California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Wednesday giving the California Horse Racing Board the authority to suspend a race meeting on short notice for issues related to equine safety. The measure was introduced earlier this year following a series of equine fatalities at Santa Anita and passed the state Senate and state Assembly without opposition. “Business as usual has resulted in too many horse deaths,” Newsom said in a statement. “I applaud the Legislature for taking action to expand the authority of the CHRB to cancel or move race meets when animal and human safety are at risk. This problem demands deeper partnership between the CHRB and track officials.” The legislation had an urgency clause and will take effect as early as Aug. 5 if the racing board adopts emergency regulations to implement the statute at its monthly meeting at Del Mar on July 18, the racing board said in a statement Wednesday. Had the legislation been in place earlier this month, it might have been utilized. On June 9, racing board officials asked Santa Anita to cancel the final seven days of its meeting because of a series of equine fatalities in late May and early June. Track officials declined. At the time, the racing board did not have the regulatory authority to order a track to cease racing without holding a public meeting with a 10-day notice. The legislation signed Wednesday allows the racing board to convene an emergency meeting of at least four commissioners, with as little as one-hour public notice, to discuss a possible suspension of racing. Earlier this month, Newsom called on greater veterinary oversight of horses entered to race. For the final six racing days of the Santa Anita meeting, which ended on Sunday, a five-person panel of veterinarians and stewards reviewed medical, race, and veterinary records of all horses entered. The panel rejected the entry of 38 horses. A similar panel is in place for the Los Alamitos summer meeting that begins Saturday and the Del Mar summer meeting from July 17 to Sept. 2. “I call on racetracks around the state to hold themselves to the higher screening standards recently adopted at Santa Anita,” Newsom said in his statement. “This model can save horses’ lives.” There were 30 equine fatalities in training and racing at the Santa Anita meeting that began in late December. The fatalities drew international news and criticism from lawmakers. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein called for a cessation of racing at Santa Anita three times from early April to early June to study the fatalities. On Tuesday, Feinstein applauded the California Assembly for passing Senate Bill 469, sponsored by Bill Dodd of Napa, the legislation Newsom signed. “This bill is one of several measures that California – and ideally the country – must take to protect racehorses,” Feinstein said in her statement. “Even though the season has ended at Santa Anita, we’re not turning our attention away from the horse-racing industry. Reforms must be made to prevent another season like the one we just saw.” In addition, Feinstein called for a ban on the anti-bleeding medication Lasix. The legislation passed the state Senate by a vote of 38-0 on May 9 and by a vote of 40-0 by the state Assembly on Tuesday before it was sent to Newsom late Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, Newsom announced the appointment of longtime racing veterinarian Greg Ferraro to the racing board. Ferraro, 73, is a former practicing veterinarian at Southern California tracks who was director of the school of veterinary medicine center for equine health at the University of California-Davis from 1997 to 2014.