New California laws 2025: Here are 12 laws you'll want to know for your day-to-day life

New California laws 2025: Here are 12 laws you’ll want to know for your day-to-day life

Posted by Admin December 18, 2024 Jobs

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California’s 2024 legislative session saw bills targeting retail theft, street takeovers, education, and even octopus farming.

Among the many laws that will go into effect in 2025, The Desert Sun is highlighting ones that everyday Californians and their loved ones may want to know about, from food delivery services to paid family leave.

Here is a sampling of legislation to familiarize yourself with as we enter the new year.

AB 1775: Cannabis and food sales

This law lets local jurisdictions allow cannabis dispensaries to prepare and sell non-cannabis-infused food and drinks where people are consuming cannabis on their premises. It would also allow live music or other performances on their premises, specifically where people can consume cannabis.

AB 375: Food delivery identity

Starting March 1, 2025, food delivery platforms will have to provide a customer with the first name and a photo of the driver when they’re notified their purchase is out for delivery.

SB 729: Covering infertility treatment

The law requires large group health care service plan contracts and disability insurance policies to provide coverage for diagnosing and treating infertility, including in vitro fertilization, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement in September. The requirements would be for health care service plans issued, adjusted or renewed on or after July 1, 2025, according to USA TODAY.

AB 2863: Making subscription cancellations easier

Among what this law does is require a business to provide people the ability to cancel their automatic renewals and continuous services in the same way they used to start their subscription. This would impact subscriptions that people begin or extend on or after July 1, 2025.

SB 1100: Driver’s license requirements for jobs

Employers can’t say in hiring materials, such as an application or job posting, that an applicant must have a driver’s license unless the job requires driving and that an alternative form of transportation won’t be comparable to satisfy the job duties.

SB 611: Payment from renters

Among what this law does is prohibit landlords from charging a fee if a tenant pays their rent or security deposit by check. Effective July 1, 2025.

AB 2123: Paid family leave benefits

This law stops employers from requiring employees to use two weeks of their accrued paid vacation before accessing their paid family leave benefits. A news release from Assemblymember Diane Papan, who authored the bill, said this ensures workers don’t have to choose between vacation time and caring for loved ones.

AB 1955: Banning the outing of students

Among what AB 1955 does is prohibit school districts, county education offices, charter schools, and state special schools from creating or enforcing any rule that requires an employee or contractor to disclose a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to someone else without their consent.

SB 1061: No more medical debt on credit reports

This law prohibits medical debt from being included in people’s credit reports, and using any medical debt listed on a report as a negative factor when making credit decisions, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement in September.

SB 926: Artificial intelligence and sexually explicit images

This law makes it a crime for someone 18 years old or older to create or distribute AI-generated sexually explicit images of a person, knowing the person they are depicting would be distressed by it and that a reasonable person would believe the image created was real.

AB 1780: Legacy admissions

Private, nonprofit universities in California, such as USC and Stanford University, according to reports, can no longer consider an applicant’s relationship to a donor or alumni in the admissions process beginning Sept. 1, 2025.

AB 2017: No more insufficient funds fee

Certain banks and credit unions can no longer charge an insufficient funds fee when someone tries to make a transaction and is declined due to insufficient funds. More specifically, these are banks and credit unions subject to the examination authority of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. See more about the industries this department regulates here.

Paris Barraza is a trending reporter covering California news at The Desert Sun. Reach her at pbarraza@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.