WPBN: California is about to enact hundreds of new laws in the coming year. These are some of the upcoming changes pertaining to a variety of topics, such as zoning, medical debt, and alcohol consumption in public areas.
Housing
Applications for duplex and lot splitting must be approved or denied by municipal governments within 60 days starting next year. A list of the necessary items to correct the application must be provided if the agency rejects it.
According to a government bill analysis, applications can no longer be rejected on the grounds that the agency thinks they would “have a specific, adverse impact on the physical environment.”
Law on Guns
Beginning in 2025, a restriction that restricts consumers to one application per 30 days to purchase a handgun will no longer apply to firearm sales between two individuals that are carried out through a dealer.
The state has mandated that firearms dealers provide gun buyers with a brochure that “explains the reasons for and risks of owning a firearm.”
Labor
Workers will have the right to take time off to assist a family member who has experienced violence. In order to partially compensate for their absences, employees are permitted to use sick leave.
Employers are no longer permitted to demand that employees utilize their vacation time prior to taking paid family leave.
The California Employment Development Department will have to furnish family temporary disability insurance benefit applications in languages spoken by a “substantial number of non-English-speaking applicants” in accordance with a separate statute passed in 2019 that is only now taking effect.
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Medical Care
Credit reporting companies will not be permitted to list medical debt on consumer credit reports as of next year. A consumer credit reporting agency cannot get information on medical debt; if they do, the debt is canceled.
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Education
Books cannot be banned by public library governing boards “because of the topic addressed by the materials or because of the views, ideas, or opinions contained in those materials.”
Beginning in 2026, state-funded libraries must also have a written policy that is available to the public that outlines how books are added to or deleted from their collections and how community people can ask for a book to be reexamined for the collection.
Other
Beginning in the new year, California-based social media businesses must have a mechanism in place for users to report content related to child sexual abuse and to take down and block that content, along with other similar reports, from their platforms.
During a state primary election, candidates will not be permitted to compete for more than one office.
A century-old legislation that the state had long understood to bar multiple candidacies was overturned last year when the California Supreme Court decided that the provision only applied to a procedure that was no longer in use in California.
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Three new official state symbols will be provided to the state by three measures that were approved by the legislature this year:
- State slug: Ariolimax, or banana slug
- Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) is the state crustacean.
- Black abalone (Haliotis cracherodii) is the state seashell.
During specific days and hours, cities and counties will have the authority to establish “entertainment zones” where alcohol use on sidewalks and streets is permitted.
After implementing a test version of the law in San Francisco, the state is now permitting all local governments to take part.
A new rule will permit cannabis shops to offer concert tickets and other performance tickets in addition to non-cannabis food and beverages. The company needs local government approval and a license.
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