New 2025 California laws: Artificial intelligence, octopuses, cannabis cafes and more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Artificial quality is having a greater interaction connected our lives and galore caller laws successful California purpose to marque definite AI does not go a detriment.

They are conscionable immoderate of the hundreds of caller laws taking effect Jan. 1, 2025.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

(SB 926) Deepfakes
Makes it a transgression to make and administer sexually explicit images of a existent idiosyncratic that are artificially generated but made to look authentic with the intent of causing that idiosyncratic affectional distress.

(SB 981) Sexually Explicit Images
Requires that societal media platforms found a mechanics for users who are California residents to study sexually explicit images that were created oregon altered digitally but made to look authentic. Social media companies indispensable instrumentality down the contented portion they analyse the complaint.

(AB 1836 & 2602) Digital Likeness
Protects deceased actors and performers from having their image, likeness oregon dependable reproduced without authorization by artificial intelligence. The instrumentality requires consent from the actor's property earlier their likeness tin beryllium digitally replicated. A akin instrumentality (AB 2602) allows performers to backmost retired of existing contracts if the connection is vague capable to let studios to digitally clone their representation oregon dependable successful the aboriginal without expressed consent.

ENTERTAINMENT

(SB969) Entertainment Zones
Allows section governments to make amusement zones wherever bars and restaurants tin merchantability alcoholic beverages that customers tin portion connected nationalist streets and sidewalks. It replaces a instrumentality that lone allowed extracurricular vendors to merchantability intoxicant astatine festivals and parades. A akin instrumentality that took effect successful January of 2024 allowed San Francisco to acceptable up amusement zones to amended concern astatine ceramic and mortar bars and restaurants.

(AB 1775) Cannabis Cafes
Cannabis dispensaries are astir to get livelier. The instrumentality volition let licensed cannabis retailers to hole and merchantability nutrient and beverages astatine recently created cafes oregon lounges. That means customers tin bargain and devour cannabis astatine the concern portion they devour a repast oregon ticker a unrecorded performance.

ONLINE

(SB 764) Child Vloggers
Parents oregon guardians who gain wealth by posting online videos that diagnostic their children indispensable acceptable speech a percent of their net successful a spot relationship that benefits the minor. Parents volition person to support elaborate logs of however overmuch wealth they earned from each station and however galore minutes their children appeared successful the video. Children tin writer parents who neglect to travel the law.

(AB 1979) Doxxing
Allows victims of doxxing to writer their aggressors for up to $30,000 successful damages. Doxxing is erstwhile idiosyncratic shares idiosyncratic accusation similar telephone numbers, addresses oregon delicate materials astir idiosyncratic other with the intent to harm oregon embarrass them. A survey by SafeHome.org recovered that 11 cardinal Americans person been victims of doxxing.

HOUSING

(SB 611) Rent Checks
Prohibits landlord from charging tenants a interest if they wage their rent oregon information deposit by check. Starting successful April, landlords volition besides person to supply renters with a written connection if they complaint a information deposit higher than the standard.

(AB 2347) Evictions
Doubles the existent deadline that tenants person to respond to an eviction announcement to 10 days. Under California law, if a tenant does not respond to an eviction announcement wrong the required clip they suffer the lawsuit automatically. Advocates accidental this volition springiness renters much clip to question ineligible advice.

(SB 450) Housing Developments
Makes it easier to person single-family homes into duplexes and fourplexes by removing loopholes utilized by immoderate section governments to dilatory down conversions. The caller instrumentality requires section governments to respond to lodging conversion applications wrong 60 days and bars section governments from denying an exertion to divided up a batch based connected the ocular interaction to the community.

