On Monday, Vox Media-owned SB Nation announced that it was cutting more than 200 freelance writers as a direct result of California’s new law targeting independent contractors. When one of those soon-to-be terminated writers posted about the “devastating” situation online, the chief sponsor of the bill responded by telling her it’s “not all bad” and framing the loss of jobs as a choice by the contractors. Amid blistering blowback, the lawmaker offered a meek apology.

California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) — sponsored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who The Atlantic cheered as “The California Democrat setting the National Agenda” — targets the so-called “gig economy,” the use of independent contractors, including freelance writers and ride share drivers. Because Gonzalez’s bill arbitrarily imposes the limit of 35 contributions for freelance writers a year for a publication, SB Nation has been forced to cut ties with over 200 contractors, creating only about 20 part-time and full-time jobs to replace them — meaning some 180+ former freelancers have officially lost a source of income.

One of those writers, Rebecca Lawson, editor-in-chief of the blog Mavs Moneyball who covers the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks from San Diego, posted about the “terrible” bill after SB Nation announced the hundreds of layoffs Monday.

“Today, along with literally HUNDREDS of my colleagues, I was told that I can no longer hold a paid position at SB Nation,” Lawson tweeted Monday. “California, you’re breaking my heart (and taking my money).”

In a post for her site, Lawson expanded on SB Nation’s “devastat[ing]” announcement: “California’s terrible AB5 came for me today, and I’m devastated …SB Nation has chosen to do the easiest thing they can to comply with California law — not work with California-based independent contractors, or any contractors elsewhere writing for California-based teams.”

Today, along with literally HUNDREDS of my colleagues, I was told that I can no longer hold a paid position at SB Nation. California, you’re breaking my heart (and taking my money). #AB5 MY COLUMN: https://t.co/lek2y60ZF0 pic.twitter.com/iMQ7vswjV3 — Rebecca Lawson (@beccaaftersix) December 16, 2019