New California Laws Taking Effect: Wages, Firearms, and Prop 36

California’s statewide minimum wage rose to $16.90 per hour on January 1, 2026, and the new California laws taking effect in 2026 reach well beyond pay. Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent for most landlords. Plastic bags are gone at the checkout counter. A single state portal now lets you order every registered data broker to delete your personal information. Guns must be locked up at home. And Medi-Cal asset limits, which had been eliminated, are back. Here is what changed, and what it means for you.

What You Earn

Every employer in California must now pay at least $16.90 per hour, regardless of business size.¹ The figure is adjusted annually for inflation and applies to most workers who don’t fall under an industry-specific minimum.

Two industries have their own floors. Under AB 1228, employees at fast-food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide earn a minimum of $20 per hour. The rule covers restaurants that primarily serve food or beverages for immediate consumption; sit-down restaurants and bakeries that mostly sell bread for off-site consumption are excluded.²

Healthcare workers have a tiered schedule under SB 525, and 2026 is a step-up year. Through June 30, 2026, large hospitals and integrated systems, dialysis clinics, and large-county facilities pay $24 per hour; that rises to $25 on July 1. Community, rural, and urgent care clinics move from $21 to $22 on the same date. Most other covered healthcare facilities go from $21 to $23. Safety-net hospitals, rural independent facilities, and small-county facilities go from $18.63 to $19.28. Which category applies depends on ownership structure, patient population, and county size; the Department of Industrial Relations publishes the full tables.³

Time Off Work

SB 616 raised the minimum paid sick leave from three days to five days, or 40 hours, per year. Unused time carries over, though employers can cap the accrued bank at 80 hours or 10 days and can cap use in a single year at 40 hours or five days.⁴⁵ If you work 10-hour shifts, five days means 50 hours, not 40, because the law uses whichever measure is greater.

Employees who have worked for their employer for at least 30 days can take up to five days of reproductive loss leave after a miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoption, failed surrogacy, or unsuccessful assisted reproduction. The leave can be broken up but must be completed within three months of the event. It is unpaid unless an existing employer policy covers it, though you can use accrued vacation, sick days, or PTO. Multiple qualifying events in one year are capped at 20 days total.⁶

Rent and Deposits

AB 12 caps security deposits at one month’s rent whether the unit is furnished or unfurnished. The old ceilings were two months for unfurnished and three months for furnished units. Landlords who are natural persons and own no more than two rental properties totaling four units or fewer can still charge up to two months’ rent, unless the tenant is a service member.⁷

SB 567 tightened no-fault evictions under the California Tenant Protection Act. If a landlord evicts you because they or a close family member need the unit, that person must actually move in within 90 days and live there as a primary residence for at least 12 continuous months. If the reason is major renovations, the landlord must give you copies of the required permits and a written description of the work. You have the right to return if the work isn’t done as described or if the unit goes back on the rental market.⁸

Everyday Consumer Changes

One Request to Delete Your Data

SB 362 created a single online portal, called DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform), that forwards one deletion request to every registered data broker in California. It launched on January 1, 2026.⁹ Before this system, scrubbing your data meant contacting hundreds of companies individually.¹⁰

The Price You See Is the Price You Pay

Under SB 478, the advertised price must be the price at checkout. Businesses can’t add mandatory fees at the end of a transaction. Government-imposed taxes such as sales tax can still be added separately, and shipping for physical goods can too, but handling charges and service fees must be built into the listed price. Restaurants and bars got a partial carve-out under SB 1524: mandatory service fees are allowed if clearly displayed wherever prices appear.¹¹

Right to Repair

SB 244 requires manufacturers of electronics and appliances to make parts, tools, and repair documentation available to owners and independent repair shops on fair terms. It covers products manufactured on or after July 1, 2021, and sold in California, and the length of support depends on the wholesale price the manufacturer charges the retailer.¹² Products wholesaling between $50 and $99.99 must be supported with repair materials for at least three years after the model’s last manufacturing date. Products wholesaling at $100 or more get a seven-year support window.¹³ Independent shops must receive the same diagnostic tools and manuals that authorized service providers get.

No More Plastic Bags at Checkout

SB 1053 eliminates all plastic carryout bags at store checkout as of January 1, 2026, including the thicker “reusable” plastic bags retailers had been offering under the previous law. Grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and liquor stores can now only offer recycled paper bags, with a minimum charge of 10 cents per bag. Produce bags for unwrapped food and pharmacy bags for prescriptions are exempt.

Firearms

Home Storage Is Now Required

SB 53 makes it a crime, as of January 1, 2026, to leave a firearm unsecured in your home when you are not carrying it or keeping it within arm’s reach. “Securely stored” means the firearm is locked in a certified safety device, locked in a gun safe, or otherwise disabled.¹⁴ Penalties escalate:

First violation: infraction, fine up to $250.
Second violation: infraction, fine up to $500.
Third and subsequent violations: misdemeanor, which also triggers a one-year firearm possession ban.

