New California Laws Coming in 2025

A look at new laws coming to California in 2025 along with higher BART fares, while local Bay Area bridges see a rate hike.

Crime (17)

• Auto Burglaries: SB 905 removes locked car door loophole on vehicle burglaries—means prosecutors no longer have to prove a car door was locked—just forcible entry.
• Death While in Law Enforcement Custody: AB2531 requires the agency to post this specified information on its internet website when a juvenile who is in custody dies.
• Distribution of intimate images: SB 926 make it a crime for a person who is 18 years of age or older to intentionally create and distribute or cause to be distributed any photo realistic image, digital image, electronic image, computer image, computer-generated image, or other pictorial representation of an intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates that was created in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to believe the image is an authentic image of the person depicted, under circumstances in which the person distributing the image knows or should know that distribution of the image will cause serious emotional distress, and the person depicted suffers that distress
• Domestic Violence (firearm removal): AB 2822 requires a law enforcement agency to include in the incident report form a space for officers to document whether a firearm or deadly weapon was removed from the location of the domestic violence call.
• Domestic Violence (peace officer possession of a firearm): AB 2759 limits hours a peace officer may carry a firearm to scheduled working hours. Require the mandatory psychological evaluation of the peace officer to be conducted by a mental health professional with domestic violence expertise and would require the court to consider the results of that evaluation.
• Domestic Violence (Protective Orders): AB 2308 allows a court to issue a protective order for up to 15 years.
• Firearms: AB 2739 says any unlawfully carried firearm would be deem a nuisance and subject to forfeiture and destruction
• Hate Crimes (Training): AB 2621 requires law enforcement instruction to include identifying when a gun violence restraining order is appropriate to prevent a hate crime and the procedure for seeking a gun violence restraining order. The bill would additionally require instruction on responses to hate crime waves against specified groups, including the LGBTQ and Jewish communities.
• Jurisdiction: AB 1779 says no longer limit the jurisdictional rules for theft, including petty theft, grand theft, and shoplifting to criminal actions brought by the Attorney General. If a case is brought by someone other than the Attorney General and multiple offenses are committed by the same defendant in multiple jurisdictions, the bill would allow a criminal action to be brought in any of those jurisdictions subject to a hearing on consolidation of the offenses
• Prop 36: passed by voters, it significantly increases penalties for fentanyl trafficking, especially large-scale operations, and imposes stricter sentences for drug dealing involving firearms Note – via Riverside County District Attorney: PROP 36 – Understanding the New California Laws on Drug and Theft Offenses
• Human Trafficking: SB 1414 creates stricter penalties for human traffickers who solicit children under 16-years-old or 18-years-old
• Law Enforcement Training (Wandering): AB 2541 require the commission, in consultation with specified subject matter experts and on or before January 1, 2026, to develop guidelines addressing wandering associated with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and dementia, as specified.
• Retail Theft Restraining Orders: AB 3209 authorizes a court to impose a Retail Crime Restraining Order upon conviction, or following two or more citations, for a theft offense, vandalism within the store, or battery on an employee within the store.
• Sexual Violent Predators: AB 1954 strengthens law enforcement’s role in the placement process of SVPs. By enhancing community engagement and improving notification protocols, the bill ensures that law enforcement agencies and other key stakeholders are better informed and involved in decisions regarding SVP placements.
• Speed Contests: AB 1978 authorizes a peace officer to remove a vehicle pursuant to these provisions without taking a person into custody when the alleged offense is a violation of obstructing or placing a barricade or obstruction upon a highway or in an offstreet parking facility for the purpose of facilitating or aiding a motor vehicle speed contest or exhibition of speed, as specified.
• Sideshows: AB 2808 clarifies that a “sideshow” is also known as a “street takeover.”
• Vehicle Impoundment: AB 2186 expands vehicle impoundment by law enforcement to include this provision to include an exhibition of speed that occurs in an offstreet parking facility, as specified (current law: engaged in a motor vehicle speed contest, reckless driving, or an exhibition of speed on a highway.)

