The California state motto is “Eureka,” Greek for “I have found it.” Says State Symbols USA, “famed Greek mathematician Archimedes is said to have exclaimed ‘Eureka!’ when he finally discovered a method for determining the purity of gold.”

The motto was adopted in 1963. In 2020, the state should replace it with “To Apagórefsa,” which is Greek for “I have banned it.”

The recently completed legislative session produced a number of prohibitions and near-prohibitions, including the potential abolishment of charter schools, and increased infringement on the right to bear arms. There were also outright bans of private, for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers; the plastic shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles handed out at hotels; and the sale or manufacture of fur.

A long but still only partial list of things that have been, and likely will be, banned statewide or locally include:

Worker freedom

Natural gas in new homes

Single-use plastic bags

Plastic straws

Plastic utensils

Plastic water bottles

Polystyrene food containers

Raw milk sales

Sugary drinks

Paper consumer receipts

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