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By Darrielle Fair Updated on: October 1, 2026 / 6:38 PM PDT / CBS Sacramento Add CBS News on Google California Gov. Gavin Newsom has finished acting on legislation for his final year in office, closing out another session as he prepares to leave the governor's office in January. Newsom signed more than 1,000 bills during the final legislative session and vetoed 120, according to the figures provided by his office.
Over his eight years as governor, Newsom has signed roughly 8,000 bills. The final day for Newsom to act on legislation was Wednesday, marking the end of his final regular legislative session as governor. "I'm in denial," Newsom said when asked about reaching the end of his time signing bills.
Newsom's second and final term ends in January. He said he plans to stay involved with legislative leaders during his remaining months in office to help prevent a full policy reset under the next administration and to keep working on issues facing the state. "I'm not going anywhere.
I'm going to be stubborn to the last day," Newsom said. "And that is keeping my options open with these special sessions." A look at Newsom's legislative record Chris Micheli, a professor at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, said Newsom has at times used his veto power to push back against legislation from California's Democratic-controlled Legislature. "I think that this governor has had to keep the Democratic legislature of his same party often in check," Micheli said.
Micheli said the 2026 legislative session also stood out for the number of bills that reached the governor's desk. "One of the other surprising things with the 2026 session is that 63% of the bills that were introduced made it to the governor's desk, and he signed about 90% of that. Over the last 30 years that I've been tracking this data, the average over the last three decades is about 45%," he said.
Newsom's tenure has included major legislative efforts involving housing, homelessness, education, the environment and other areas of state policy. Micheli also pointed to Newsom's battles with the federal government during the Trump administration, as well as increased state spending. "He has fought vociferously against the Trump administration, whether it's the Trump administration's anti-immigrant activities in the state or other things.
I think the fight against homelessness, I think record spending by the budget, it's gone up from roughly $250 billion to over $350 billion," Micheki said. "We have spent record amounts in public education in K through 14. The testing outcomes have been mixed, to say the least." Newsom's final bill Newsom signed his final bill at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 895 will put a proposal before California voters in March 2028 to establish a state foundation focused on scientific and health research. The measure would authorize a $7.5 billion bond to support research in areas including biomedical science, public health, disease prevention, behavioral health, climate change, wildfire prevention, ocean science, agriculture and water. The research proposals would undergo scientific peer review, according to the governor's office.
In: Gavin Newsom California Gov. Newsom wraps up final legislative session ahead of January exit from office 03:12 Gov. Newsom wraps up final legislative session ahead of January exit from office (03:12)
Source: CBS News
