Newsom signs flurry of new laws coming to California
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gavin Newsom has been signing a flurry of new laws, with Tuesday marking the end of the bill-signing season.
The laws range from IVF insurance to more penalties for retail theft. Newsom also signed a slew of housing bills and laws that will help veterans.
CalMatters said about 1,000 bills were passed into law, with 18% vetoed. Last year, there were 890 bills signed into law, and 15% vetoed.
Many of the laws don't take effect immediately, but here's a look at some of the new rules and regulations that will affect residents of the Golden State.
SB 729 Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City)
What the law does
Requires large health insurance companies to cover in vitro fertilization. Expands healthcare benefits to LGBTQ+ families seeking to have children, changing the definition of infertility for insurance purposes to include "a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention."
AB 3216 Assemblymembers Josh Hoover, David Alvarez, Josh Lowenthal, and Al Muratsuchi
What the law does
The Phone-Free School Act requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting the use of smartphones by July 1, 2026.
AB 1575, aka Katie Meyer Law, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin
What the law does
Provide students with an advisor of their choosing during disciplinary proceedings at California colleges and universities after Stanford student and soccer goalie Katie Meyer died by suicide in 2022.
AB 1775 Assembly member Matt Haney (D-San Francisco)
What the law does
Allows California governments to license Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes, where licensed cannabis retailers can prepare and serve food and drinks and host live performances on site.
AB 1780 Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco)
What the law does
Bars private nonprofit colleges from making admissions decisions based on whether a student has ties to a donor or an alumnus.
SB 976 Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley)
What the law does
Requires social media platforms to have default settings for minor users that prevent kids from being sent addictive feeds, feeds with content that the youth has not searched for, liked or otherwise queried. SB 976 also prohibits platforms from interrupting kids at school and when they’re asleep. Law takes effect in 2027.
AB 3233 Assemblywoman Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay)
What the law does
Gives cities and counties greater authority to impose restrictions on oil and gas operations, including by limiting or prohibiting new oil and gas developments in their jurisdictions.
SB 1300 Sen. Dave Cortese (D-Campbell)
What the law does
Requires hospitals to notify county government 120 days – up from 90 00 before closing a labor and delivery or psychiatric unit. The notification would also include a public hearing.
SB 1174 Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine)
What the law does
Local governments in California will be barred from establishing local laws that require residents to present identification. It is up to the Legislature to decide what the appropriate election verification requirements should be.
SB 690 Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park)
What the law does
The law extends the statute of limitations to charge a person with domestic violence, allowing abuse to be reported within seven years of the incident. The law currently allows abuses to be reported within five years. The law is not retroactive and would apply only to future cases. Takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.
SB 1414 Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield)
What the law does
Makes it a felony to solicit or purchase a minor 15 or younger for prostitution. If convicted, the person now has to annually register as a sex offender for a term of 10 years if, at the time of the offense, the person was more than 10 years older than the solicited minor. Takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.
AB1960 Assemblyman Robert Rivas (D-Hollister)
What the law does
Adds tougher penalties for people who take or destroy property while committing a felony. This law is good until Jan. 1, 2030.
SB 268 Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson)
What the law does
Makes rape of an unconscious person a felony, adding to the list of violent felonies that qualify under California's three-strikes law.
AB 2099 Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-San Ramon)
What the law does
Makes it a misdemeanor or felony for people to harass, intimidate and perpetrate acts of violence against someone seeking abortion care or working at abortion clinics.
Gavin Newsom signs bills taking on Big Oil
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Wednesday morning that big oil fought tooth and nail at old wells at the Balwin Hills Conservancy in Los Angeles. One bill gives cities and counties much greater powers to restrict oil and gas operations including forbidding new oil and gas operations within their borders.
AB 1976 Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco)
What the law does
California workplaces craft rules for stocking their First Aid kids with naloxone or other medications that can stop opiod overdoses. This proposal must go before a state board for possible adoption by Dec. 1, 2028.
SB 549 Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton)
What the law does
Allows California’s casino-owning tribes to sue their business competitors, which ends one of the most expensive political fights of the legislative session.
AB 1821 Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella)
What the law does
Requires schools to include perspectives from Native Americans when teaching California history.
AB 2316 Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-San Fernando Valley)
What the law does
Foods made with certain synthetic food dyes, like blue 1, blue 2, green 3, red 40, yellow 5 and 6, will be expelled from California public schools, charter schools and state special schools Goes into effect Dec. 31, 2027
SB 98 Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale)
What the law does
Prohibits cities and counties from approving new or expanded distribution centers unless they meet specified standards. New warehouse developments will need to be located on major thoroughfares or local roads that mainly serve commercial uses. And warehouses will need to be set back several hundred feet from so-called "sensitive sites" such as homes, schools and healthcare facilities. Law takes effect in 2026.
SB 1211 Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley)
What the law does
Opens the door for more ADUs, also known as second units or backyard cottages, on properties with multifamily housing.
Here is a list of other bills that Newsom has signed and vetoed.