Every year the state Legislature and governor heap more laws on citizens, businesses and corporations and a whole new slew will come onto the books in 2024.
The laws include regulations on how much a landlord can charge renters to secure a spot, how toys are organized inside of a store and essentially forbidding those with concealed weapons permits from taking them into most places in California. But the latter law may not take effect due to it being overturned by a federal judge.
SB 700 will prohibit an employer from asking a job applicant about prior cannabis use. And AB 2188 prohibits employers from discriminating against a worker or applicant based on their use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. The exception is those who work in building and construction trades and federal workers.
The costs of goods and services are expected to climb higher when California’s minimum-wage overall increases to and overall rate of $16 dollars an hour Jan. 1 to adjust for inflation. In April, AB 1228 will go into effect to raise the minimum-wage of fast-food workers to $20 an hour. In June, under SB 525, some healthcare workers will begin seeing increases to their minimum-wage depending on the type of facility they work in to eventually reach a $25 minimum wage for the entire industry by 2033. The immediate impact will be an extra $20 billion this year the state will issue Medicaid payments to hospitals.
Senate Bill 497, dubbed the “Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Act,” will make it easier for employees to establish retaliation claims against their employer.
SB 616 requires employers to allow both hourly and salary workers to earn a minimum of five paid sick days per year.
AB 28 imposes an 11 percent tax on firearms and ammunition. The new tax money will be used to fund violence prevention programs. The bill was universally opposed by Republicans.
Gun owners are breathing a sigh of relief that one law that was to go into effect on Jan. 1 was struck down by a federal judge last week.
SB 2 would have placed new limits on concealed carry firearm permit holders, essentially making it illegal to carry a weapon into most places in California. The bill listed the following as places where CCW permit holders can carry their guns: airports, public transportation, bars and restaurants, daycares, playgrounds, parks, state parks, gaming establishments, stadiums, libraries, amusement parks, museums, churches, banks and parking lots and all private commercial property without specific permission of the property owner.
Gun rights advocates sued to overturn the bill as unconstitutional. Fresno County Sheriff John Zanoni said “CCW holders are responsible for little to no violence when it comes to firearms. They are individuals who have gone through a background check. They are well-trained and they are responsible.”
SB 2 also set a minimum age requirement of 21 years of age for CCW holders, and “ensuring stronger firearm training requirements.”
The Democrat sponsored bill was ruled illegal by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney at the Central District of California. His 43-page decision issued on Dec. 20 noted, “The right to self-defense and to defend one’s family is fundamental and inherent to our very humanity irrespective of any formal codification…For many years, the right to bear arms, and so necessarily the right to self-defense, was relegated to second-class status.” That all changed when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down three landmark rulings over the course of 14 years, ending with the June 2022 Bruen decision.
As of Jan. 1, SB 14 defines child sex trafficking as a serious felony under California law, meaning repeat offenders and other serious offenses could face up to life in prison. The bill was blocked in July by Democrats on the state Assembly Public Safety Committee until public outrage caused Gov. Newsom to pressure the committee to support it.
AB 701 enhances jail time for those selling or transporting more than a kilo of fentanyl. It was another law that Republicans had trouble passing.
SB 673 establishes the “Ebony Alert” for missing young black women and children.
AB 360 will prohibit coroners from recognizing “excited delirium” as a valid medical diagnosis or cause of death in this state. The term became controversial due to its use as a cause of death for certain individuals who are being restrained by police, including the Minnesota arrest of George Floyd, who had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his May 25, 2020 death.
AB 452 eliminates the statute of limitations, or time limit for the recovery of damages, for victims of childhood sexual assault that occurs on or after Jan. 1.
AB 2282 enhances criminal penalties for those who use swastikas, nooses, desecrated crosses and other hate symbols on schools, cemeteries, religious institutions, businesses and other private and public spaces. Opponents say the law infringes on free expression.
AB 12 triggers a new restriction on landlords starting July 1. It prohibits landlords from charging more than one month’s rent for a security deposit. Under the previous legal framework, landlords in California were permitted to collect a security deposit equivalent to two months’ rent for unfurnished units and up to three months’ rent for furnished units.
SB 4 allows places of worship or independent higher education institutions to build a housing development project on their property “by right.”
The homeless crisis has sparked a movement among religious institutions, dubbed “yes in God’s backyard,” or “YIGBY,” in California cities, with a number of projects already in the works. But churches and colleges often face huge hurdles in trying to use surplus land and underutilized parking lots for housing because their land is not zoned for residential use.
Several cities opposed the bill and said it would take away local control over housing developments.
California lawmakers pushed for more laws making abortion more accessible as other states have restricted the practice. SB 385 allows a physician assistant to perform abortions without the direct supervision of a doctor.
SB 848 requires employers to provide five days of time off for workers who went through loss, including a miscarriage, stillbirth, or unsuccessful embryo transfer, insemination or adoption.
SB 43 makes it easier for counties to put those with severe mental illness into medical treatment or temporary psychiatric holds. The law expands who can be put into an involuntary hold to include those who are addicted to drugs or alcohol or who are unable to keep themselves safe.
AB 1084 requires retailers to provide a gender-neutral toy section. This bill was passed in response to pressure from the LGBTQ community.
SB 244, called “The Right to Repair Act,” requires manufacturers of electronic devices that cost more than $50 to provide consumers and repair shops with parts, tools or instructions to repair the device. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. Proponents say the new law will bring more competition and consumer choice to the repair marketplace, saving Californian households roughly $5 billion per year. Keeping electronics in use longer is also expected to reduce the amount of electronic waste sent to California landfills and reduce the need for additional mining and production to replace, rather than repair, devices. Californians currently throw away 46,000 cell phones a day and 772,000 tons of electronic waste — which often contains toxic heavy metals — per year.
Beginning on July 1, SB 478 will require websites to show the actual cost of a service or item upfront. This includes hotel or short-term rental stays, event tickets and food delivery services.
AB 587 requires social media companies to disclose how they address hate speech and disinformation. Tech companies are expected to provide reports to the state attorney general on how they address violations of user terms.
AB 413, the Daylighting to Save Lives bill, prohibits a person from stopping or parking a vehicle at the curb within 20 feet of an intersection or crosswalk clear of parked vehicles. Such vehicles block visibility of pedestrians who may wish to cross in a crosswalk.
AB 436 forbids cities and counties from imposing cruising bans on city streets. Specifically, AB 436 would repeal part of the law that makes it unlawful to operate a car modified so that it’s lowered to a certain ride height. Supporters of the bill called said current law too often targets people of color and lowriders.
