Subjects include safety at work and in bars, and the cost of renting a home or buying a gun.
A wide-ranging collection of new state laws will take effect in California on Monday, including a ban on hidden hotel and concert fees, a shift in how school students are disciplined and a requirement making it easier for people to repair their electronic devices.
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved 890 new laws last year. Most of them went into effect at the beginning of the calendar year, but a few have July 1 start dates. Today I’ll walk you through four of the most important ones.
Bars must stock drug testing kits
Assembly Bill 1013 requires that bars and nightclubs offer their patrons the means to test their drinks for the presence of common date-rape drugs, known as “roofies.” The 2,400 establishments affected by the new law must either provide test kits to customers at no charge or sell them at a low price. And they must display a sign in a prominent location reading: “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”
Higher gun taxes
Anyone who buys firearms or ammunition in California will now pay an 11 percent tax, with the proceeds to be used for school safety and violence prevention programs. The tax, created by A.B. 28, is expected to generate $160 million annually.
Capping security deposits
Until now, landlords have been allowed to require a security deposit equal to as much as three months’ rent. Under A.B. 12, most landlords will be limited to requiring no more than the equivalent of one month’s rent for a security deposit, a change intended to make housing more accessible and affordable for people without much savings. Small landlords will be exempt from the limit if they own no more than two properties that collectively have no more than four units for rent.1
Responding to workplace violence
To make workplaces safer, Senate Bill 553 will require all employers in the state to create and implement workplace violence prevention plans. Every violent incident at work will have to be logged, and employees will have to be trained in how to respond to violence.
The law was inspired by a 2021 mass shooting at a rail yard in San Jose, in which a worker killed nine colleagues.
“On that horrible day, we quickly realized how safety protocols can and must be enhanced,” State Senator Dave Cortese, a Democrat from San Jose who wrote the bill, said in a statement after the governor signed the bill. “This groundbreaking law will help workers and employers establish a plan for the types of workplace violence that are on the rise.”
