Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed two overlapping bills that would have forced larger California cities to create independent redistricting commissions by 2030, citing possible unbudgeted costs.

Newsom’s move came as Los Angeles City Council members continued to advance a plan to implement independent redistricting for the city.

In a veto message Saturday, Newsom said that while he supported the “goal of Assembly Bill 1248 to ensure community control over the redistricting process,” he declined to sign the bill because it would “create a state repayable mandate of tens of millions and therefore take it into account in the annual budget process.”

AB 1248, authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), would have required major cities, counties and school districts to adopt independent redistricting commissions by 2030. It would have applied to cities and counties with more than 300,000 residents and school districts or community college districts with more than 500,000 residents.

Senate Bill 52, a separate bill introduced by Sen. Mara Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), would have required cities with a population of at least 2.5 million to create an independent redistricting commission, a threshold that currently applies only to Los Angeles Angeles.

The two pieces of legislation were designed to work together: AB 1248 had an exception that exempted cities with a population of at least 2.5 million people from its provisions, as long as SB 52 also went into effect. And SB 52 had a provision stating that it would not become operational until AB 1248 became law.

In his veto message for SB 52, Newsom again reiterated his support for the goal, but said he could not sign it because it was contingent on the enactment of AB 1248, which he vetoed.

Durazo and Bryan said in a joint statement that they were “disappointed” by Newsom’s decision to veto the bills, writing that “an independent and nonpartisan commission” is needed “to address the lack of trust between the community and its government.” help recover” in Los Angeles. Angeles.

Los Angeles’ current redistricting process, which gives council members the final say over their own district boundaries, has come under extreme scrutiny in recent months.

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The incendiary leaked conversation that rocked Los Angeles politics last year was recorded during an October 2021 meeting ostensibly focused on the then-ongoing redistricting process. The audio showed members of the council seeking political boundaries that would benefit them and their allies.

In response to the leaked audio, the city council has convened a new committee concerned with government reforms. That committee has spent much of the past year examining what a truly independent redistricting process would look like

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approved a detailed plan last week.

The proposal must still be signed by the full council, which will decide whether to place it on the November 2024 ballot for voter approval.

City Council President Paul Krekorian, who previously opposed Durazo’s bill, said Monday that he remained “absolutely committed” to the creation of an independent redistricting commission free from City Council influence.

As I have said all along, decisions about how to govern Los Angeles should be left to the voters of Los Angeles, not the mandate of Sacramento. But to be clear, with or without state legislation, this Council will continue to advance our proposal to completely eliminate the current scandalously broken redistricting system,” Krekorian said in a statement.

Bryan told The Times on Monday that he was optimistic the city would “solve this problem of conceiving and developing an independent redistricting commission that is responsive to the people.”

But he said he would feel even more confident if there were “guardrails,” such as state legislation, to ensure the city acts on its own.