CONSUMERS

(AB 2426) Digital Goods
Requires sellers of online products similar integer movies, music, books oregon video games to disclose whether the user is purchasing unrestricted ownership oregon a revocable license. Sellers are not allowed to usage the presumption "buy" oregon "purchase" if the user is lone receiving a licence to entree the integer good. It is not wide if the instrumentality applies to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

(SB 1217) Pet Insurance
Requires favored security providers to beryllium much transparent astir whether their argumentation premiums are based connected the property of the favored oregon wherever the favored lives, and if their policies exclude pre-existing conditions, hereditary disorders, congenital anomalies oregon chronic conditions.

(AB 2863) Automatic Renewals
Requires subscription services to get wide consent from a lawsuit for automatic renewals and nonstop yearly reminders astir the automatic renewal oregon continuous service. The law, which takes effect connected July 1st besides makes it easier to cancel a subscription either online oregon by telephone.

(AB 2017 & SB 1075) Overdraft Fees
Limits the overdraft fees that banks and recognition unions tin charge. The instrumentality prohibits fiscal institutions from charging a lawsuit a interest for non-sufficient funds if the transaction was declined instantaneously. Starting successful 2026, recognition unions would beryllium prohibited from charging an overdraft interest successful excess of $14.

(SB2202) Cleaning Fees
Requires short-term rental similar Airbnb to disclose if determination volition beryllium immoderate further fees oregon charges that volition beryllium added if the lawsuit fails to execute definite cleaning tasks astatine the extremity of their stay. The instrumentality takes effect connected July 1, 2025.

HEALTH

(AB 1817 & AB2771) Chemicals successful Cosmetics
Bans the usage of PFAS successful clothing, textiles and cosmetics. PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) tin pb to liver damage, thyroid disease, reproductive problems and cancer. California would beryllium the archetypal authorities to enforce a prohibition connected PFAS, which are already prohibited successful the European Union.

Another instrumentality taking effect successful 2025 bans the manufacture oregon merchantability of cosmetic products with 11 different chemicals, including formaldehyde, mercury and methylene glycol.

(SB 540) Cannabis Health Warnings
Requires the authorities wellness section to make brochures oregon flyers that explicate the risks associated with cannabis use. The documents indispensable beryllium displayed astatine cannabis retailers by March 1.

(SB 729) Infertility Treatments
Starting connected July 1, 2025, wellness security plans are required to screen the diagnosis and attraction of infertility, including successful vitro fertilization (IVF). Religious employers are excluded from the requirement.

CRIME AND SAFETY

(AB 1394) Sexual Exploitation
Holds societal media companies similar Meta and Tik Tok liable for images of a idiosyncratic that look connected intersexual exploitation videos oregon photos posted connected their platforms. Victims of kid enactment trafficking tin writer these companies for up to $4 cardinal if they knowingly facilitated the organisation of these images. The caller instrumentality besides requires societal media platforms to found a process for enactment maltreatment victims to study videos oregon photos that see them. Companies person 36 hours to instrumentality the images down from their platforms.

(SB 1414) Sex Solicitation
Makes it a felony to solicit a insignificant nether the property of 16 for sex. If the insignificant is 16 oregon 17, the transgression tin beryllium upgraded to a felony if the teen is simply a unfortunate of trafficking. The instrumentality penalizes anyone paying for enactment with a insignificant adjacent if the intersexual enactment ne'er occurred.

(SB 428) Restraining Orders
Allows employers to get a impermanent restraining connected behalf of an worker who has suffered harassment. The worker tin take not to beryllium named successful the restraining bid petition. A tribunal tin contradict the bid if it would prohibit code oregon activities protected by the constitution oregon labour law.

(AB 1978) Sideshows & Street Racing
Governor Newsom signed respective laws that enforce stricter penalties for radical participating successful sideshows and thoroughfare racing. The laws would marque it easier for instrumentality enforcement to apprehension sideshow participants and impound vehicles for amerciable activities happening connected streets, highways oregon parking lots.

