Its silly season in Sacramento and Gavin Newsom might sign these crazy bills

Each year in Sacramento brings a new crop of crazy bills — some of which actually pass the Democrat-controlled Legislature.Traditionally, the governor’s role has been to play “the adult in the room,” and to veto the most extreme proposals. But this year, the brakes are off, because Gavin Newsom is trying to position himself ahead of a wide-open Democratic presidential primary that will begin the moment the polls close in the midterm elections on Nov.3.Newsom needs to look as “progressive” as possible, given the rise of socialism within his party.

He’s trying to jump on that broken bandwagon.That’s why a bill like AB 2599 has a chance to become law.The bill would require any large company in California that can trace its roots back before 1965 to search through its records and disclose any possible connection to slavery. California entered the Union as a “free” state in 1850, meaning that it outlawed slavery from the outset. But under AB 2599, if any company that later did business in California had been involved in any remote way in the slave trade nearly 200 years ago, it would have to disclose that information on a state website — and face the inevitable backlash.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story A bill as pointless as AB 2599 falls into the same category of bills as AB 3121, which was passed at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

It set up a “task force” to study reparations. Newsom duly signed it — and strung the committee along until, at the end, he declined to offer any cash to the descendants of former slaves. He did, however, sign AB 3089 in 2024, which offered a formal apology for slavery — which, again, California had never allowed.AB 2599 isn’t the only absurd bill awaiting Newso...