Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed two bills supported by California tribes, one concerning water projects and the other religious practices on state land. He acted five days after signing a law that formalized California’s apology for historical harms against Native peoples.
Assembly Bill 2218 would have made addressing tribal water inequities a state policy. It also would have required mediation, overseen by the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs, when a tribe and a state water agency disputed a project in the tribe’s ancestral territory. The Karuk Tribe and Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians co-sponsored the measure.
The second bill would have limited significant state-agency interference with tribal religious practices on state land. An agency would have had to show a compelling reason and choose the least intrusive approach. Tribal leaders say the vetoes leave them excluded from decisions affecting ancestral waters and sacred places.
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