{"id":7203,"date":"2026-08-23T07:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T07:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7203"},"modified":"2026-08-23T07:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T07:35:23","slug":"gavin-newsom-signs-controversial-stop-nick-shirley-act-into-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7203","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Newsom signs controversial \u2018Stop Nick Shirley Act\u2019 into law"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed California\u2019s controversial \u201cStop Nick Shirley Act\u201d into law on Saturday, just days after a radical left-wing operative crashed the journalist\u2019s Capitol interview and launched a crude personal attack on him.<\/p>\n

Read more Ohio doctor who studied \u2018homicidal adolescent\u2019 gunned down in scheme hatched by teen daughter after argument<\/a><\/p>\n

Assembly Bill 2624 expands California\u2019s Safe at Home program to employees of nonprofits that serve people navigating the immigration system.<\/p>\n

Critics have blasted the measure as a way to intimidate people \u201ctrying to shine light on bad behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

The law takes effect Oct. 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

The program already covers domestic violence survivors, elder abuse victims and reproductive and gender-affirming health care workers by providing substitute mailing addresses for people considered particularly vulnerable to targeted attacks and violent threats.<\/p>\n

Democratic Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), introduced the bill in February after reports of increased threats and harassment against immigration service providers.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur immigrant service providers are living in fear because of extremists looking to demonize the work that they do and the populations they serve,\u201d Bonta said Saturday. \u201cThat is an intolerable consequence of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that exists right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans gave the measure the nickname of the \u201cStop Nick Shirley Act,\u201d coined by Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego.<\/p>\n

Shirley, an independent journalist and YouTuber, has made videos following immigrant workers and accusing them of fraud.<\/p>\n

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He has criticized AB 2624, saying it was created after he \u201cexposed widespread fraud in immigrant communities\u201d in California and Minnesota.<\/p>\n

The controversy intensified after Shirley traveled to San Diego following the viral success of videos he produced about Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Read more Michael Goodwin: Don\u2019t be fooled by Hochul\u2019s act \u2014\u00a0she\u2019s just as radical as Mamdani<\/a><\/p>\n

Newsom said in February that Somali daycare providers there were \u201cunder siege\u201d following Shirley\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

Then came a bizarre twist.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Shirley was conducting a sidewalk interview outside the California State Capitol in Sacramento when Terry Schanz, chief of staff to Democratic Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, allegedly barged into the encounter.<\/p>\n

Schanz earns $17,319 a month, or $207,828 a year, in taxpayer-funded compensation.<\/p>\n

He held up a printed flyer and asked: \u201cDid you guys hear that Nick Shirley has a small penis allegedly?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to KCRA, multiple complaints have since been filed with the California Legislature\u2019s HR department, and Schanz is expected to face consequences.<\/p>\n

The episode is an awkward backdrop for a bill whose supporters say is designed to combat harassment and doxxing.<\/p>\n

Schanz has faced other controversy, too. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

His name surfaced in a 2025 wrongful-termination lawsuit containing allegations of political bullying and a toxic workplace culture within top Assembly leadership.<\/p>\n

His office also faced scrutiny in January over allegations that it pressured nonprofit newsroom CalMatters to alter footage involving McKinnor after a reporter asked her a tough question about an expensive designer handbag.<\/p>\n

The fight over AB 2624 even reached the US Senate, where Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., referred to it as the \u201cProtect Fraudsters Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonta has rejected that characterization, saying the law does not conflate legitimate journalism with the doxxing targeted by Safe at Home.<\/p>\n

Read more Sophie Cunningham supporters, detractors clash outside Barclays Center during Liberty-Fever game<\/a><\/p>\n

But Newsom has now made the measure law.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California Governor Gavin Newsom signs Assembly Bill 2624 amid fierce conservative backlash and a viral Capitol stunt involving a top Democratic aide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nGavin Newsom signs controversial \u2018Stop Nick Shirley Act\u2019 into law - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7203\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gavin Newsom signs controversial \u2018Stop Nick Shirley Act\u2019 into law - 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