Education (17 bills to be aware of)

• Abuse: AB 2053 requires Grades 7-12 to learn about identifying signs of abuse/violence in adolescence relationships as a component of sex education. Including stalking and violence prevention.
• Active Shooter Drills: AB 1858 limits high-intensity active shooter drills and simulated shootings, staged fore and pretend victims.
• Book Bans: AB 1865 prohibits book bans in public schools and libraries of any age-appropriate books.
• California Healthy Kids Act: AB 2429 mandates health courses include danger of fentanyl
• California Racial Mascots Act: AB 3074 says all public schools are prohibited from using any derogatory Native American term for school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames. Takes effect by July 1, 2026.
• Cyber Bullying: SB 1504 allows victims of cyberbullying and school administrators to civility sue social media companies.
• Financial Literacy: AB 2927 requires financial literacy class—by 2031 will be a graduating requirement.
• Forced Outing: Under AB 1995, school districts are no longer allowed to
• Hairstyles: SB 1137 prohibits school dress codes that includes hair texture or banning culturally protective hairstyles.
• Homework: AB 2999 requires the state to create a healthy homework framework for all grades—would begin in 2027/28.
• Legacy Admissions:  AB70 bans legacy admissions for universities who receive state funding.
• Narcan: SB 997 allows students in grades 7-12 to carry Narcan and fentanyl 1 test strips
• Phone-Free: AB 3216 requires schools to have phone-free school environments by July 2026. Some schools have already started this (see your school district).
• Restraint: SB 483 bans all use of prone restraint of minors at every school by school staff or law enforcement.
• Social Media: SB 976 prevents social media platforms from sending notifications to minors during school hours or late at night.
• Suicide Prevention: SB 1063 requires suicide prevention resources be printed on all student iD cards.
• Suspensions and expulsions: AB 2711 prohibit the suspension of a pupil who voluntarily discloses, in order to seek help through services or supports, their use of a controlled substance, alcohol, intoxicants of any kind, or a tobacco product, solely for that disclosure.

Election (3)

• Campaign Expenditures: AB 2803 prohibits campaign funds from being used to reimburse expenditures for attorney’s fees and other costs in connection with criminal litigation if the litigation results in a conviction of the candidate or elected officer for a felony involving certain types of offenses.
• Candidate Withdrawal: AB 1784 permit a candidate for any office other than a statewide office, as defined, at a primary election to withdraw their nomination documents for that office during the applicable filing period. The bill would clarify that a candidate is prohibited from filing nomination documents for more than one office at the same primary election.
• Election Intimidation: AB 2642 prohibit a person from intimidating, threatening, or coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for engaging in specified election-related activities

Employment (7)

• Freelance Workers: SB 998 says employers must pay worker by a specified date or within 30 days of completion of job.
• Job Applications: SB 1100 removes requirement for someone to have a drivers license prior to holding the job.
• Minimum Wage: Will increase to $16.50 per hour for all employers.
• Paid Sick Leave: AB 2123 allows for paid sick time to care for a sick family member, bonding with new child or because family member is on military active duty.
• Paid Sick Leave for Crime Victims: AB 2499 provides leave protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other crimes, as well as protections for employees performing jury duty or taking time off from work to appear in court to comply with subpoenas or other court orders as witnesses.
• Paid Sick Leave/Smoke Days: SB 1105 allows for sick days if weather conditions are smoky due to wildfires.
• Work Meetings: SB 399 prohibits employer from subjecting or threatening an employee to attend meetings where employer shows political or religious beliefs—or anti-union stances.

