Hundreds of new bills passed by the state legislature get signed into law in California every year. Here’s an overview of state bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that took effect on January 1, 2024, and now apply to all San Diegans:
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- Senate Bill (SB) 423 extends and expands existing law, requiring local governments that are failing to meet state housing planning goals to streamline affordable housing projects. This will increase affordable housing throughout the state in uncooperative cities.
- SB 4, known as the “Yes in God’s Backyard” bill, allows housing to be developed on property owned by religious or independent higher education institutions. These groups are given this authority “by right,” which requires no discretionary local governance intervention.
- Starting in July, AB 12 prohibits landlords from charging more than one month’s rent for a security deposit.
CANNABIS
- SB 700 prohibits an employer from requesting information from an applicant’s prior cannabis use.
- Assembly Bill (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. Those who work in building and construction trades and federal workers are exempt from this.
CONSUMER
- AB 1084 requires retailers to have a gender-neutral toy section.
- SB 244 (The Right to Repair Act) will require manufacturers of devices that cost more than $50 to provide consumers and repair shops with parts, tools or instructions to repair the device.
- Starting in July, 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.
CRUISING
- AB 436 keeps cities and counties from imposing cruising bans on city streets.
MENTAL HEALTH
- 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 531 would issue $6.38 billion in bonds to fund 11,150 new behavioral health beds and housing as well as 26,700 outpatient treatment slots.
ONLINE PROTECTIONS
- 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.
OPIOID CRISIS
- AB 663 allows for more mobile pharmacies to be created in communities across the state and enables them to dispense treatment medications for opioid use disorder.
PUBLIC SAFETY
- SB 14 defines child sex trafficking as a serious felony under California law, meaning repeat offenders of this crime and other serious offenses could face up to life in prison.
- AB 701 enhances jail time for those trafficking more than a kilo of fentanyl.
- SB 673 Establishes the “Ebony Alert” for missing young Black women and children.
- 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.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
- AB 352 requires companies that manage electronic health records to protect all Californians’ and visitors’ electronic medical records related to abortion, gender-affirming care, pregnancy loss and other sensitive services.
- SB 345 protects providers and people from enforcement action in California of other states’ laws that criminalize or limit reproductive and gender-affirming health care services.
WORKERS RIGHTS/WAGES
- California’s minimum wage overall will increase to $16 dollars an hour. Other job sectors will see bigger bumps. In April, AB 1228 will go into effect to raise the minimum wage of fast-food workers to $20 an hour.
- In June, because of SB 525, some health care 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.
- SB 497 makes it easier for employees to establish retaliation claims against their employer. This is known as the Equal Pay and Anti-Retaliation Act.
- SB 616 requires employers to allow both hourly and salary workers to earn a minimum of five paid sick days a year. SDSun
