Government Watch: Sept. 10, 2025

Assembly Bill 60, known as the MUSK Reduction Act, will restrict the use of synthetic nitro musk chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products. Nitro musks — synthetic fragrance compounds commonly found in soap, perfume, shampoo and deodorant — have been in use for more than a century. Once used as a substitute for natural deer musk, these chemicals are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that interfere with hormone function, according to Papan’s office.

Assembly Bill 60 brings California in line with international health and safety standards by adopting restrictions similar to those enforced in the European Union. By eliminating nitro musks from cosmetics and personal care products, California will reduce toxic exposure, promote safer consumer choices, and protect environmental health, according to Papan’s office.

Assembly Bill 60 is now headed to the governor who has until Oct. 12, to sign or veto the legislation.

• State Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, and Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, announced a joint legislative package Tuesday to protect California ratepayers from unlawful activities by investor-owned utilities.

McNerney’s Senate Bill 24 and Berman’s Assembly Bill 1167 will work in tandem to strengthen state law and further prevent IOUs, like SoCalGas, Pacific Gas and Electric and others, from using ratepayer funds to pay for lobbying, political campaigns and promotional advertising, according to Berman’s office.

The legislative package would also bar IOUs from using ratepayers dollars to lobby against local efforts to create a municipal utility and would expand the investigative oversight of IOUs’ actions, according to Berman’s office.

• Senate Bill 306, the Defending Physicians Decisions Act authored by state Sen. Josh Becker, D‑Menlo Park, was passed by the state legislature and now moves to the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature.

SB 306 targets prior authorization requirements — procedures, tests and treatments that health plans approve at least 90 % of the time but still demand extra review. Under SB 306, any service approved at least 90 % of the time in a given year would be exempt from prior authorization for the following year. This data‑driven reform will reduce delays, ease administrative burdens on providers, and allow insurers to focus on more complex cases, according to Becker’s office.