MISC (14 bills to be aware of)

• AI Protection: SB 926 make it a crime to distribute sexually explicit AI images that may harm someone.
• AI Transparency Act: SB 942 requires AI platforms to provide free-to-use AI detection tool.
• Bank Fees: AB 2017 prohibits banks and credit unions from charging a person “non sufficient funds” fee when consumer attempts to initiate a transaction.
• Board of Supervisors Disclosure: AB 3130 requires a member of the board of supervisors to disclose a known family relationship with an officer or employee of a nonprofit entity before the board of supervisors appropriates money to that nonprofit entity.
• Cannabis Cafes: allows cannabis lounges to be able to sell food and offer ticketed events.
• Chattel Slavery, Formal Apology: AB 3089 made it so the State of California recognizes and accepts responsibility for all of the harms and atrocities committed by the state, its representatives thereof, and entities under its jurisdiction who promoted, facilitated, enforced, and permitted the institution of chattel slavery and the enduring legacy of ongoing badges and incidents from which the systemic structures of discrimination have come to exist. The bill would further provide that the State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms African Americans have faced and affirms its role in protecting the descendants of enslaved people and all Black Californians. The bill would require a plaque memorializing this apology to be publicly and conspicuously installed and maintained in the State Capitol Building. The bill would impose various duties on the Department of General Services and the Joint Rules Committee relating to the installation and maintenance of the plaque. The bill would authorize the Department of General Services and the Joint Rules Committee to receive money from grants and private donations and would continuously appropriate those funds for this purpose, as specified.
• Click to Cancel: AB 2863 makes it illegal for companies to automatically renew your subscription without alerting you. Note – only applies to subscriptions that are signed or renewed on or after July 1, 2025.
• “Daylighting” law: bans drivers from parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk.
• Digital Replica: AB 1836 would make a person who produces, distributes, or makes available the digital replica of a deceased personality’s voice or likeness in an expressive audiovisual work or sound recording without specified prior consent liable to any injured party in an amount equal to the greater of $10,000 or the actual damages suffered by a person controlling the rights to the deceased personality’s likeness, except as prescribed.
• Electric Bicycles: AB 1774 clarifies that the exception to this prohibition only applies if the bicycle continues to meet the definition of an electric bicycle. This bill would prohibit a person from selling a product or device that can modify the speed capability of an electric bicycle such that it no longer meets the definition of an electric bicycle.
• Food Delivery: SB 1490 requires platforms to disclosure fees and information on the delivery process.
• Insurance: SB 1107 increases minimum insurance liability limits for when someone is injured or killed in a traffic crash.
• Medical Debt: SB 1061 prohibits credit bureaus from including medical debt history on credit reports
• Social Media: SB 764 Expands Coogan Law to social media channels for child actors. Would ensure content creators under 18 earn fair financial benefits from the use of their image.

Real Estate Related (per CAR.org)

ADUs: Extends the ADU amnesty law to unpermitted ADUs and junior ADUs built before 2020. AB 2533 prohibits a local agency from denying a permit for an unpermitted accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit that was constructed before January 1, 2020, for various violations (“amnesty”), unless the local agency makes a finding that correcting the violation is necessary to comply with conditions that would otherwise deem a building substandard.

Balcony inspections: Deadline for inspections extended until 2026 but not for condominium projects. AB 2579 provides a 12-month extension to the deadline for the inspection requirement thereby delaying the inspection deadline from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026.

Buyer representation agreements: Requires a buyer representation agreement to be executed between a buyer’s agent and a buyer as soon as practicable, but no later than the execution of the buyer’s offer to purchase real property. This law applies to nearly all types of property but excludes leases and rental agreements. Assembly Bill 2992is codified as Business and Professions Code § 10147.5, Civil Code §§ 2079.13, 2079.14, and 2079.16, and Code of Civil Procedure § 1298. Effective January 1, 2025.

Common Interest Developments: Responsibility for repairs necessary to maintain utilities. Senate Bill 900 is codified as Civil Code§§ 4775, 5550 and 5610. Effective January 1, 2025.

