Deceased Californians who are nonbinary will be able to be identified as such on their death certificates under legislation Governor Gavin Newsom signed July 9. It is the first LGBTQ-related bill that the governor approved this legislative session, with 10 more currently making their way through the Legislature.
Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) authored the death certificate bill, Assembly Bill 439. It was one of a slew of bills that Newsom signed into law late Friday without comment.
Another bill he signed that Bauer-Kahan authored, AB 378, will update state codes to refer to statewide elected officials by gender-neutral pronouns. Currently, the codes use only male pronouns.