California lawmakers handed roughly 1,200 payments final yr, together with some that resulted in unforeseeable wins by Republicans, promising protections for shoppers and small strides for these within the leisure business.
In the long run, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed about 84% of the payments he acquired. Lots of these legal guidelines take impact at this time, Jan. 1, as California rings in a brand new yr. Listed here are a couple of you need to know heading into 2025:
Hashish
Hashish cafes are authorized: Now you can hang around at dispensaries such as you would a restaurant or cafe, because of AB 1775. The brand new regulation brings an Amsterdam-style approach to marijuana use, by permitting hashish retailers to make and promote meals and nonalcoholic drinks at what will probably be generally known as hashish cafes or lounges. Earlier than this regulation, clients may smoke in some dispensaries however the companies had been solely allowed to promote prepackaged snacks and drinks. Some who’re involved with the well being element name the regulation a step backward, given the dangers of secondhand smoke.
Synthetic Intelligence
Actors are shielded from AI imitations: It’s now required to create a contract to specify using synthetic intelligence to copy an actor’s voice or likeness. Assembly Bill 2602 goals to guard performers’ and actors’ careers by stopping synthetic intelligence from replicating their voice or likeness with out permission. In the summertime of 2023, actors’ and writers’ unions shut down Hollywood throughout a months-long strike, in the end negotiating new contracts round using synthetic intelligence of their business. Final yr, courts additionally began to question the business of selling deepfakes of celebrities’ voices and Scarlett Johansson raised considerations about an AI voice that sounded similar to hers.
Useless actors’ voices gained’t be exploited: Folks will probably be topic to a $10,000 fantastic for utilizing the voice of a lifeless actor or one which seems like their voice with out the consent of their property. AB 1836 was sponsored by SAG-AFTRA and launched in mild of the developments made in synthetic intelligence that, the union stated, can “simply clone human voices.”
Deepfakes with sexually express imagery are banned: Present revenge porn regulation is now expanded below SB 926 to ban the unauthorized distribution of artificially created sexually express photographs of an actual particular person. The regulation applies particularly if there’s intent to trigger critical emotional misery to the individual that is depicted within the picture. Earlier this yr, Laguna Seaside Excessive Faculty officers investigated a student who circulated A.I.-generated sexually exploitative photographs, and in Beverly Hills, a gaggle of eighth-graders was expelled for their involvement in superimposing photos of their classmates’ faces onto simulated nude our bodies via synthetic intelligence.
Social media platforms will make reporting deepfakes simpler: Social media platforms are actually required to have a reporting mechanism for customers who’re portrayed in a sexually express video or picture with out their information because of SB 981. The Los Angeles District Legal professional’s workplace, a sponsor of the invoice, stated that pornographic deepfakes have gotten a “rising menace” to adults and youths on social media.
Wages and Private Funds
No extra overdraft charges: State-chartered banks and credit score unions are actually barred below AB 2017 from charging overdraft charges, also called nonsufficient fund charges, when clients attempt to make a withdrawal, buy one thing on their debit card, or switch fee however shouldn’t have sufficient funds and the transaction is declined. This was impressed by a similar proposal the Biden administration made early final yr.
The minimal wage goes up: Staff paid the statewide minimal wage will get an annual improve to their hourly wages from $16 in 2024 to $16.50. This pay scale could vary relying on what metropolis or county you’re in and what business you’re employed in. The minimal wage for quick meals staff is now $20 an hour and several cities, together with Los Angeles, require minimal wages in different sectors that prime $17 an hour.
Staff taking household go away will get more cash: Staff who earn lower than $63,000 a yr will get 90% of their pay throughout go away to bond with a brand new child or look after a sick member of the family, whereas staff making greater than that can get 70% of their pay below SB 951, which handed in 2022. Beforehand, lower-paid staff had been eligible for 70% of their pay throughout household go away, which made it unimaginable for a lot of to take the day off, regardless that they had been paying into the incapacity insurance coverage system that covers the profit. The brand new, greater alternative wage is paid for by all staff who pay into the state incapacity earnings program; they are going to have 1.2% of their pay deducted in 2025, up from 1.1% in 2024.
Housing
Extra time to reply to eviction notices: Tenants now have double the time to reply in writing to an eviction discover. The earlier authorized time to reply earlier than authorized motion is taken was 5 enterprise days, however it has now elevated to 10 enterprise days due to AB 2347. The invoice’s creator stated giving tenants solely 5 days to reply was “uniquely brief” and will usually lead to a landlord successful a case, with out the tenant getting a day in courtroom. Extending the response time, the creator stated, permits tenants extra time to hunt recommendation, collect proof and file an acceptable response.
Healthcare
Medical debt gained’t be included in your credit score rating: Credit score companies can not embody medical debt on individuals’s credit score experiences below SB 1061. An estimated 40% of People are burdened with some type of medical debt that they’re unable to repay. Advocates for this regulation argued that medical debt is a poor predictor of an individual’s credit score danger and might stop people or households from discovering housing, or getting employed, amongst different requirements.
Incarcerated girls don’t want permission to acquire menstrual merchandise: Girls in prisons and jails now have full entry to period-care merchandise like pads and tampons below AB 1810. The regulation permits girls to acquire these merchandise without having to ask prison guards for permission, which has been tied to experiences of sexual harassment.
Schooling
Youngsters will find out about pivotal California historical past: Public faculties will now be required below AB 1805 to show Mendez vs. Westminster, a 1947 courtroom case involving a Mexican family from Orange County that fought to finish segregation throughout California. The invoice’s creator confused the significance of instructing college students about this courtroom case to assist them “be taught of the civil rights challenges confronted by Mexican People on this state.”
Gender expression in faculties: A primary-in-the-nation regulation now bans faculty districts from requiring employees or academics to reveal to oldsters if a pupil begins utilizing a brand new pronoun or identifies as a unique gender. AB 1955 will even shield faculty employees from retaliation in the event that they refuse to inform mother and father of a kid’s gender choice. The coverage was launched in response to greater than a dozen conservative-led school board policies that required academics to inform mother and father if their baby modified their names or pronouns. The difficulty set off heated debates in the state Capitol and throughout faculty districts, as some mother and father felt outraged that the state needed to maintain mother and father at the hours of darkness, whereas LGBTQ+ activists stated obligatory notification promotes an “unsafe” atmosphere by pressured outing of scholars.
Security
Parking will get tougher, and strolling will get safer: California has stricter parking guidelines below AB 413. Police can now ticket drivers who park within 20 feet of the crosswalk, which is across the size of a automotive. Drivers should abide by these guidelines regardless if the curb is painted pink. The aim of the regulation is to extend pedestrian visibility at busy intersections. The regulation has technically been in impact because the begin of 2024, however police will start fining drivers in January.
New legal guidelines to curb retail theft: Over the summer time, the Legislature handed a sweeping bundle of 11 payments meant to deal with retail theft. Seven of them are actually taking impact. These embody: retail shops can request restraining orders towards individuals who repeatedly steal from their shops; prosecutors can coordinate and cost individuals with crimes throughout completely different counties and deal with them in a single courtroom and those that commit arson within the act of stealing will obtain stiffer sentences. Learn The Times’ extensive coverage of those new legal guidelines.
