2021 State Legislative Roundup Dashboard Dashboard

California lawmakers expanded access to broadband, bolstered workers’ rights, and progressed on antitrust reform.

(11/12/2021)

After surviving an ill-fated recall attempt, Governor Gavin Newsom closed out the legislative year by signing 770 bills into law and vetoing 66 that were sent to him by the Legislature. Following a year dominated by COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts, the Legislature broadened its scope in the 2021 session by addressing longstanding issues facing Californians, many of which were only exacerbated by the pandemic. The WGAW continued to be active in Sacramento this session: Guild members were featured in hearings, attended numerous Zoom lobbying and political visits, and endorsed relevant legislation.

Broadband availability has facilitated the growth of streaming video, along with new competition for the content writers create. The California Legislature made significant progress this session by allocating funding to expand and improve statewide access to broadband. Inequities in the availability and affordability of highspeed broadband came into sharp focus these past two years, prompting legislators to pass an unprecedented $6 billion investment in California’s broadband infrastructure. Governor Newsom also signed two complementary broadband bills backed by the WGAW, Assembly Bill 14 (Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters) and Senate Bill 4 (Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach). Together, these bills address the lack of broadband infrastructure funding and prioritize deployment in the most underserved communities in the state.

The California labor movement saw a major victory when Governor Newsom signed into law AB 701 (Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego), a groundbreaking bill that takes aim at Amazon warehouses and prevents employers from instituting exploitative quotas that foster dangerous working conditions and pressure workers to skip meal, rest, or bathroom breaks. However, Governor Newsom disappointed labor advocates when he vetoed AB 616, legislation that would have expanded voting options for farm workers during union representation elections, which the WGAW backed in solidarity with United Farm Workers.

Finally, California’s lawmakers waded into the antitrust debate, taking a cue from national calls for antitrust reform and New York State’s efforts to address corporate consolidation. A bipartisan resolution, Assembly Concurrent Resolution 95 (Cunningham, R-Central Coast and Wicks, D-Bay Area), was introduced, calling on the state’s Law Revision Commission to study California’s Cartwright Act and report findings on its impact on workers and competition to the Legislature. The resolution failed to move this year, but marks new and welcome legislative engagement in our broader efforts to highlight the failures of current antitrust laws.

Looking ahead to next year, the WGAW expects California legislators to prioritize addressing runaway healthcare spending and expanding access to healthcare. A bill the WGAW supports would create an Office of Health Care Affordability that would set enforceable cost targets statewide. As we build the Guild’s presence and work with our lobbyists on the ground in Sacramento, we will keep calling for action on media consolidation, broadband access, and ways to strengthen organized labor. And while California’s state representatives watch the once-in-a-decade redistricting process currently underway—which will reshape districts and force some incumbents to run against each other—the WGAW will be keeping a close eye on which legislators deserve our support in 2022.