California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed several bills strengthening LGBTQ+ protections in the state, while vetoing two that would have expanded health care coverage, his office announced Monday. 

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 82/Senate Bill 497, which strengthens confidentiality in health care — including for drugs used in gender-affirming careand abortion. The bill, introduced by out gay Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, expands the state’s shield law by requiring law enforcement obtain warrants to access the California healthcare database and punishing unauthorized access as a misdemeanor. 

“The Trump Administration is trying to make transgender people the scapegoats for their fascist takeover, and California must stand up to protect them,” Wiener said in a statement. “President Trump has made it clear he is willing to violate laws and norms to target transgender people, and that he will not stop until their existence has been erased from public life. California must do everything in our power to protect the transgender community, and I’m confident that the Governor will continue his longstanding leadership on trans issues.”

Wiener also spearheaded SB 59, another bill signed by Newsom Monday, which seals transgender and nonbinary adults’ gender transition court records. The privacy protections were already available to minors. 

Other bills signed by Newsom include SB 590, which strengthens paid family leave protections to make them more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people; SB 450, which allows out-of-state queer couples to access in-state channels when adopting California-born children; AB 727, which mandates that universities provide all students with LGBTQ-specific suicide hotline information; and AB 1084, which makes it easier to change one’s legal name and gender on official documents.

Newsom vetoed SB 418, which would have strengthened nondiscrimination requirements for insurance plans and mandated that they cover up to a year’s worth of prescribed hormones. He said in a veto statement that “I am concerned about the limitation on the use of [Utilization Management], which is an important tool to ensure enrollees receive the right care at the right time. Prohibiting this cost containment strategy is likely to result in an increase in enrollee premiums to offset costs incurred by health plans and insurers.”

Newsom also vetoed AB 554, which would have required insurance providers to cover HIV prevention drugs without prior authorization. He said in a statement that “by exceeding the cost-sharing provisions under the ACA, this bill would result in increased costs to health plans, which would then be passed on to consumers.” 

Mark González, the Democrat who introduced the bill, said in a September statement that the legislation aimed to keep consumer costs down after CVS announced it would not cover the newest HIV prevention drug, Lenacapavir (Yeztugo). The announcement came as the state’s public health plan provider named CVS as its pharmacy benefit manager in 2026, which González noted could directly impact access to lenacapavir for its more than 1.5 million members.

“This is not a game – people’s lives are on the line,” González said. “Have we forgotten the worst days of the HIV epidemic – the fear, the funerals, and the government’s silence? We swore we’d never go back. For decades, our communities have poured courage, advocacy, and resources into building the science and medicine that can finally end this epidemic. Yet here we are—billion-dollar corporations refusing to cover a lifesaving drug and RFK Jr. rolling back decades of progress. To deny access now is reckless and cruel.”