Nine of California's Most Interesting New Laws for 2023
In 2022, the California Legislature passed nearly 1,200 bills — and nearly 1,000 became law with Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature.
Many of the new laws are minor fixes to laws that legislators and the governor previously enacted. Others are rather narrow or specific to a certain industry. Still others will be phased in over time.
Newsom has highlighted several, including a law limiting prosecutors from using rap lyrics and music videos in court and another requiring oil companies to publicly post their profits (the governor has also called a special session on his plan to impose a penalty on oil refiners for excess profits.)
And then there's a select group of new laws that took effect on Jan. 1, 2023 — and that could have a noticeable impact on the daily lives of Californians, or on the policy direction of the state.
Here are nine of them:
1. Stopping Gender Bias in Prices
Shoppers may have noticed that shampoos and other personal care products marketed to women sometimes cost more than very similar versions for men.
No longer. With this law, stores will be banned from charging a different price based on gender — and could be in the crosshairs of the attorney general's office for any violations. Advocacy groups say that ending the "pink tax" is another step in the cause of gender equity.
2. How Much Does That Job Pay?
It's hit and miss how much applicants can find out about how much a job pays. And advocates say that allows for unfair disparities in salaries.
This new law will bring a little more transparency to California workplaces by requiring companies with at least 15 employees to put salary ranges into job postings. But intense business opposition blocked provisions that would have meant publication of pay data broken down by position, gender and race. And some specialists question how much difference the law will make.
3. A Return to Wild West Bounties?
Back in the 1800s, the U.S. government offered bounties to stop the Union Army from getting cheated. In 2021, Texas passed a law restricting abortions and dangled $10,000 per violation to anyone who sued to help enforce it.
Not to be outdone, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature passed this new law that allows private citizens to collect $10,000 by suing those who make or sell illegal "ghost guns" or assault-style weapons. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, could throw out the Texas law and ones like it, including California's. But that would be just fine with the governor and lawmakers.
4. Stopping the Spread of COVID-19 Lies
In our COVID world, one of many concerns is disinformation that can have dangerous, even deadly, consequences. Even some doctors have spread myths or lies about the virus and how best to treat it.
This law, supported by California's medical establishment, makes it easier for the state medical board to punish physicians who deliberately spread misinformation. But some doctors have already sued to stop the law, saying it violates their free speech rights.
5. Correcting State History
The history of California is complicated, not least because it's such a diverse state of immigrants, but also home to Native American tribes here well before European explorers or the Gold Rush.
This law encourages school districts to work with tribes to develop history lessons to give students a fuller understanding. The legislation also aims to raise the graduation rate and close the achievement gap for Native American students.
6. Combatting Sex Trafficking
Lawmakers took their latest steps in their fight against human trafficking by targeting what law enforcement says are frequent places where it happens. Civil liberties groups, however, say more law enforcement is the wrong approach.
One new law calls for fines and civil penalties against hotels if supervisors know about sex trafficking but fail to notify law enforcement, a national hotline or victim advocacy group. Another new law adds beauty, hair and nail salons to those businesses, as well as airports and bus stations, that must post information on human trafficking, including how to contact nonprofits in the field.
7. Emptying Death Row
California hasn't executed anyone since 2006. Even though voters want to keep the death penalty, a 2019 moratorium imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom prevents executions.
Advocates are also seeking to limit when capital punishment is applied. This law aims at the 674 inmates already on death row, giving them a way to challenge their death sentences as racially biased. A disproportionate number of the condemned inmates are Black.
8. Housing vs. Environment
California has a severe and persistent shortage of affordable housing — what Gov. Newsom even calls the state's "original sin."
These laws are designed to increase the supply, in part by bypassing some environmental reviews. One allows development along strip malls, as long as construction workers get union wages. A second is designed to ease the student housing crunch by exempting dorms from the California Environmental Quality Act.
9. More Abortion Protections
In large measure in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, California lawmakers passed a slew of additional safeguards for abortion access, as well as putting a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, which voters overwhelmingly approved.
A headliner among the new laws is Prop 1 — one that shields women from prosecution if they end a pregnancy, even if it's self-induced or outside the medical system. The new law also ends the requirement that coroners investigate stillbirths, after two Kings County women were charged after testing positive for drugs.
This article was originally published by CalMatters.
