Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed 770 bills into law this year, many of them taking effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
Here are a few of the more noteworthy ones:
-- Animal welfare: Proposition 12, approved by voters in 2018, makes metal enclosures that restrict pigs from turning around and cages that prevent hens from opening their wings illegal
-- Minimum wage: SB 3 requires the minimum wage for all industries employing 26 or more employees to rise to $15, and $14 for employers employing 25 or fewer workers
-- Cocktails to go: SB 389 allows getting cocktails and wine to go with your dinner order at restaurants extended until Dec. 31, 2026. The delivery of cocktails alone, however, ends Dec. 31, 2021
-- Traffic safety: AB 43 authorizes local authorities to reduce speed limits to protect the safety of vulnerable groups such as pedestrians and cyclists
-- Non-gender marketing: A new law not taking full effect until 2024 mandates that department stores with more than 500 employees must provide a gender-neutral section displaying "a reasonable selection" of items regardless of whether they've been traditionally marketed for either girls or boys. The law does not include clothing. LGBTQ advocates maintain the pink and blue hues of traditional marketing methods pressure children to conform to gender stereotypes
-- Food delivery apps: In an effort to support delivery workers and increase billing transparency, AB 286 makes it illegal for food delivery apps to retain any portion of a tip or gratuity. If the order is for delivery, that tip must go to the individual worker. If the order is for pickup, the gratuity must go to the restaurant
-- Police reform: AB 1475 protects the rights of people arrested but not yet prosecuted, forbidding law enforcement from posting mug shots of those arrested on suspicion of nonviolent crimes
-- Rape: A new law alters California's penal code to make rape within marriage the same in every legal sense as any instance of rape
-- Police decertification: Another noteworthy new law allows police officers who have committed misconduct to be de-certified. Previously, problematic officers could sometimes find employment in other areas without repercussions. Now, they will have their license revoked and not be able to simply switch departments after being fired
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images