![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/e969f9dd-56b5-4c06-95ed-25e04ea62099-schoolphonecellphone.png\"\/)
<\/p>\nBAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Several new California laws take effect Wednesday, July 1, bringing changes that could affect students, restaurant customers, grocery shoppers, healthcare patients and more.<\/p>\n
While most new state laws take effect on Jan. 1, lawmakers often set July 1 implementation dates for measures that require additional time for agencies, businesses and schools to prepare.<\/p>\n
Here’s a look at some of the biggest changes Californians will see:<\/p>\n
Schools must adopt cellphone restrictions<\/p>\n
Beginning July 1, every California school district, county office of education and charter school must have a policy in place that limits or prohibits student smartphone use during the school day under the Phone-Free School Act (AB 3216).<\/p>\n
The law does not create a statewide cellphone ban. Instead, local school districts will decide how to implement the policy, including whether phones must remain in backpacks, lockers or other designated locations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FILE – Student on cell phone during class.<\/p>\n
The law includes exceptions for emergencies, students with medical needs, teacher-approved educational use and students with accommodations through an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The Governor’s Office says the goal is to improve student learning, mental health and social interaction by reducing classroom distractions.<\/p>\n
Chain restaurants must disclose food allergens<\/p>\n
The Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (SB 68) requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to disclose whether menu items contain any of the nine major food allergens.<\/p>\n
Restaurants may provide the information on menus, through digital menus or by another approved method to help customers make informed dining decisions.<\/p>\n
ICYMI: Fact Check Team: California voters to decide first-ever state billionaire wealth tax<\/a><\/p>\n Food labels become easier to understand<\/p>\n California is also standardizing food date labels to help reduce food waste.<\/p>\n Consumers will begin seeing labels such as “Best if Used By” to indicate product quality and “Use By” for food safety. The law phases out confusing labels like “Sell By” on consumer packaging, which state officials say often lead people to throw away food that is still safe to eat.<\/p>\n New fertility treatment coverage<\/p>\n Many state-regulated health insurance plans will now be required to provide coverage for infertility diagnosis and treatment, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), under SB 729.<\/p>\n The law expands access to fertility care for many Californians who previously faced significant out-of-pocket costs.<\/p>\n K-12 schools must provide an all-gender restroom<\/p>\n Schools with more than one student restroom will be required to offer at least one all-gender restroom.<\/p>\n FILE – A sign marking an all-gender restroom is seen at the new Golden 1 Center, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, (AP Photo\/Rich Pedroncelli)<\/p>\n The law applies to public school districts, county offices of education and charter schools across California.<\/p>\n Streaming ads can’t be louder than your show<\/p>\n Streaming platforms will now be subject to the same commercial loudness standards that have long applied to broadcast and cable television.<\/p>\n The new law is intended to prevent advertisements from playing significantly louder than the programs viewers are watching.<\/p>\n Autonomous vehicles face new emergency requirements<\/p>\n Driverless vehicle companies must provide emergency responders with a dedicated communication system and can now be cited for traffic violations committed by autonomous vehicles.<\/p>\n FILE – NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 09: Waymo robotaxi driven by a safety specialist is seen on Centre Street on April 09, 2026 in New York City. Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is no longer able to test its vehicles in NYC due to its permit expiring on March 31st. The company has been testing eight vehicles with trained safety specialists on board in Downtown Brooklyn and south of 112th Street in Manhattan since last year. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The law also requires companies to provide first responders with a way to quickly communicate with remote operators during emergencies.<\/p>\n ICYMI: PG&E warns of rising impersonator scams, including new barcode and QR code payment ploy<\/a><\/p>\n Some healthcare workers will receive higher wages<\/p>\n California’s phased healthcare minimum wage law continues July 1, increasing minimum wages for many healthcare workers. The exact wage depends on the type and size of the healthcare facility.<\/p>\n Most of the new laws took effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 1, while some requirements will be phased in over the coming months depending on the specific law or local implementation.<\/p>\n For more information on new California laws, visit the California Governor’s Office<\/a> and the California Legislature’s official website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 Several new California laws take effect Wednesday, July 1, bringing changes that could affect students,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8],"class_list":["post-381277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fb91e717-a720-4424-8870-ebc94695c78e-large16x9_GenderNeutralRestro_Smit.jpg\"\/)
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