Newsom vetoes bill that would require free condoms to be handed out at public high schools

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Sunday that would require all public high schools in the Golden State to make free condoms available to students.

The Democrat said he decided to return Senate Bill 541 without his signature because the economically stressed state — with more than 4,000 public schools — doesn’t have the funding for such an extensive program.

The legislation, introduced by State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, aims to prevent and reduce unintended teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections among high school students.

Newsom said he believed in the bill’s merits but the financial toll made him unable to pen his signature.

“While evidence-based strategies, like increasing access to condoms, are important to supporting improved adolescent sexual health, this bill would create an unfunded mandate to public schools that should be considered in the annual budget process,” he said in a memo announcing his veto.

The governor and California legislators passed a budget this year that closed a $30 billion shortfall.

However, state lawmakers passed a bunch of bills that if signed into law, would add nearly $19 billion in costs outside of the approved state budget, Newsom said.

“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,” he said. “For this reason, I cannot sign this bill.”

The bill also would have prevented stores from denying customers from buying contraception based on their age.

Menjivar, the Democratic bill sponsor, said that “by requiring free condoms in all California high schools, we are empowering the 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,” according to the LA Times.

Conservative groups had raised public objections to the bill. The California Policy Council said the bill would have encouraged teens to think “sex is meaningless and done for fun with multiple partners,” the local paper reported.