How will California’s new laws affect you? BY PHIL WILLON in Sacramento for the LA Times.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down the landmark federal abortion rights case Roe vs. Wade led to a flurry of new laws in California, even though abortion rights already are solidly protected in the state.
Still, 2022 proved to be a fairly measured year when it comes to the number of bills approved by the California Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, perhaps a continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic lull in recent years. The Legislature sent 1,166 bills to Newsom for consideration in 2022. He signed 997 into law and vetoed 169. By comparison, California enacted 1,821 new laws in 1971, when Gov. Ronald Reagan was governor.
The Times’ list highlights a few dozen noteworthy new laws for 2023, including several that were approved years earlier but are only taking effect now. Most of those listed take effect on New Year’s Day. As in years past, the list mostly reflects the interests of the Democrats who hold a supermajority of seats in both the state Senate and Assembly.
Some of the most notable new laws make significant changes in workers’ rights and benefits, housing, criminal justice and healthcare.
Two state ballot measures approved by voters in November became law before the new year began: Proposition 1, which expressly guarantees in the state Constitution a person’s “ fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives”; and Proposition 31, which bans the sale of most flavored tobacco products in stores and in vending machines.
Some laws set to take effect in 2023 are in limbo due to challenges, both in court and potentially at the ballot box.
In December, a federal judge struck down part of a new California gun law modeled after Texas’ vigilante antiabortion legislation that gives private citizens the authority to sue anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells illegal firearms in California, such as assault weapons, .50 BMG rifles and so-called ghost guns.
Businesses and restaurant trade groups said last month that they had submitted enough voter signatures for a ballot measure to overturn a landmark California law that could open the door to workers’ wages being raised to $22 an hour. On Friday, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge put a temporary hold on the new law , which was set to go into effect Jan. 1. The oil and gas industry also is trying to raise enough petition signatures for a ballot measure to overturn a law prohibiting new oil or gas wells within 3,200 feet of a residence, education resource, healthcare facility or other sensitive area.
Abortion & health
California will allow nurse practitioners to more easily work independently of a doctor and perform abortions under a new law that expands reproductive care as other states move to restrict access. Senate Bill 1375
Coroners will be prohibited from holding an inquest after a fetal death, including in cases in which drugs are suspected of causing a stillbirth. Assembly Bill 2223
State law enforcement agencies will be prohibited from helping with out-of-state abortion investigations, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies seeking data from California corporations must attest that their investigation is not related to an abortion. Assembly Bill 1242
While California already requires health insurance companies to cover abortions, Senate Bill 245 will bar insurance companies from charging co-pays and deductibles for abortions.
Starting in October in some counties, family members, first responders, medical professionals and behavioral health providers, among others, can first petition a judge in a newly formed CARE Court to order an evaluation of an adult with a diagnosed psychotic disorder who is in severe need of treatment and, often, housing. Senate Bill 1338
The Medical Board of California will now have the ability to discipline doctors who promote COVID-19 misinformation, by classifying it as unprofessional conduct. Assembly Bill 2098
California’s public colleges and universities are required to protect college students from accidental overdoses by having Narcan on campus and providing training on how to use it as well as providing preventive education about opioid overdose. Senate Bill 367
Workplace
Due to inflation, on Jan. 1 California’s minimum wage will increase to $15.50 . Many California cities or counties have ordinances that set the minimum wage even higher. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the multiyear minimum wage increase into law in 2016 .
Assembly Bill 1041 expands California’s paid family leave law to allow employees to add to the list one extended family member or a person they consider to be family.
Employees are now eligible for five days of job-protected bereavement leave if a close family member dies. Assembly Bill 1949
Companies with 15 or more employees in California will be required to list salary ranges for all job postings. Senate Bill 1162 builds on previous legislation, SB 973, signed in 2020, which requires companies with more than 100 employees to submit wage data to the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
In times of emergency, employers will be barred from taking or threatening adverse action against any worker for refusing to report to or leaving a workplace because the employee has a reasonable belief that the work site is unsafe. Senate Bill 1044
It will now be easier for agricultural laborers to join unions, a hard-fought win for the United Farm Workers. The new law expands voting options for farmworkers by allowing them to vote by mail or drop off a ballot card at the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Under Assembly Bill 2183 , farmworkers can also receive assistance filling out their ballots.
The new year will bring a new state holiday. Under Assembly Bill 2596 , the Lunar New Year becomes an official state holiday. State workers can receive “eight hours of holiday credit” for that day, Juneteenth, Genocide Remembrance Day or Native American Day.
Making a living
It will now be easier for sidewalk vendors, including those with carts and stands, to acquire the necessary local health permits and avoid criminal penalties.
Senate Bill 972
It will be easier for local governments to fill lifeguard positions following a summer in which labor shortages closed much-needed public pools. Assembly Bill 1672 by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Carlsbad) will ease certification requirements and allow more rigorously trained ocean lifeguards to work at city pools when there are staffing shortages.
College athletes in California will be able to make money off the use of their names and images, and the NCAA will be prohibited from banning a university from competition if athletes do so. The law passed in 2019 and takes effect in 2023. Senate Bill 206
Housing
Local governments will be barred from mandating parking spaces as part of most development near transit stops. Under Assembly Bill 2097 , parking minimums will no longer be allowed for housing, retail and other commercial developments within a half-mile of major public transit stops. Cities can impose parking for hotel developments, and developers can still build parking spaces for any type of project if they choose to.
