California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes bill to make free condoms available for high school students

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected a bill on Sunday that may have made free condoms available all public high school students, arguing it was once too dear for a state with a budget deficit of greater than $30 billion.

California had about 1.9 million high school students enrolled in additional than 4,000 colleges ultimate 12 months, in accordance to the California Department of Education.

“This bill would create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process,” Newsom wrote in a message explaining why he vetoed the bill, referred to as Senate bill 541.

The bill would have required all public colleges that experience grades 9 thru 12 to make condoms available for free to all students. It would have required public colleges with grades seven thru 12 to permit condoms to be made available as a part of tutorial or public well being systems.

And it will have made it unlawful for shops to refuse to promote condoms to formative years.

State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat from Los Angeles and the creator of the bill, had argued the bill would have helped “youth who decide to become sexually active to protect themselves and their partners from (sexually transmitted infections), while also removing barriers that potentially shame them and lead to unsafe sex.”

Newsom mentioned systems expanding get right of entry to to condoms are “important to supporting improved adolescent sexual health.” But he mentioned this bill was once certainly one of a number of measures lawmakers handed this 12 months that, when added in combination, would upload $19 billion in prices to the state price range.

“With our state facing continuing economic risk and revenue uncertainty, it is important to remain disciplined when considering bills with significant fiscal implications, such as this measure,” Newsom mentioned.