Contractor exemptions: $500 limit for unlicensed contractor work raised to $1000. Assembly Bill 2622is codified as Business and Professions Code§§7027.2 and 7048. Effective January 1, 2025.

Disclosures: Seller’s receipt of domestic water storage tank assistance. A seller who received domestic water storage tank assistance or is aware that the real property received such assistance, and the real property currently still has the domestic water storage tank, shall deliver to the prospective buyer a disclosure statement. The disclosure required under this law relates to the circumstance where a seller’s private water well went dry, or was destroyed, due to drought, wildfire, or other natural disaster and the seller received a specific type of assistance. This is a TDS-related disclosure subject to all TDS applications, exemptions and statutory termination rights. The Seller Property Questionnaire will be revised to meet this disclosure requirement.

Disclosures: Local requirements relating to replacement of gas-powered appliances; Electrical system inspection. On or after January 1, 2026, a seller if aware of the requirements must disclose the existence of any state or local requirements relating to replacement of existing gas-powered appliances that are being transferred with the property. The disclosure must be made if either the seller or the agent is aware of these requirements. This law also requires a statutory notice advising the buyer to obtain an inspection of the electrical system. This is a TDS-related disclosure which applies to the sale of residential 1 to 4 property and mobilehomes subject to all TDS applications, exemptions and statutory termination rights. The Seller Property Questionnaire will be revised to meet this disclosure requirement.

Fair Housing: Adds to the definition of race traits associated with race such as certain hairstyles to the Unruh Act. The Unruh Act, which prohibits discrimination in all business establishments, is expanded to include within the definition of race traits associated with race such as protective hairstyles, including braids, locs and twists.

Fair Housing: Discrimination may include a combination of protected characteristics. This law recognizes the concept of intersectionality in civil rights law, meaning, discrimination may be based on a single, individual characteristic or on the basis of a combination of two or more protected characteristics.

Foreclosure: Places 90-day delay on “surplus fund chasers” solicitations and extends liability protection to trustees responding to request for payoff amounts, Prohibits a person from contacting, soliciting, or initiating communication with an owner to claim the surplus funds from a foreclosure sale of the owner’s residence before 90 days after the trustee’s deed has been recorded. In addition to other protections, the trustee will not incur liability for any good faith error resulting from reliance on information provided in good faith by the beneficiary regarding requests for payoff or reinstatement information. This law makes numerous other technical changes regarding the foreclosure process.

Foreclosure: Delivery of listing agreement extends foreclosure sale by 45 days. When foreclosing on residential 1 to 4 property, this law requires an additional 45 days beyond the scheduled date of sale if the trustee receives a listing agreement from the trustor at least 5 business days before the scheduled date of sale. There is an additional postponement right based on obtaining an executed purchase agreement. Prohibits the trustee from selling the property at the initial trustee’s sale for less than 67% of the amount of the fair market value of the property.

Landlord-Tenant: Expands the law re the landlord’s duty to change the locks upon request of a victim of abuse. Under existing law when a tenant is a victim of abuse, the landlord must change the locks upon written request within 24 hours after receiving appropriate documentation. If the person alleged to have committed the abuse is a tenant in the same dwelling unit, then a court order excluding that person from the dwelling would be necessary. If not, then various types of supporting documentation would be acceptable. This new law clarifies that the landlord is responsible for the cost of changing the locks; extends the lock change protection to immediate family or household members of a tenant; expands the acceptable supporting documentation of abuse or violence triggering the lock change protection; and prohibits a landlord from taking adverse action against a prospective tenant because of their use of the lock change protection.

Landlord/Tenant: Application screening fee and application process. Prohibits the practice of charging an application fee to a prospective tenant unless the landlord or agent knows or should have known that a unit is available or will be available within a reasonable period of time.

Landlord/Tenant: Tenant may request positive credit reporting. Requires residential landlords to offer each tenant obligated on a lease the option of having the tenant’s positive rental payment information reported to at least one nationwide consumer reporting agency.

