other federal health programs to partially bankroll an untested system of government run health care at a cost of $500 billion per year. 

• Senate Bill 799 will increase costs on businesses and further destabilize California’s unemployment insurance system by making workers eligible for benefits if they voluntarily stop working to go on strike . 

Newsom has until October 14 to sign or veto the legislation. The letters to Newsom are available here: 

• SB 81 Veto Letter
• SB 553 Veto Letter
• SB 770 Veto Letter
• SB 799 Veto Letter

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