… One of Newsom’s vetoes struck down a measure that would have compelled state agencies to address water shortages faced by tribes. Assembly Bill 2218 by Ash Kalra, a Santa Clara County Democrat, would have established a state policy to address water-related inequities and would have required a dispute between a tribe and any state water agency over water projects in the tribe’s ancestral territory to go through a mediation process, run by the Governor’s Office of Tribal Affairs. … Newsom also rejected a bill that would have barred state agencies from significantly interfering with tribal religious practices on state land unless the state showed a compelling reason and chose the approach that interfered least. … The California Chamber of Commerce applauded both vetoes. The bills “would have created serious legal barriers” to building water storage and infrastructure, wrote John Myers, spokesman for the chamber.