This is California’s long list of new laws coming in 2024

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – With the new year come several new laws about to impact California. New rights for workers who use cannabis products, changes to traffic stops and changes to housing rules are among the new legislation soon to take effect.

YourCentralValley.com has compiled a long list of the changes due to take effect in the new year. You can find out more about each change by clicking the links below.

Limits to where firearms can be carried

Senate Bill 2 establishes new measures for concealed carry firearm permit holders. The legislation limits where firearms can be carried, such as schools, government buildings, and public transit, and requires CCW (Concealed Carry Weapon) applicants to be 21 years old, have previous firearm training, and background checks.

Harsher punishments for fentanyl dealing

In the fight against fentanyl, lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 701, which enhances punishments for people convicted of dealing more than a kilo of the narcotic.

According to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office, nearly 7,000 Californians overdosed on the drug in 2022.

Block on cruising ban

Counties and cities will be blocked from imposing bans on cruising on city streets in 2024 — a win for the lowrider community.

Credit for early campsite cancellation

A new online policy to encourage early cancellations of campsite reservations will come into effect. If you cancel a reservation more than a week out, you can receive a credit to use in the future. If you don’t show up on day one of your reservation, your entire stay will be canceled.

The policy is designed to responsible reservations – or get others who want to camp into an otherwise unused space.

Protections for marijuana users

Workers in California who use marijuana will have new protections when using the drug off the clock and away from work in 2024. Assembly Bill 2188 makes it unlawful for an employer to not hire, penalize, or terminate a person based on their use of cannabis products outside of work.

Protections for pregnancy loss

Parents who suffer pregnancy loss, such as a miscarriage or stillbirth, will be allowed to take time off work. Starting in 2024, Senate Bill 848 makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to five days of reproductive loss leave following a reproductive loss event.

The change includes events such as failed adoption, failed surrogacy, failed artificial insemination, or embryo transfer, in addition to miscarriage and stillbirth. It applies to a person who would have been a parent if the loss had not occurred.

Higher minimum wage

California’s minimum wage is rising in 2024 to $16 an hour starting on January 1. State law requires that the state’s minimum wage go up annually by either 3.5% or inflation as measured by the U.S. Consumer Price Index, whichever is less.

There are even higher wages due to come into effect for fast food workers and healthcare workers.

Speed cameras (in certain areas)

Assembly Bill 645 will allow certain cities to establish a system to allow the citing of speeding drivers through the use of video cameras, similar to red light cameras.

More time for expired vehicle tags

Assembly Bill 256 will prohibit an officer from pulling over a vehicle solely based on the expired stickers on the back license plate unless two months have passed since the month stated on the sticker. For example, if a registration expires in July, the vehicle would not be able to be stopped solely for the expired sticker until October.

Similarly, Assembly Bill 925 changes guidelines for officers or traffic enforcement officials when dealing with expired registration violations. Starting Jan. 1, the new law will require authorities to verify with the DMV if a vehicle does not have up-to-date registration before towing for tags that expired six or more months prior.

Citations for parking in bicycle lanes

Assembly Bill 361 will allow local agencies to install cameras on vehicles used to enforce parking rules to ultimately issue citations to vehicles illegally parked in bike lanes.

No stopping near crosswalks

Assembly Bill 413 will prohibit vehicles from stopping, standing or parking within 20 feet of unmarked or marked crosswalks, or 15 feet from crosswalks that extend from a “bulb-out,” a stretch of sidewalk that juts out into the road.

Numbers on catalytic converters must be left alone

Assembly Bill 519 is designed to stop people from removing or altering the numbers added to a catalytic converter.

Zero-emission school buses

Assembly Bill 579 will require all new school buses to be zero-emission vehicles, with extensions on the deadline for school districts that have “terrain and route constraints” starting in 2035.

Officers cannot ask “Why did I pull you over?”

Starting in 2024, law enforcement officers cannot start an interaction by asking the person why they were pulled over but instead must say the purpose of the traffic stop before asking any other questions. The same goes for any stops conducted on a pedestrian.

Limit to renters’ security deposits

Tenants will no longer have to fork over several month’s rent as a security deposit. A new bill caps the amount a landlord can charge to one month’s rent.

Eviction protections

Evictions based on alleged criminal activity will not be permitted in 2024 and no-fault just-cause evictions will be subject to new rules starting April 1, 2024.

Mugshots on social media

Mugshots posted to social media by law enforcement must use the preferred pronoun of the arrestee in 2024. Law enforcement will also be barred from posting a mugshot to social media if the person is accused of a nonviolent crime – unless certain exceptions apply. The new law also adds a requirement to remove mugshots from social media accounts – unless those same certain circumstances apply.

Tax Increase for Higher Wage Earners

California has a short-term disability program that pays people who cannot work because of a non-work related illness, injury or pregnancy. The program is funded by a 1.1% tax on wages. In the past, this tax only applied to wages below a certain amount, about $153,000 in 2023. But starting Jan. 1, a new law, which was passed in 2022 but takes effect this year, eliminates the wage cap. People who make more than $153,000 per year subsequently will pay a 1.1% tax on those wages.

Protections for Abortion Pills

Abortion is now illegal in 14 states after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But doctors and pharmacists in California who mail abortion pills to patients in those states will be shielded from prosecution or fines. The law bans bounty hunters or bail agents from apprehending California doctors and taking them to another state to stand trial. It even prohibits state-based social media companies, such as Facebook, from complying with out-of-state subpoenas, warrants or other requests for records to discover the identity of patients seeking abortion pills.

Community College Tuition

Low-income Mexican residents who live within 45 miles (72 kilometers) of the California-Mexico border will be eligible for in-state tuition rates at participating Southern California community colleges under a new law signed by Newsom. The measure will lower a burden for students to receive education and training to help prepare them for the workforce, advocates say. It resembles another program in the state allowing up to 200 Nevada residents who live in certain areas near the California-Nevada border to receive in-state tuition rates at Lake Tahoe Community College.

LGBTQ+ Foster Youth

Foster families will be required to demonstrate their ability to meet the health and safety needs of children regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It was one of several bills the Legislature passed this year to expand protections for LGBTQ+ youth. Newsom vetoed another high-profile bill that would have required courts to consider whether a parent affirms their child’s gender identity in custody and visitation proceedings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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