• Senate Bill 1322 will require oil companies to post how much money they are making off Californians on their websites.
• Assembly Bill 2799 restricts the use of creative content like song lyrics and music videos against artists in court.
•Senate Bill 972 makes it easier for street vendors to obtain health permits.
•Senate Bill 1183 allows children ages 0- to 5-years-old in California to sign up for free books in both English and Spanish with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
•Assembly Bill 1242 prohibits law enforcement and California corporations from cooperating with or providing information to out-of-state-entities regarding lawful abortion in California and also prohibits law enforcement from knowingly arresting a person for aiding in a lawful abortion in California.
• Assembly Bill 1287 prohibits anyone from charging a different price for two goods that are similar, like razors, just because they are marketed to women, removing the Pink Tax.
•Assembly Bill 1705 calls for community colleges to enroll students in transfer level math and English courses if the program requires transfers into those subjects aiming to remove barriers to degree completion and helping students meet academic and career goals.
• Lunar New Year, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, and Juneteenth will all be state holidays.
• Senate Bill 1162 is to close the shrinking pay gap, expanding existing transparency laws, which mandate pay data reporting by employee sex, race, and ethnicity.
More at www.gov.ca.gov/2022/12/12/new-laws-taking-effect-next-year-and-why-they-matter/
• Senate Bill 35 allows courts to continue to roll out Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act programs in 2024 to deliver mental health treatment and resources to the most vulnerable Californians, such as family members or first responders to request court-ordered treatment and services for those with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
• Assembly Bill 445, if ordered by the court, defendants will no longer be able to posses firearms. Under Assembly Bill 818, firearms can be confiscated when a domestic violence protective order is issued. Under Assembly Bill 732, defendants must relinquish all firearms within 48 hours of a conviction on a relevant offense if the defendant is out of custody.
• Assembly Bill 28 establishes a tax on licensed firearm dealers, manufacturers, and ammunition vendors to fund anti-gun violence programs with excess taxes supporting court-based firearm relinquish programs. Assembly Bill 92 prohibits anyone prohibited from possessing firearms will be prohibited from possessing body armor.
• Senate Bill 71, in civil court, the jurisdictional limit for filing in small claims court will increase from $10,000 to $12,500, and the limit will increase from $25,000 to $35,000 in limited civil cases.
More at https://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/new-california-laws-going-effect-2024
• Mixed Martial Art fighters are getting a pension, from a $1 cut of MMA ticket prices and souvenirs.
• California has a new state mushroom, the California golden chanterelle, highlighting a unique California species.
• Any business with a single-occupancy restroom must place an all-genders sign on the door.
• Assembly Bill 12 limits landlords of unfurnished residential properties to asking for one month’s rent as a deposit, with landlords totaling no more than four rental units exempted.
• Assembly Bill 2188 prohibits employers from discriminating employees from using cannabis outside of work, for finding traces of THC in a blood or urine test, an employers cannot retaliate against workers for discussing wages or encouraging others to ask for a raise.
• Senate Bill 478 prohibits hidden fees from being added to the advertised cost of hotel reservations, concert and sports tickets, car rentals, and more.
• Senate Bill 407 prevents LGBTQ foster children from being placed in homes with unsupportive caregivers.
•Senate Bill 345 states people in other states can remotely contact California healthcare providers to have abortion and gender-affirming medications shipped to them, also providing legal protection for the providers.
• In Assembly Bill 1228 and Senate Bill 525, in 2024, California’s minimum wage goes up to $16 an hour, with a minimum wage for fast food workers at $20 per hour, and health care workers must be paid at least $18 per hour.
• Senate Bill 616 raises the number of paid sick days to at least five days, and Senate Bill 848 gives Californians the right to take up to five days of paid leave if they suffer a reproductive loss.
• Senate Bill 673, Ebony Alerts, can be activated by California Highway Patrol in the event of a Black child or young woman believed to be kidnapped, missing under suspicious circumstances, or at risk due to developmental disabilities to bring attention to the disproportionate number of missing persons in California regarding Black youth.
More at www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/new-california-laws-2024-18552414.php