New housing projects will be allowed in commercial corridors otherwise zoned for large retail and office buildings as a way to help California fill a multimillion-unit shortage in its housing supply. Senate Bill 6 and Assembly Bill 2011 also guarantee union-scale wages and promise an expedited construction process, while keeping development close to city centers to help the state meet its environmental goals and avoid sprawl.
Certain student, faculty and staff housing projects at California colleges would be exempt from environmental restrictions under the California Environmental Quality Act. Senate Bill 886 was passed after a legal dispute over UC Berkeley student housing threatened the admission of thousands of students.
Environment & climate change
The California Geologic Energy Management Division will be prohibited from approving new oil or gas wells within 3,200 feet of a “sensitive receptor,” defined as a residence, education resource, community resource, healthcare facility, dormitory or any building open to the public. The oil industry currently is challenging the law, Senate Bill 1137 , and hopes to gather enough valid signatures from Californians to put the policy up for a statewide vote.
The California Climate Crisis Act requires the state to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2045. Assembly Bill 1279 requires the California Air Resources Board and Legislative Analyst to continually evaluate the state’s progress in achieving the emissions reduction goal.
The state launches a new policy to have renewable energy resources and zero-carbon resources provide 100% of all retail sales of electricity to California end-use customers by Dec. 31, 2045. Senate Bill 1020
Lifestyle
California has outlawed the sale of new items made from the fur of undomesticated animals, including mink, rabbit and coyote. The law passed in 2019 and goes into effect in 2023.
Under the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, tech companies will be prohibited from using the personal information of any children in a way that is detrimental to their physical or mental health. Web platforms that children are likely to use would be required to enact data privacy measures such as making user settings high-privacy by default. Most of the provisions in Assembly Bill 2273 won’t go into effect until 2024, though the law is facing a court challenge.
To curb the spread of extremism, racism and conspiracy theories via social media, social media companies will be required to publicly post terms of service — the policies that specify behavior and activities that are permitted, prohibited and monitored — and to report that information to the state attorney general. Assembly Bill 587
Businesses are prohibited from charging different prices for goods just because they are marketed toward women, such as deodorant, shaving cream and razors, which are similar to less expensive goods aimed at men. The new law eliminates the so-called pink tax. Assembly Bill 1287
Vehicles must move over to an adjacent lane of traffic, if one is available, before passing or overtaking a bicycle. Assembly Bill 1909 changes current law, which only requires that vehicles pass in a safe manner and at a distance of no less than three feet. The law also prohibits governments from requiring bicycles to be licensed.
Criminal justice, policing & guns
Some Californians with criminal convictions will have those records sealed if they maintain a clean record, a move cheered by criminal justice reform advocates and criticized by law enforcement. Senate Bill 731
Pedestrians would be able to legally cross the street outside of designated intersections without the threat of a hefty jaywalking citation “unless a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of collision with a moving vehicle or other device moving exclusively by human power.” Assembly Bill 2147
Peace officers will no longer be required to be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship. Under Senate Bill 960 , peace officers still would be required to be legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law.
California repeals a misdemeanor law against loitering in public for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. Supporters of Senate Bill 357 said police used the law to disproportionately discriminate against sex workers and LGBTQ people, many of whom are Black and Latino.
Law enforcement is prohibited from using DNA gathered as part of sexual assault and rape examinations against the victims. Senate Bill 1228 was signed into law after a San Francisco woman’s DNA from a sexual assault examination was used by police five years later to arrest her in connection with an unrelated property crime.
California has expanded its “red flag law” beyond immediate family members, employers, co-workers and police to allow more people to file a petition requesting a court to issue a “gun violence restraining order” against someone, which allows police to remove any firearms or ammunition already in their possession. Under Assembly Bill 2870 , a roommate, someone in a dating relationship and an individual who has a child in common with the subject can request a restraining order.
The sale of firearms and ammunition is now banned on all state-owned properties, including county fairgrounds. Senate Bill 915
Civil rights & government
Forms of creative expression, from music to books, are now restricted from being used as evidence in criminal proceedings. Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Los Angeles Democrat, authored Assembly Bill 2799 after he found out that many men of color, particularly Black men, were being prosecuted using their lyrics.
To protect transgender youths and their families from bans against gender-affirming care, the state will provide a range of safeguards meant to block out-of-state attempts to penalize families who come to California seeking medical treatment for transgender children and teens. Senate Bill 107
California school boards, city councils and boards of supervisors would have clearer authority to remove disruptive participants from their meetings.
Senate Bill 1100 modifies the Brown Act, a 1953 state law that requires an opportunity for public input during meetings to increase accessibility and transparency in local government.
Officials with local government agencies would be prohibited from accepting, soliciting or directing a political contribution of more than $250 from anyone while a proceeding involving the donor’s license, permit or other entitlement for use is pending before the agency, or for a year following such a decision. Senate Bill 1439
To be appointed to a county or district office, it will no longer be required to be a registered voter in that jurisdiction. Assembly Bill 1925
It will now be easier to file claims for unclaimed property worth less than $5,000 being held by the state controller’s office. Assembly Bill 1208 streamlines the process, requiring less documentation for those claims. As of February 2021, the agency reported that it held more than $10.2 billion in lost or forgotten property such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, uncashed checks, insurance benefits, wages and safe deposit box contents.
Times staff writers Melody Gutierrez, Taryn Luna, Mackenzie Mays, Laurel Rosenhall and Hannah Wiley contributed to this report.