\n\t\t\t\t\t\tLaws in California typically go into effect in two different rounds. One at the beginning of the calendar year, and one at the beginning of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. The latest round of laws that were approved in 2025 will go into effect on Wednesday, July 1, and span from child safety to food allergens to health care.Here is a list of some of the laws that will be going into effect:Child SafetyStudent identification cards: AB 727: All public schools that are grades 7-12 must have student identification cards that provide hotlines and phone numbers that link to LGBTQ+ and suicide hotlines on the physical card. Student health insurance: AB 594: Student certificate holder needs to request to terminate their student health insurance if they are planning on being away from school for an extended period of time, such as a leave of absence, graduation, or are no longer enrolled in that specific school. Child abuse prevention: SB 848: This law will require additional information to be developed and disseminated to private schools and volunteers, and also require school volunteers to become mandated reporters. Child abuse prevention: AB 653: This will require private schools to annually train their employees and have mandated reporters follow child abuse reporting laws. The training will include training in child abuse signs, child neglect identification and how to report it. Early childhood education and childcare: SB 120: This law will increase rates for specified programs like daycares and childcare by the cost-of-living adjustment as specified. This will also increase the cost-of-living adjustment for state preschool program contractors and childcare and development program contractors who fit the requirements. School smartphone policy: This requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting smartphone use on campus. The key shift from an existing law is that schools will now be required to act, not just permitted to.Food safety and healthFood allergens: SB 68: Requires that a restaurant that repeatedly submits to federal requirements provide notice of all of the major food allergens that they intend on using for their dishes. This can be on a physical menu or a digital one, whatever the restaurant itself uses. “Sell by” dates: Manufacturers that display a date label must use one of two standardized phrases: Best if Used By\u201d for peak quality, and \u201cUse By\u201d for food safety. \u201cSell by\u201d dates, which were never meant for shoppers in the first place, but rather to tell stores when to rotate stock, are now banned.Death certificates: AB 583: The last nurse practitioner in attendance at the time of death of the individual shall be the one to fill out all of the necessary information required for the funeral home and coroner. Construction Civil penalties: SB 779: This law will increase the minimum civil penalties for violations related to unlicensed contractors to at least $1,500 and would impose civil penalties of at least $500 or $1,500 for other specified violations. Homes near transit stops: SB 79: It allows multifamily housing developments near major transit stops in eight urban counties, overriding local zoning restrictions. The affected counties are Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo. Neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes within a half-mile of qualifying rail or bus rapid transit stops can now see mid-rise apartment buildings.Consumer policySubscriptions: Video streaming services can no longer play advertisements louder than the content itself. The law brings streaming services in line with existing Federal Communications Commission regulations for TV broadcast and cable stations.Some of the laws that went into effect at the start of this year include:Raising the minimum wage: Senate Bill 3: Minimum wage was raised to $16.90 per hour and $70,304 for exempt workers.Speedier election counting: Assembly Bill 5: Requires election officials to finish counting most ballots and release the information by the 13th day after an election, as opposed to 31 days.Plastic grocery bag ban: SB 1053: This bans plastic bags from being used in grocery stores.Sexual assault lawsuits AB 250: This gives adult victims of sexual assault more time to file lawsuits. You can find our full list of notable laws that went into effect in January here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google The SF Gate contributed to this reporting.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Laws in California typically go into effect in two different rounds. One at the beginning of the calendar year, and one at the beginning of the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. <\/p>\n
The latest round of laws that were approved in 2025 will go into effect on Wednesday, July 1, and span from child safety to food allergens to health care.<\/p>\n
Here is a list of some of the laws that will be going into effect:<\/p>\n
Child Safety<\/p>\n
Student identification cards: AB 727<\/a>: All public schools that are grades 7-12 must have student identification cards that provide hotlines and phone numbers that link to LGBTQ+ and suicide hotlines on the physical card. <\/p>\n Student health insurance: AB 594<\/a>: Student certificate holder needs to request to terminate their student health insurance if they are planning on being away from school for an extended period of time, such as a leave of absence, graduation, or are no longer enrolled in that specific school. <\/p>\n Child abuse prevention: SB 848<\/a>: This law will require additional information to be developed and disseminated to private schools and volunteers, and also require school volunteers to become mandated reporters. <\/p>\n Child abuse prevention: AB 653<\/a>: This will require private schools to annually train their employees and have mandated reporters follow child abuse reporting laws. The training will include training in child abuse signs, child neglect identification and how to report it. <\/p>\n Early childhood education and childcare: SB 120<\/a>: This law will increase rates for specified programs like daycares and childcare by the cost-of-living adjustment as specified. This will also increase the cost-of-living adjustment for state preschool program contractors and childcare and development program contractors who fit the requirements. <\/p>\n School smartphone policy: This requires every school district, charter school and county office of education to adopt a policy limiting or prohibiting smartphone use on campus. The key shift from an existing law is that schools will now be required to act, not just permitted to.<\/p>\n Food safety and health<\/p>\n Food allergens: SB 68<\/a>: Requires that a restaurant that repeatedly submits to federal requirements provide notice of all of the major food allergens that they intend on using for their dishes. This can be on a physical menu or a digital one, whatever the restaurant itself uses. <\/p>\n “Sell by” dates: Manufacturers that display a date label must use one of two standardized phrases: Best if Used By\u201d for peak quality, and \u201cUse By\u201d for food safety. \u201cSell by\u201d dates, which were never meant for shoppers in the first place, but rather to tell stores when to rotate stock, are now banned.<\/p>\n Death certificates: AB 583<\/a>: The last nurse practitioner in attendance at the time of death of the individual shall be the one to fill out all of the necessary information required for the funeral home and coroner. <\/p>\n Construction <\/p>\n Civil penalties: SB 779<\/a>: This law will increase the minimum civil penalties for violations related to unlicensed contractors to at least $1,500 and would impose civil penalties of at least $500 or $1,500 for other specified violations. <\/p>\n Homes near transit stops: SB 79<\/a>: It allows multifamily housing developments near major transit stops in eight urban counties, overriding local zoning restrictions. The affected counties are Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Mateo. Neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family homes within a half-mile of qualifying rail or bus rapid transit stops can now see mid-rise apartment buildings.<\/p>\n Consumer policy<\/p>\n Subscriptions: Video streaming services can no longer play advertisements louder than the content itself. The law brings streaming services in line with existing Federal Communications Commission regulations for TV broadcast and cable stations.<\/p>\n Some of the laws that went into effect at the start of this year include:<\/p>\n Raising the minimum wage: Senate Bill 3<\/a>: Minimum wage was raised to $16.90 per hour and $70,304 for exempt workers.Speedier election counting: Assembly Bill 5<\/a>: Requires election officials to finish counting most ballots and release the information by the 13th day after an election, as opposed to 31 days.Plastic grocery bag ban: SB 1053<\/a>: This bans plastic bags from being used in grocery stores.Sexual assault lawsuits AB 250<\/a>: This gives adult victims of sexual assault more time to file lawsuits. <\/p>\n You can find our full list of notable laws that went into effect in January here<\/a>.<\/p>\n See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a> | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google<\/a> <\/p>\n