New California laws going into effect in 2025

LOS ANGELES - New year, new laws.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several new bills into law over the past year, many of them addressing issues that continue to plague the Golden State such as affordable housing, crime, and health care.

Take a look at some of the new laws that will impact your life beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

AI in Hollywood

AB 2602 makes it illegal to use artificial intelligence to replicate an actor’s voice or likeness without permission.

AB 1836 prohibits the use dead actors’ voices or likeness without the consent of their estate.

SUGGESTED: Newsom signs bills to protect kids from AI deepfake nudes

Auto/cars

Beginning Jan. 1, AB 413 makes it illegal to park a vehicle within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk or 15 feet of any crosswalk where a curb extension is present. 

SB 1100 makes it illegal for a job posting to require applicants to have a valid driver’s license.

SUGGESTED: Californians can now add their ID, driver's license to their Apple Wallet

SB 905 eliminates the "locked door loophole," which required prosecutors to prove car doors were locked when a burglary took place. This gives prosecutors more flexibility to address auto burglary and thefts.

Cannabis

Under AB 1775, cities and counties can allow existing cannabis retailers and consumption lounges to sell non-cannabis food and drinks. Local governments must approve and license the business.

Under the current law, cannabis retailers with consumption areas may sell prepackaged food and beverages if authorized by the applicable local government. This bill expands the legislation to include freshly prepared food and drinks consistent with the California Retail Food Code.

SUGGESTED: Election 2024 results: Marijuana measures fail in 3 states

Consumer

With AB 2863, companies offering auto-renewal services must give customers the option to cancel the subscription by the same method they used to subscribe, beginning July 1.

AB 375 requires food delivery services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats to provide customers with the first name and photo of their delivery driver effective March 1, 2025.

SUGGESTED: DoorDash warns not tipping on orders might make it take longer to deliver

Crimes

​​AB 3209 allows retail stores to get restraining orders against people sentenced for stealing, vandalizing or assaulting an employee at that store. 

AB 1779 allows California district attorneys to coordinate with other DAs to consolidate charges for suspects in retail theft crimes that occur across multiple counties.

SUGGESTED: 23 arrested in Black Friday retail theft bust at Camarillo Premium Outlets

AB 1960 creates sentencing enhancements for taking, damaging, or destroying property while committing a felony if the property value exceeds $50,000.

Under SB 1242, setting a fire within a merchant’s premises while committing organized retail theft will be considered an aggravating factor and will increase sentences for those convicted.

SUGGESTED: 4 arrested, over $143K in stolen merch recovered in California retail theft bust

SB 1414 raises the classification for soliciting and buying sex from minors under 16 from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Education

AB 1955 prohibits school districts in the state from enacting policies that would force educators to notify parents if students identify as transgender or request to use a different name.

SUGGESTED: Chino Valley USD's gender notification policy blocked by judge, called 'discriminatory'

​​Under AB 1821, California public schools will be required to teach the impact of the Mission Period and Gold Rush on California Native Americans.

AB 1780 will ban legacy admission for colleges that accept state funding.

SUGGESTED: California bill would give public university admission priority to slaves’ descendants

SB 639 requires health care professionals who provide care for people 65 and older to take continuing education in geriatrics and dementia care. 

AB 1825, also known as the Freedom To Read Act, prohibits public libraries from banning books due to ​​race, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, or political affiliation of a book's subject, author, or intended audience.

Employment

SB 988 increases protections for independent contractors by requiring workers be paid on or before the date specified in their contract, or no later than 30 after completion of services if no date is specified.

SB 1105 allows agricultural workers to use paid sick days to prevent the effects of working outdoors in dangerous conditions such as smoke or extreme heat.

SUGGESTED: Proposition 4 approved by California voters, borrowing $10 billion to respond to climate change

AB 2123 allows employees to use paid family leave without having to use vacation hours first. 

AB 2499 expands the definition of paid sick leave to include when an employee’s family member is a victim of violence or the threat of violence, allowing employees to use sick leave to help family members obtain a restraining order or seek out services related to domestic violence or assault.

Under AB 399, also known as the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act, California employers can no longer discharge, discriminate, or retaliate against, or threaten to carry out such actions because an employee refused to attend any employer-sponsored meeting related to religious matters, political matters, or matters related to the decision to support or not support a labor organization/union.  

Firearms

Under AB 2917, threats directed towards a group or location will be permissible in court when deciding whether to issue a restraining order to prohibit a person from purchasing or possessing a firearm or ammunition.

AB 574 mandates that the register or record of sale include an acknowledgment by the purchaser or transferee that they have, within the last 30 days, confirmed possession of every firearm that they own or possess.

SUGGESTED: California to track gun shop credit card sales; 17 laws pass laws to prohibit it

AB 1483 eliminates an existing private party transaction exemption from the prohibition on more than one firearm purchase within a 30-day period.

AB 1598 requires licensed firearm dealers to provide safety pamphlets to purchasers and transferees, as well as those being loaned a firearm. The pamphlet will have information on the risks of and bringing a firearm into the home, including the increased risk of death to someone in the household by suicide, homicide, or unintentional injury. 

Homeownership, housing

SB 450 requires local governments to drop certain zoning requirements to make it easier for homeowners to divide their homes into as many as four separate units. 

Also known as The Interim Housing Act, SB 1395 makes it easier for cities to build tiny homes for homeless residents.

SUGGESTED: Housing the homeless: New tiny home village opens in Tarzana

AB 2347 gives tenants 10 business days to respond to eviction notices, up from 5.

Health

SB 729 requires insurance companies to cover IVF. Access will also be expanded to LGBTQ+ families.

AB 2515 bans the sale of tampons and other menstrual products that contain potentially toxic chemicals.

AB 1902 ​requires pharmacies to provide accessible prescription labels to people who are blind, have low vision, or are print disabled. 

AB 2475 allows the state to increase the time it can hold people in mental hospitals for treatment, from five days to 30 days after a judge determines they need to be released. 

Money

Although California voters rejected Proposition 32, which would have increased the state minimum wage to $18 an hour for large and medium-sized employers and $17 an hour for small employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage will still increase based on the consumer price index. Beginning in 2025, the new state minimum wage will increase to $16.50 an hour.

AB 2017 prohibits state-chartered banks from fining customers when they try to withdraw money but have insufficient funds in their accounts. 

Parents who profit from social media posts using their children will be required to set aside some of the earnings for them under SB 764. While AB 1880 expands the Coogan Law to include minors who are employed as content creators on online platforms, such as YouTube. 

SUGGESTED: New California laws force parents to save some of child influencers' social media profits

The new laws require parents and guardians who monetize their children’s online presence to establish a trust for the kids, and parents will have to keep records of how many minutes the children appear in their online content and how much money they earn from those posts, among other things. 

Miscellaneous

Gov. Gavin Newom signed legislation giving the state three new official state symbols: the banana slug (state slug, Dungeness crab (state crustacean), and Black abalone (state seashell).