California Governor Vetoes Bill Setting Spending Rules for $5B Plastic Pollution Fund

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1180 on September 20, 2026, a bill by state Sen. Ben Allen that would have set binding spending rules for the state's Plastic Pollution Mitigation Fund — created under the SB 54 packaging extended-producer-responsibility law and projected to collect roughly $5 billion in producer fees over the next decade. SB 1180 would have directed 60% of collected fees toward monitoring and reducing plastic pollution's environmental-justice and public-health impacts on overburdened communities, and 40% toward broader environmental impacts on human health and terrestrial, aquatic and marine life. In his veto message, Newsom said the administration's ongoing work to route funding to appropriate entities was already underway and that the bill 'risks complicating implementation' of both SB 54 and the fund. The bill was backed by Greenpeace USA and Ocean Conservancy and opposed by the American Chemistry Council, Plastics Industry Association, Flexible Packaging Association and Foodservice Packaging Institute.