Ringin’ in the new laws: 100s of California bills to become law in 2024

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — The New Year is coming, bringing with it new laws in the Golden State.

California lawmakers last year sponsored thousands of bills. More than 1,000 made it to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk — and of those, almost 900 are set to become law.

Two bills signed by the governor will impact the salaries of hundreds of thousands of workers across the state. The first, Assembly Bill 1228, sets a $20 minimum wage for certain fast food employees. Written by Assemblymember Chris Holden, a Pasadena Democrat, the new law becomes effective April 1.

The bill replaced the 2022 Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, which was challenged. Opponents wanted to put the issue to voters. This year’s bill means there will be no referendum. It caps annual wage increases at 3.5% until 2029.

The other, Senate Bill 525, was written by Senator Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat. It raises health care workers’ minimum wage to $25 — though such wage increases are on a sliding scale and depend on the size of the employer and other factors.

Health care workers at qualifying employers with over 10,000 employees will see $23 an hour next year, rising to $25 by 2026. Those who work for hospitals and other institutions that get most of their funding from Medi-Cal and Medicare won’t see $25 an hour until 2033.

Workers will start feeling the effects of the new law on June 1. The law also creates a decade-long ban on any new ordinance that would affect wages or compensation for qualifying health care workers.

J. Paul Leigh, a professor of public health sciences at UC Davis, applauded the move to increase wages.

“I believe these companies can afford it,” he said.

According to Leigh, wages have been stagnant for the middle class for some 45 years, adjusting for inflation. It will take years to reverse that trend.

“Why shouldn’t they pay for healthy workers?” Leigh said of employers.

Minimum wage increases were just some of the big-ticket items considered this year by California lawmakers. Among the other major legislation was:

Proposition 1

A pair of bills Newsom signed will appear on the March ballot as Proposition 1, called “Treatment not Tents” by the Yes on Prop 1 campaign.

Senate Bill 326 — written by Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, a Stockton Democrat — would allow counties to use Behavioral Health Services Act money for treating substance use.

Assembly Bill 531 — by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, a Thousand Oaks Democrat — will lead to the Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2024. That act would raise over $6 billion for permanent supportive housing for homeless people, along with behavioral health treatment facilities for the unhoused or people at risk of homelessness.

Firearms

Three new California laws affect the gun industry and those who carry firearms.

A new 11% excise tax on firearms dealers, manufacturers and ammunition vendors is expected to raise $160 million a year. The money will go toward gun safety programs. The legislation, Assembly Bill 28, was written by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat.

Senator Anthony Portantino, a Burbank Democrat, wrote Senate Bill 2. It puts restrictions on who can have a concealed-carry permit. It also specifies locations where guns are prohibited.

Senate Bill 452 — written by Senator Catherine Blakespear, an Encinitas Democrat — requires semiautomatic pistols to have microstamping, a method of linking bullets to firearms, beginning in 2028.

Criminal and civil law

Senate Bill 14 — written by Senator Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican — creates greater penalties for human trafficking a minor for a commercial sex act. It will become part of California’s three strikes law, meaning someone will face life behind bars for their third offense. It joins a list of other serious felonies, including murder, rape and arson.

Another bill dealing with human trafficking — Senate Bill 727, written by Senator Monique Limón, a Ventura and Santa Barbara county Democrat — gives new authority to trafficking victims in civil court.

Plaintiffs in lawsuits stemming from human trafficking can now ask for a finding from a judge that specific debts they garnered were because of trafficking. Limón has said that the law will stop creditors and debt collectors from collecting that debt.

Workplace and health protections

Several bills passed into law will affect workers and employers.

Senate Bill 848 — written by Senator Susan Rubio, a Baldwin Park Democrat — requires employers with over four employees to provide up to five days off for reproductive loss. Such losses are defined as a miscarriage, stillbirth, unsuccessful assisted reproduction, failed surrogacy, or failed adoption.

Senator Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach Democrat, saw her expanded sick leave bill, Senate Bill 616, pass into law. It increases the number of paid sick days from three to five days. It also increases the limit employers can put on paid sick days from six to 10 days. Additionally, it raises the amount of paid sick days someone can roll over into a new year, from three to five days.

Those two bills were just some of the workplace and health protections approved by California lawmakers this year.

Other bills create new gender protections. Going forward, local jurisdictions will have to notify business license applicants in writing that single-user restrooms must be identified as all-gender facilities. Assemblymember Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, wrote Assembly Bill 783.

Signed into law in 2021, Assembly Bill 1084 will also require department stores with at least 500 employees to have a gender-neutral section for childcare items or toys. Violating this law carries a $250 fine for the first offense and $500 for each additional offense.

Authors of a bill analysis stated that some parents and children could grow uncomfortable while shopping in areas separated by gender, “especially if the children are struggling with their gender identity, or do not wish to identify with one gender.”

The law, written by Assemblymember Evan Low, a Silicon Valley Democrat, is effective Jan. 1.

Lastly, Senate Bill 700 — written by Senator Steven Bradford, a Gardena Democrat — prohibits employers from asking an employee or job applicant about their past cannabis use. It also prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee or applicant for past cannabis use if they gain that information through a criminal history check, unless allowed by other state or federal law.

Education

The teaching of cursive writing from first to sixth grades will be a mandatory part of handwriting instruction, after Newsom signed Assembly Bill 446, written by Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva, a Fullerton Democrat.

Assembly Bill 873 — written by Assemblymember Marc Berman, a Menlo Park Democrat — adds media literacy instruction for kindergarten through 12^th grade students. Berman has said students need media literacy to identify and evaluate fake media stories, as they get most of their news from social media.

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