(AB 1960) Smash & Grab Robberies
Creates stiffer penalties for those progressive successful smash-and-grab robberies. If the transgression caused much than $50,000 successful harm to a property, the tribunal tin enforce an further condemnation of 1 year. Additional years tin beryllium added to a condemnation if the spot nonaccomplishment is higher.

EMPLOYMENT

Minimum Wage
California's minimum wage volition summation to $16.50 per hr for each employers. The summation is tied to inflation. Fast nutrient workers and healthcare installation workers person a higher minimum wage.

(AB 2123) Paid Family Leave
Allows an worker to instrumentality paid household permission without utilizing accrued abrogation time. Previously employers could necessitate workers to instrumentality up to 2 weeks of abrogation clip earlier they could entree California's Paid Family Leave Program. The instrumentality applies to employees that request to instrumentality permission from enactment to attraction for a sick household member, enslaved with a caller insignificant kid oregon due to the fact that a subject household subordinate is connected progressive duty.

(SB 988) Freelance Workers
Requires employers that prosecute freelance workers for nonrecreational services worthy much than $250 to supply a declaration successful penning that includes accusation connected the enactment that volition beryllium performed and outgo information. Employers indispensable wage the freelance workers wrong the day specified successful the declaration oregon nary aboriginal than 30 days aft the enactment is completed.

(AB 1815) Hairstyles Discrimination
Expands protections against radical favoritism by widening the explanation of contention to see traits specified arsenic hairstyles and hairsbreadth textures that are associated with definite races.

(SB 399) Mandatory Meetings
Bans employers from requiring that workers be mandatory meetings concerning national organizing, different known arsenic 'captive audience' meetings. Also prohibits employers from requiring its workers be meetings oregon enactment successful communications whose superior nonsubjective is to explicit the employer's stance connected governmental matters oregon spiritual leanings. Employers who disregard the instrumentality tin look a $500 punishment per worker for each violation.

(SB 1100) Driver's License
Employers would nary longer beryllium allowed to necessitate a driver's licence successful occupation postings unless the leader reasonably expects the occupation relation to see driving and taking alternate proscription would beryllium a detriment successful question clip and outgo to the employer.

EDUCATION

(AB 1780) Legacy Admissions
Bans bequest admissions for students applying to a backstage non-profit assemblage successful California. Universities similar Stanford and USC would nary longer beryllium allowed to instrumentality into relationship whether a pupil applicant has ties to a donor oregon an alumnus. The instrumentality takes effect successful September, truthful it does not use to existent applicants for the autumn 2025 schoolhouse year.

(AB 1821) Native Americans
Requires K-12 nationalist schools successful the authorities to thatch astir the attraction and perspectives of Native Americans during the Spanish colonization of California and the Gold Rush periods.

STATE SYMBOLS

Several laws person established authoritative authorities symbols, including the Dungeness crab arsenic the authoritative authorities crustacean (AB 1797), the banana slug arsenic the authoritative authorities slug (AB 1859) and the ammunition of the achromatic abalone arsenic the authoritative authorities seashell (AB 2504).

MISCELLANEOUS

(SB 1174) Voter ID Requirements

Prohibits section governments successful California from requiring voters to contiguous recognition successful bid to vote. The instrumentality is successful effect to an ordinance passed successful Huntington Beach that allowed the metropolis to verify elector eligibility done IDs.

(AB 1810) Menstrual Products

Requires authorities prisons oregon jails successful California to supply incarcerated radical with escaped menstrual products without the inmate having to inquire for them. Before this law, inmates had to inquire for sanitary pads oregon tampons, which transgression justness advocates accidental allowed situation information to withhold menstrual products arsenic a signifier of punishment and oppression.

(AB 3162) Octopus Farming

California becomes the 2nd authorities to marque it amerciable to rise octopuses successful farms with the intent to merchantability them for quality consumption. The instrumentality besides bars businesses from selling octopuses that came from octopus farms. The instrumentality inactive allows for the sportfishing of octopuses arsenic agelong arsenic it does not transcend the regular limit.