Dec 13, 2023 - News
Here are the new California laws taking effect in 2024
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at World Energy, a low-carbon solutions provider in Paramount, Calif., on May 1. Photo: MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
New year, new laws. A flurry of bills, both this year's and past, will take effect in 2024 — some on Jan. 1 and others later in the year.
Why it matters: Keeping track of policy changes is critical for ensuring that you know your rights — as well as what not to do.
- Below are a few to keep an eye on as we prepare for the new year.
Employment
- SB 616: Increases an employee's entitled paid sick leave from three days or 24 hours to five days or 40 hours.
- SB 848: Allows eligible employees to take up to five days of unpaid leave after experiencing a "reproductive loss event," which includes failed adoption, failed surrogacy, miscarriage and stillbirth.
- AB 2188: Bans employers from discriminating against or penalizing an employee over their cannabis use outside of work.
- AB 1228 and SB 525: Raise health care workers' minimum wage to $23 per hour by June and fast food workers' to $20 per hour starting in April.
Public safety
- SB 2: Prevents concealed carry of firearms in certain public spaces, including sidewalks and school parking areas.
- AB 701: Increases prison time for people convicted of dealing high amounts of fentanyl.
- SB 14: Classifies child sex trafficking as a serious felony and imposes harsher penalties on people convicted of the crime.
- AB 645: Authorizes a pilot program to use speed enforcement cameras in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and three other cities.
- SB 673: Creates the emergency Ebony Alert system to help locate missing Black women and youth, who make up a disproportionate share of all missing people.
Housing
- AB 12: Limits security deposits for a new apartment to just one month of rent starting in July.
- SB 407: Directs the California Department of Social Services to ensure LGBTQ youth are placed with supportive and gender-affirming foster parents.
Health
- SB 345: Expands legal protections for California-based health care workers who provide abortion pills or gender-affirming treatment to patients in other states.
- AB 360: Bars coroners, medical examiners and physicians from using "excited delirium," a controversial term that civil rights advocates say enables law enforcement to justify the death of a person in police custody, as a cause of death.
- AB 663: Allows mobile pharmacies to provide treatment for opioid use.
Consumer
- AB 618: Imposes fees, including the cost of the first night's stay, on campsite reservation holders who cancel within two to six days before the start date.
- AB 1084: Requires department stores with at least 500 employees in California to maintain a gender-neutral section of children's toys.
1 fun thing
- AB 261: Establishes the California golden chanterelle as the official state mushroom.
