Governor signed a package of bills that, the governor’s office said, forbids California public officials from issuing meme coins and adds consumer protections and enforcement tools for digital-asset fraud.
The governor’s office described the core measure as Assembly Bill 2409, which the release said prevents any public official from issuing a meme coin and bars companies from listing meme coins that use a public official’s likeness.
The package also targets crypto fraud and money laundering; the release said the laws create clearer guidelines for restitution to victims of crypto scams and establish a legal process for seizing crypto assets from transnational criminal networks, with Senate Bill 1208 cited on money laundering and digital assets.
The governor’s office included context linking the bills to recent reporting on a presidential meme coin; the release said nearly 1 million buyers lost more than $3 billion while the sitting President realized a profit of roughly $636 million, and it said President launched his meme coin in 2025.
Other consumer protections signed into law require full refunds for canceled or rescheduled events and restrict speculative ticket sales, ban unauthorized resale of restaurant and tee-time reservations, and update rules on bot sales and deceptive ticketing practices; Assembly Bill 1349, Assembly Bill 1640 and Assembly Bill 1954 were listed in the release.
The package also expands consumer control over personal data and privacy settings, updates insurer data rules, and tightens transparency and ethics requirements for lobbyists and some public officials; the release cited Assembly Bill 2561, Senate Bill 354 and Senate Bill 923 among the measures.
The governor’s office said Californians can report fraud through stopfraud.ca.gov and framed the legislation as part of a broader state effort to protect consumers from deceptive and criminal practices.
The release placed the new laws in a longer record of accountability measures from the Newsom administration since 2019 and appended economic figures for context; the release said California’s annual GDP grew by more than $1.18 trillion to $4.25 trillion in 2025 and cited first-quarter 2026 output at an annualized $4.4 trillion.
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Federal
Donald J. Trump
President of the United States · Republican
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Daniel Torok / The White House (public domain)
Sources & methodology
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