With the new year comes many changes, including new laws that go into effect today. There were hundreds of bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, ranging from in vitro fertilization to a ban on plastic grocery bags and increasing the minimum wage.
Here are some of the numerous laws you should take note of as we head into 2026.
The topic of immigration has never been more prevalent than it has been this year, and California, which already provides strong protections for immigrants, will be looking to add even more laws in support of migrants.
Assembly Bill (AB) 1261 requires the state to provide legal counsel to immigrant youth in federal or related state immigration proceedings. Senate Bill (SB) 281 requires the court to give a verbatim immigration advisement before a plea of guilty or no contest is made, meaning that a defendant who is not a citizen must be made aware that pleading guilty or no contest could result in deportation.
With the numerous raids and arrests by masked ICE agents throughout California, state lawmakers passed SB 627, which will ban them from covering their faces. If they still do, they could lose their qualified immunity – the legal doctrine that protects them from personal liability in civil lawsuits. And SB 805 requires officers to display their agency and a name or badge number to the public.
CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Court oversees court-ordered treatment for people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, but since launching in 2023, it has helped far fewer people than projected. SB 27 seeks to address that by expanding eligibility to include people with bipolar I disorder with psychotic features.
And speaking of courts, AB 1524 will make public electronic records viewable at the court. While on the subject of the legal system, AB 651 allows incarcerated parents to be physically present at dependency hearings related to their child.
The statewide minimum wage is $16.50 an hour, but will increase by 40 cents through SB 3 to account for inflation. Additionally, SB 648 would authorize the California labor commissioner to investigate, issue citations or file for civil action over tips that an employer takes from a worker.
California already has several plastic bag laws, but with SB 1053, they will be banned at grocery stores and pharmacies, meaning shoppers will have to bring their own bags.
Millions of Californians struggle with infertility and with the costs of treatment. With SB 729, however, insurers with more than 100 employees will be required to provide coverage of fertility preservation and in vitro fertilization services.
More than 3 million people in California have diabetes, but the cost of insulin has become increasingly expensive, ranging into the hundreds of dollars. But through SB 40, insulin co-pay costs are capped at $35 for a 30-day supply for Californians on private health plans. Additionally, insulin pens will be available at a reduced price of $11 per pen.
As the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more and more widespread, there are concerns over its potential misuse – like deepfakes, which are images and videos that have been digitally altered or generated through AI. Through AB 621, public prosecutors are permitted to file lawsuits against individuals or entities for the creation or distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes.
In a similar vein, a defendant may not say that an AI they developed, modified or used that’s alleged to have caused harm to a plaintiff did so autonomously through AB 316. And with AB SB 524, law enforcement agencies will need to identify when AI was used in official reports and the type of program they used.