California Restricts Out-of-State Military Deployments Without Governor’s Approval

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation requiring his approval before military personnel from other US states, territories or the District of Columbia can enter California for military or law-enforcement duties.

The law, Senate Bill 1354, gives the California governor an explicit role in authorising interstate deployments of state-controlled military forces. It was introduced by Senator Bob Archuleta, a Democrat representing Pico Rivera.

The measure does not apply to National Guard personnel who have been lawfully placed into active federal service under Title 10 and are operating under the authority of the President or Secretary of Defense.

The legislation instead addresses forces operating under state authority, including National Guard personnel serving under Title 32. Under that arrangement, Guard members remain under their governor’s command even when the federal government provides funding for the mission.

The new restrictions come after a dispute between California and the federal government over the deployment of California National Guard personnel to Los Angeles in June 2025. Newsom challenged the federalisation of the Guard in court, arguing that the President had exceeded his authority. A federal court later ended the deployment.

California officials said federal records put the cost of the 2025 Los Angeles deployment at an estimated 111.2 million US dollars and said the mobilisation diverted Guard personnel from other duties, including wildfire response and counterdrug operations.

Archuleta said the new law is intended to prevent military forces from other states from being used for federal law-enforcement activities in California without appropriate authorisation.

“Other states’ military forces should never be used to enforce federal law in California without receiving proper authority,” Archuleta said.

The legislation also comes as other states face legal questions over interstate deployment of their National Guard forces. In South Carolina, a case before the state Supreme Court concerns the governor’s authority to send National Guard personnel to Washington, D.C., where the scope of a governor’s power to deploy state military forces outside state borders is being challenged.

California’s new law establishes the state’s position on the other side of that question by requiring approval before state-controlled military personnel from elsewhere can operate on California soil.

Source: FSX Business News