Nearly 800 New Laws for California Starting in 2026
There were 794 state laws signed into effect for 2026 by Gov. Newsom last year. The top categories were in healthcare, environment, immigration, animal protection, AI – and in housing, the not so locally popular SB79 to permit housing developments in residential areas near transit lines, presented in the Montecito Journal twice in 2025. If you were keeping up with the cat fur tossing in the California State Congress, estimated 800 to 900 bills were proposed overall.
According to Fiscal Note [link in 411], “…over 135,500 bills went before statehouses, up 55% from 2024:
Texas: more than 3,200 bills enacted.
New York: 2,301 bills enacted.
Tennessee: 2,057 bills enacted.
Virginia: 1,738 bills enacted.
Georgia: 1,720 bills enacted.
Louisiana: 1,164 bills enacted.
Arkansas: 1,020 bills enacted.”
The roundup of laws include: $16.90 minimum wage; $35 caps on insulin; and “all-gender” restroom requirements for new K-12 schools (Senate Bill 760).
AB 506, AB 519, and SB 312: Puppy mill pipeline laws to include the animals’ full disclosure of origin and health, and laws on selling animals.
SB79: Transit-oriented housing development: Requires each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the development of the county or city, and specified land outside its boundaries, that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element.
AB628 Housing: Landlords to provide working refrigerators and stove/ovens in rental units.
AB1264: Bans on ultra-processed school foods, requiring schools to begin phasing out restricted school foods and ultra-processed foods of concern by no later than July 1, 2029.
AB-592 Business: Retail food establishments. Basically, makes permanent some of the lax outdoor dining rules created during the social-distancing requirements of the Covid pandemic. It also gives restaurants more leeway for open-air layouts such as folding doors, windows and similar features.
SB68: Adds sesame to the list of major allergens and requires chain restaurants (20+ locations) to provide written allergen information (including sesame) on menus starting July 1, 2026
AB 1830: Mandates the fortification of corn masa flour and wet corn masa products with folic acid to help prevent neural tube defects (NTDs) in newborns. i.e., read your ingredients before buying.
SB1053: Bans point of sale carryout bags made of plastic, non-recycled paper, or other materials. Consumers may purchase for no more than 10 cents a 50% plus recycled paper bag as defined by said law. The money
collected from the sale of said bags is to be used by the store to cover the cost of providing the bags.
SB576: Volume on Ads: On and after July 1, 2026, a video streaming service that serves consumers in the state may not transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content the advertisements accompany, as specified. [Not a louder volume than the programs they accompany.]
AB715: Creates a new California Office of Civil Rights to assist public school districts in recognizing and addressing cases of discrimination. The Office of Civil Rights will primarily manage complaints and questions about discrimination relating to antisemitism, religion, sexuality, and gender identity.
AB1207: California Cap-and-Invest Program updated to be effective through January 1, 2046; provisions on emissions leakage to be zero by 2030, and provisions for consumer credits from public utility companies.
SB518: Establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery.
AB 621: Directed at AI, expands penalties for parties involved in creating or distributing pornographic deepfakes.
AB 489: False AI Medical Advice: Developers of AI systems that misrepresent themselves as licensed healthcare professionals and give medical advice are now subject to punishment by an enforcement agency or medical licensing board.
Fed Law No Tax on Tips denied in California. Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez announced January 8, the introduction of her bill, to, “…bring California’s personal income tax law into conformity with recent federal changes affecting the taxation of tips and overtime pay. The bill would allow taxpayers to deduct qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation from their California taxable income for a limited period. For taxable years beginning between January 1, 2026, and January 1, 2029, the measure would adopt modified federal income tax provisions allowing these deductions to be taken in addition to the standard deduction, ensuring eligibility regardless of whether a taxpayer itemizes.”
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