Editing Gray Davis (section)

====Health, environment, business, and transportation====
Davis significantly expanded the number of low-income children with state-subsidized health coverage.<ref name="Accomp."/> He signed laws to allow patients to get a [[second opinion (medicine)|second opinion]] if their [[HMO]] denies treatment and, in limited cases, the right to sue.<ref name="First"/>{{better source needed|date=August 2021}} Davis signed legislation that provided HMO patients a bill of rights, including a help-line to resolve disputes and independent medical review of claims.<ref name="End"/> Under Davis, staff-to-patient ratios in nursing homes improved. However, Davis reneged on a campaign promise to expand low-cost healthcare to parents of needy children due to budget constraints.<ref name="Dark"/>

Davis allowed non-disabled low-income people with HIV to be treated under [[Medi-Cal]]. He signed a law allowing people participating in needle exchange programs to be immune from criminal prosecution. He also increased state spending on AIDS prevention.<ref name="Dark"/>

Under Governor Davis, California's anti-tobacco campaign became one of the largest and most effective in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/94 |title=California Connected Education |publisher=Californiaconnected.org |date=2003-05-29 |access-date=2010-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003172351/http://www.californiaconnected.org/tv/archives/94 |archive-date=2009-10-03 }}</ref> [[R. J. Reynolds]] and [[Lorillard]] Tobacco sued over California's antismoking campaign but their lawsuit was dismissed in July 2003. Davis also authorized a new hard-hitting anti-smoking ad that graphically depicts the damage caused by [[secondhand smoke]].<ref name="Accomp."/>

In September 2002, Governor Davis signed bills to ensure age verification was obtained for cigarettes and other tobacco products sold over the Internet or through the mail, ensured that all state taxes are being fully paid on tobacco purchases and increased the penalty for possessing or purchasing untaxed cigarettes.<ref name="la"/> He also signed legislation to expand smoke-free zones around public buildings.<ref name="Accomp."/><ref name="la">{{cite web |url=http://www.lapublichealth.org/tob/legislation.htm |title=Tobacco Control Legislation |publisher=Lapublichealth.org |access-date=2010-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718220941/http://www.lapublichealth.org/tob/legislation.htm |archive-date=2011-07-18 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Davis approved legislation creating a telemarketing do-not-call list in 2003.<ref name="First"/>{{better source needed|date=August 2021}} Under Davis, benefits for injured and unemployed workers increased. The minimum wage increased by $1 to $6.75.<ref name="Accomp."/> Davis backed higher research and development tax credits. He pushed for elimination of the minimum franchise tax paid by new businesses during the first two years of operation.<ref name="Dark"/>

While Davis's record is generally considered pro-environmental due to increases in spending for land acquisition, maintenance of the state's park system, signing legislation that attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions by having automakers produce more efficient vehicles, cutting fees to state parks and opposing [[offshore drilling]], he was criticized for not backing tougher restrictions on timber companies as some environmentalists desired.<ref name="Dark"/> Under the Davis administration, California purchased {{convert|10000|acre|km2|0}} for urban parks.<ref name="End"/>

Davis signed the first state law in the US in July 2002 to require automakers to limit auto emissions. The law required the California Air Resources Board to obtain the "maximum feasible" cuts in greenhouse gases emitted by all non-commercial vehicles in 2009 and beyond.<ref>[http://www.climate.org/topics/localaction/cal0702.shtml Topics: State and Local Action. California Governor Gray Davis Signs Landmark Law Designed to Cut Car Exhaust Emissions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015094705/http://www.climate.org/topics/localaction/cal0702.shtml |date=2007-10-15 }} from Climate.org. July 2002. Retrieved September 3, 2007.</ref> Automakers claimed the law would lead smaller and more expensive cars to be sold in California.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/13/MN9QTSTAB.DTL California's emission-control law upheld on 1st test in U.S. court] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122234501/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2007%2F12%2F13%2FMN9QTSTAB.DTL |date=2009-01-22 }}</ref> In 2003, Davis signed legislation aiming to ban [[Email spam|junk email]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hansell |first=Saul |date=2003-09-24 |title=TECHNOLOGY; California Acts to Ban Junk E-Mail |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/24/business/technology-california-acts-to-ban-junk-e-mail.html |access-date=2023-06-12 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

On March 25, 1999, Davis issued an [[Executive order (United States)|executive order]] calling for the removal of [[MTBE]] (a toxic gasoline additive) from gasoline sold in the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energy.ca.gov/mtbe/documents/1999-06-11_TIMELINE.PDF |title=Timeline for Phase Out of MTBE |publisher=www.energy.ca.gov |access-date=2010-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517123624/http://www.energy.ca.gov/mtbe/documents/1999-06-11_TIMELINE.PDF |archive-date=May 17, 2008 }}</ref> In 2001, in order for gas prices to remain reasonable in California while removing MTBE, Davis asked President [[George W. Bush]] to order the EPA to grant California a waiver on the federal minimum oxygen requirement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2001_releases/2001-05-22_governor_mtbe.html |title=Governor Davis Urges Feds To Grant California'S Request For Oxygenate Waiver |publisher=Energy.ca.gov |access-date=2010-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008163135/http://www.energy.ca.gov/releases/2001_releases/2001-05-22_governor_mtbe.html |archive-date=2010-10-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Without a waiver, California would have to import a much larger amount of [[ethanol]] per year and gas prices were projected to increase drastically. Bush did not grant the waiver and in 2002, Davis issued an executive order reversing his earlier executive order.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acwa.com/issues/waterquality/02-03_exec_order.doc |title=Davis Executive Order |publisher=www.acwa.com |access-date=2010-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517025122/http://www.acwa.com//issues/waterquality/02-03_exec_order.doc |archive-date=May 17, 2006 }}</ref>

Davis's actions when it came to regulating business suggested that Davis was a more moderate governor. He worked to kill a comprehensive bill opposed by banks and insurance companies to protect consumers' personal financial information. "What you saw in the campaign was what you got," said UC Berkeley professor Bruce Cain. "He's tried to negotiate a course between the different interest groups and keep Democrats on a more centrist, business-oriented track".<ref name="Dark"/>

Davis approved $5.3 billion over five years for more than 150 transit and highway projects. One of those projects was construction on the new eastern section of the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge|Bay Bridge]]. During 1999 and 2000, California spent millions on onetime projects like buying new rail cars and track improvements.<ref name="Dark"/>