<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act alongside SEIU California and Health Access on Wednesday, July 8.<\/p>\n
Gavin Newsom Press Office<\/p>\n
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday he signed the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act. But his administration has not indicated if it plans to begin drafting the proposal required under the law before his term ends.<\/p>\n
The measure orders the Department of Finance to develop proposals to require California\u2019s largest corporations to help pay for employees\u2019 Medi-Cal coverage and submit them to lawmakers by March 1, 2027. Because the recommendations are not due until after Newsom leaves office, it remains unclear whether the effort will be driven by his administration or his successor.<\/p>\n
Newsom\u2019s press office and the Department of Finance did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Some proponents of the tax had criticized the bill as a compromise measure that<\/a> leaves the difficult political decision of whether to enact a tax for the next governor and Legislature.<\/p>\n For Wednesday\u2019s bill signing, Newsom held a public ceremony alongside labor leaders and health access advocates who pushed lawmakers to consider the tax. His embrace of the legislation marked a shift for the governor, who appeared uninterested in engaging with the corporate tax proposal as recently as May.<\/p>\n \u201cI am satisfied by the proposals we have,\u201d Newsom said<\/a> when a reporter asked about the Fair Share proposal during his final May budget presentation. The governor was referring to revenue raisers he included in his budget plan, chiefly a tax increase on commercial health insurance plans<\/a>, a sales tax on digital software sales and a change to some corporate tax credits.<\/p>\n But state Senate leadership had embraced the Fair Share plan. And ultimately both legislative chambers aligned behind including the requirement for the Department of Finance in the agreement with the governor.<\/p>\n Rather than merely sign the bill and move on, Newsom on Wednesday cheered it.<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia supports innovation, investment and the businesses that drive our economy,\u201d Newsom said in a news release. \u201cBut we also believe the biggest and most profitable companies should do their fair share\u2014not shift the cost of employee health care onto taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates of the tax celebrated the governor\u2019s endorsement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were thrilled to see the governor get to a place where he supported it so enthusiastically and vocally that he did the bill signing,\u201d Rachel Linn Gish, the interim deputy director of Health Access California, told The Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n She said advocates for Fair Share \u2014 which include labor unions, health access and immigrant advocacy organizations \u2014 do not expect concrete action on the tax proposal from Newsom before he leaves office.<\/p>\n They are instead turning their attention to the next governor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be watching closely to make sure this promise becomes real, lasting accountability for corporations,\u201d said Kiran Savage-Sangwan, director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, in a statement Wednesday. \u201cBut today is proof that it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate President Pro Tem Monique Lim\u00f3n, D-Santa Barbara, told reporters she has already begun speaking with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra about moving forward on the proposal.<\/p>\n Becerra\u2019s policy agenda includes \u201cstopping large employers from shifting costs onto taxpayers,\u201d according to his campaign website<\/a>. He said he would look forward to working with the Legislature to turn the Fair Share from Big Corporations Act into an enforceable policy if elected.<\/p>\n Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, however, opposes the tax.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is wrong with Xavier Becerra? Can\u2019t he see that working Californians are desperate for change?\u201c Hilton told The Bee in a statement. \u201cWe already have the highest cost of living in the country, and now Becerra wants to make it even worse by continuing Gavin Newsom\u2019s cruel and unfair new health tax.\u201d<\/p>\n Newsom is term limited and will soon leave the governor\u2019s office. But he\u2019s eyeing a presidential run in 2028. Over the last year, Newsom has begun to speak more often about the nation\u2019s wealth inequality. Although he has consistently opposed<\/a> a state billionaire\u2019s tax<\/a>, arguing it would encourage the ultra-wealthy to relocate, late last month<\/a> he advocated for a national billionaire\u2019s tax in a blog post.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wealthy have their own private tax code full of loopholes and exemptions that most people have never heard of, and they\u2019re counting on politicians in Washington to maintain it and keep quiet,\u201d Newsom wrote on Substack.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Naomi Taxay<\/a><\/p>\n The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n Naomi Taxay is a summer reporting intern for The Sacramento Bee\u2019s Capitol Bureau. She grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and studies journalism and political science at Northwestern University. She has reported on immigration and demographics from Washington, D.C., and on agriculture and energy across Illinois.\n <\/p>\n