Landlord/Tenant: Security deposit; Move-in and move-out photos. Requires residential landlords to take move-in, move-out and post-repair and cleaning photos demonstrating deductions. Deductions for cleaning and damages must be “reasonably necessary” to return property back to its initial condition. Professional carpet cleaning, and the cost of materials and charges for work performed for repairs is specifically cited as subject to this rule.

Landlord/Tenant: No charges for notices of termination; Restrictions on charging service members a higher deposit. Prohibits a landlord from charging a fee for serving or delivering any type of termination notice, such as a notice to pay rent or quit or a no-fault notice of termination. A landlord is also prohibited from charging tenants a fee for paying for rent or a security deposit by check. If the landlord charges a higher security deposit for service members due to credit factors, a written statement must be provided explaining the reason for the higher amount, along with a provision in the lease regarding the return of the extra security after six months.

Landlord/Tenant: Unlawful detainer answer time periods extended. Extends the time for a defendant to file a response, such as an answer, from five business days to ten business days after an unlawful detainer complaint and summons is served.

At the same time, this law also shortens the timeline that applies to a type of motion a tenant attorney often files to delay the eviction, called a demurrer, which is a specific category of motion to dismiss the case. AB 2347 will change the timeline for these motions, subjecting them to the same expedited timeline that other motions in unlawful detainer cases follow, which will help reduce delays in the eviction process.

Landlord/Tenant: Certain tenant rights extended to small commercial tenants: This law extends to small businesses (“qualified commercial tenants”) certain tenancy rights currently applicable to residential tenancies as follows:

• 30 and 90-day notice to increase rent
• 30 and 60-day notice to terminate tenancy and
• Translated copy of the lease if negotiated in specified languages

Additionally, transparency and proportionality are required for fees a landlord may charge a qualified commercial tenant to recover building operating costs.

Loan Fraud: predatory lending. Defines criminal mortgage fraud to include acts by a mortgage loan broker or any person who originates loans to include misleading a borrower into signing a business loan when the borrower intended the loan to be for consumer purposes or signing for a bridge loan when the loan will not be used to acquire or construct a new dwelling.

Mobilehomes: UD masking rules extended to mobilehome park tenancies. Extends unlawful detainer masking rules to tenancies within a mobilehome park.

Probate: Raises the limit of the small-estate exception, which allows for the distribution of estate assets outside of probate, to $750,000. Updates the pool and spa safety requirements for single family properties. Revises the requirement for a home inspection of real property with a swimming pool or spa to include in the inspection report the drowning prevention safety features and note if they are in good repair, operable as designed, and appropriately labeled.

BART Fares Will Increase 5.5% on January 1

Fares will increase 5.5 percent on New Year’s Day. The increase is tied to the rate of inflation minus a half-percentage point. It’s the second such increase – the first took effect January 1, 2024.

The average fare will increase 25 cents, from $4.47 to $4.72. BART’s fare calculator and Trip Planner have been updated with the new fares for trips with the date 1/1/25 and beyond. Riders can learn how the increase will affect their travels by entering a 2025 date for their trip. — Full Story

Photo Credit: Caltrans

San Francisco Bay Area Bridge Toll Increase

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) reminds drivers that tolls at the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges will go up by $1 next Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.

This will be the third of the three $1 toll increases approved by the California Legislature in 2017 through state Senate Bill 595 and by voters through Regional Measure 3 in June 2018. The first of these toll hikes went into effect on Jan. 1, 2019 and the second on Jan. 1, 2022.

Regular tolls for two-axle cars and trucks (as well as for motorcycles) at the: San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges will rise to $8 from the current $7 on Jan. 1, 2025.

Tolls for vehicles with three or more axles also will rise by $1 on Jan. 1, 2025, at all seven of the state-owned toll bridges: to $18 for three axles, $23 for four-axles, $28 for five axles, $33 for six axles, and $38 for combinations with seven or more axles. — Full Story