Gov. Gavin Newsom signed dozens of bills into laws earlier this month, tweaking bureaucratic processes to improve voter transparency, election accountability and workers rights.
Several state lawmakers from San Jose and Santa Clara County had their bills approved. Here’s an overview of some new laws, which take effect Jan. 1, 2026 unless otherwise stated.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan touted San Jose as the safest city with the lowest homicides per capita compared to Oakland and San Francisco in 2023. File photo.
Improving transparency for families of police brutality victims
Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s AB 572 requires law enforcement agencies to establish transparency policies for how police officers engage with families of people who have been killed or injured by police, beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
Before any interview with family members, officers will need to disclose the victim’s status and make it clear they’re conducting a formal interview connected to the investigation. In a news release, Kalra said these new standards will limit officers from threatening or coercing grieving family members in police brutality incidents.
Expanding labor trafficking protections
AB 1362, authored by Kalra, extends existing labor trafficking protections to people with H-2A agricultural working visas, beginning July 1, 2027.
These protections include more state oversight on immigrant agricultural workers, including requiring farm contractors to register with the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.
The Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaboration aims to restore healthy ecosystems to 840 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, preventing wildfire risk. Photo courtesy of the Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaboration.
Preparing for wildfires
Two bills in state Sen. Dave Cortese’s wildfire resilience package — SB 653 and SB 429 — received Newsom’s signature. SB 653 clearly defines environmentally friendly methods for dry vegetation management to reduce wildfire risk, which Cortese said has been a barrier to organizations looking to apply for grant funding through Proposition 4, a $10 billion climate bond.
SB 429 addresses the rise in insurance premiums related to wildfires and, in many cases, insurance companies refusing to issue policies in California altogether. Cortese said insurance companies’ risk modeling is often kept secret, so the bill creates a wildfire safety and risk management program to develop a state wildfire catastrophe model. The bill calls for this program to be budgeted beginning Sept. 1, 2026.
“We can have that modeled up the same way the insurance companies do, but make it publicly accessible,” Cortese told San José Spotlight. “You can go in there and dissect it yourself and do side-by-sides.”
San Jose has about 2,000 shopping carts that are abandoned citywide each year. File photo.
Addressing abandoned shopping carts
Abandoned shopping carts are a beautification and local bureaucracy issue statewide, though it’s hit San Jose especially hard as the city has worked to clear debris from its waterways. These carts are an extra burden, as cities are required to impound unclaimed carts for up to 30 days and can only charge retailers $50.
Cortese’s SB 753 allows cities to return carts to their retail owners and double the charges to $100.
Reducing recidivism
SB 551 and 553 make up Cortese’s package aimed at reducing the likelihood that prisoners reentering society reoffend by creating a more “normal” community inside the prison. Cortese based the bills on research done by UC San Francisco’s Amend program and Norway’s prison system, which he said mimics community dynamics from outside the prison within its walls.
SB 551 sets that expectation as a legislative precedent, and SB 553 expands clearances to allow more colloquial engagement with people working in the prison.
“This bill is saying, if you want to rehabilitate people, you have to normalize the way that prisoners and prison guards interact on a moment-by-moment, day-by-day basis,” Cortese said. “You have to change the inside of the prison to be much more like outside society.”
Increasing punishments for wage theft
Santa Clara County officials have been working to combat wage theft. State Sen. Aisha Wahab’s SB 261 establishes harsher punishments for business owners who ignore wage theft judgments.
The law also allows county prosecutors to collect attorney’s fees in these cases, increasing the cost to business owners and allowing local authorities to continue pursing wage theft cases.
Removing loopholes in rape laws
Wahab’s SB 258 removes wording in the state’s definition of rape, which makes an exception when the victim is one’s spouse with a disability making them incapable of giving legal consent.
Disabilities advocates statewide have been torn on this, however, as Disability Rights California opposed the bill on the grounds that it assumes a capacity to consent and alleges Wahab’s office has not engaged with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
One of the entrances to the San Jose State University campus. File photo.
Reducing barriers to higher education financial aid for at-risk youth
Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens is delivering on more of his campaign promises during his first year in office. AB 243 makes it easier for youths in the juvenile courts or welfare systems to apply for financial aid at colleges.
Often, youth involved in these systems face road blocks proving their independence from parents when applying for aid. Now, higher education institutions will accept proof of financial independence from education agencies, a county probation department or welfare department.
Repealing misdemeanor statute for parents of truant students
Existing laws punish the parent or guardian of a child who’s chronically absent in school with a misdemeanor charge, which can result in up to $2,000 fines and one year of jail time. Ahren’s AB 461 repeals those laws, in an effort to not criminalize underlying problems that lead children to miss school.
“Fining or imprisoning parents did nothing to get kids the education and support they need,” Ahrens said in a news release.
Establishing best practices for LGBTQ+ homeless support
Santa Clara County’s homeless LGBTQ+ population has struggled to find community amid sweeps and a lack of safe spaces. Assemblymember Alex Lee’s AB 678 calls on the state’s Interagency Council on Homelessness to research and publish best practices for providing culturally competent services to LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness. The council has until July 1, 2027, to submit the report.
“As the federal regime seeks to criminalize homelessness and erase LGBTQ+ identities, the bill safeguards our LGBTQ+ communities by ensuring homelessness programs are inclusive and affirming,” Lee said. “LGBTQ+ Californians face disproportionately high rates of housing insecurity, and I will keep fighting for everyone’s right to safe, stable and affordable homes.”
Unifying election timelines
California’s vote-by-mail electoral process has come under attack for taking too long, inspiring conspiracies that many votes are fraudulent. Assemblymember Marc Berman said AB 5 addresses those concerns by setting a uniform, statewide ballot counting deadline on the 13th day after an election.
Elections officials who don’t meet the deadline will have to file for an extension with the Secretary of State.
Tightening ballot curing deadlines
In another effort to streamline the state’s vote-by-mail process, Berman’s AB 827 gives voters until 22 days after the election to verify identifying details on their ballots, known as “ballot curing.” He said previously, voters had until only two days before counties certified election results to cure their ballots.
“My hope is that this helps increase voters faith in the integrity of our election and, frankly, the integrity of our democracy, because there have been very un-American, unpatriotic efforts to sow doubts in voters minds about whether or not our elections process is fair and accurate,” Berman told San José Spotlight. “Those efforts weaken our democracy.”
School zone speed limits
Berman’s AB 382 lowers the maximum speed limits near schools from 25 mph to 20 mph. He said studies have shown that five miles per hour decrease can lead to an 8% to 15% reduction in injuries and a 10% to 30% reduction in fatalities. Starting next year, local authorities can begin declaring decreased speed limits until Jan. 1, 2031, when it becomes assumed statewide.
B. Sakura Cannestra is a freelance reporter who previously worked at San José Spotlight through the California Local News Fellowship. Contact her at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.