Six new California laws taking effect in July
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Numerous new laws come on the books in California this month.
The big picture: State lawmakers introduced nearly 2,400 bills in 2025, and Gov. Newsom signed about 800 of them into law.
Here are a few you should know about:
🚻 Gender-neutral bathrooms: Every public and private K–12 school must now provide at least one fully operational all-gender restroom for students.
🚫 Gun restrictions: Licensed firearms dealers can't sell certain semiautomatic pistols that can be modified into fully automatic weapons via a conversion device commonly known as a "Glock switch."
- The restriction only applies to new retail sales.
🏘️ Homebuilding boost: Developers can build dense apartment complexes and multifamily homes near major transit hubs, like MTS Trolley and SPRINTER stops, regardless of local restrictions.
- Reality check: San Diego already allows dense housing near transit, and loosening zoning restrictions doesn't guarantee high-rises get built quickly or ensure affordable rents.
🥜 Food allergens: Restaurants with at least 20 locations nationwide must disclose allergen information for every standard item on both printed and digital menus.
🔊 No loud commercials: Streaming services are banned from airing commercials at a louder volume than the main programming viewers watch.
🤖 Robotaxi citations: Waymos and other autonomous vehicles can now be issued citations for traffic violations.
- The law also requires robotaxi companies to provide an emergency response hotline for first responder use.
- We don't officially have robotaxis yet, but Waymos are on their way and you've probably already seen them zoomin' around town as part of the test phase.
💵 Plus, many San Diego hospitality and tourism workers got a pay raise to $19 or $21 per hour starting July 1. It's the first phase of the city's minimum wage hike that'll reach $25 per hour by 2030 for those employees.