If you bought a safety device that was certified at the time of purchase but later lost certification, you won’t be penalized for relying on it in good faith.¹⁴

Concealed Carry

SB 2 requires concealed carry applicants to be at least 21, pass a background check with fingerprint submission, and complete a minimum 16-hour training course. The law dropped the old subjective “good cause” requirement and added a list of locations where carrying is prohibited even with a permit.¹⁵ That location list has been in federal litigation. The Ninth Circuit partially blocked enforcement in 2024, allowing concealed carry at hospitals, public transit, places of worship, and financial institutions. Bans at parks, playgrounds, bars, stadiums, libraries, and amusement parks remain enforceable while the case continues.

Excise Tax

AB 28 imposes an 11% state excise tax on retail sales of firearms, ammunition, and firearm precursor parts, on top of the existing federal excise tax on the same items.¹⁶ Revenue funds the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and school safety programs.¹⁷

Speed Cameras in Six Cities

AB 645 authorized a speed camera pilot program in Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach, and San Francisco.¹⁸ Tickets are civil penalties with no points on your license:

11–15 mph over: $50 (first offense in a jurisdiction is a warning).
16–25 mph over: $100.
26+ mph over: $200.
100 mph or faster: $500.

Fines are reduced by 80% for people who qualify as indigent and by 50% for those earning up to 250% of the federal poverty level.¹⁸ The pilot expires January 1, 2032, unless renewed. Los Angeles plans to install 125 camera systems.

AI Content Disclosure

Two AI laws took effect January 1, 2026. AB 2013 requires developers of generative AI systems available to the public in California to post documentation about their training data on their websites, including data sources, whether the data includes copyrighted or personal information, what cleaning or processing was done, and when the data was collected. It applies to any developer that designs, produces, or substantially modifies a generative AI system for public use.¹⁹

The California AI Transparency Act requires providers of large-scale generative AI systems, defined as those with over one million monthly users, to embed hidden machine-readable markers in AI-generated images, video, and audio so the content can be identified as synthetic. Providers must also give users the option to add visible labels. The requirement applies to content generated on or after January 1, 2026.

Healthcare and Medi-Cal

A change that catches people off guard: effective January 1, 2026, California reinstated asset limits for non-MAGI Medi-Cal programs, which cover seniors, people with disabilities, and long-term care recipients. The new limits are $130,000 for an individual and $195,000 for a couple, and they exclude your home, one car, household goods, and retirement accounts you’re actively drawing from. If you enrolled during the period without an asset test and have savings above the new threshold, you could lose coverage. You’ll need to report your assets at your next annual renewal.

California previously expanded full-scope Medi-Cal to all income-qualifying adults regardless of immigration status, including the 26-to-49 age group.²⁰ Budget deficits since led to reductions: dental benefits for undocumented adult enrollees were reduced, and a $30 monthly premium for that population is scheduled to begin in July 2027. Coverage for children regardless of immigration status was not affected by those cuts. Legislation to reverse the reductions is pending but has not been enacted as of early 2026.

Retail Theft and Drug Offenses Under Proposition 36

Voters approved Proposition 36 in November 2024. Under Penal Code section 666.1, a person with two or more prior theft-related convictions who is charged with a new petty theft or shoplifting faces a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors can file it as either a misdemeanor or a felony. There is no time limit on the prior convictions.²¹

Prosecutors can also aggregate the value of stolen goods across multiple incidents. If the combined total crosses the $950 felony threshold, a felony charge follows. Losses exceeding $50,000 carry steeper penalties.²¹

On the drug side, Proposition 36 created “treatment-mandated felonies” for anyone caught possessing fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine who already has two or more drug-related convictions. Completing treatment results in dismissal. Refusing or dropping out can lead to up to three years in state prison. Courts must also now warn convicted drug dealers that a resulting death can bring a murder charge.²¹

Environmental Rules

SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires businesses with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that operate in California to publicly report greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (emissions from purchased energy) reporting begins in 2026 and must be independently audited at a limited assurance level. Scope 3 emissions, from supply chains and product use, must be reported starting in 2027.²² The California Air Resources Board finalized the implementing regulations.²³

AB 1817 prohibits the sale of new clothing, bedding, and other textile products containing PFAS, the “forever chemicals” that resist breaking down in the environment. Manufacturers that remove PFAS must use the least toxic available alternative.²⁴

1
Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
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Department of Industrial Relations. Fast Food Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
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Department of Industrial Relations. Health Care Worker Minimum Wage Frequently Asked Questions
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Department of Industrial Relations. California Paid Sick Leave Frequently Asked Questions
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California Legislative Information. Senate Bill 616 – Sick Days Paid Sick Days Accrual and Use
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Civil Rights Department. Reproductive Loss Leave Fact Sheet
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California Legislative Information. AB-12 Tenancy Security Deposits
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California Legislative Information. SB-567 Termination of Tenancy No-Fault Just Causes Gross Rental Rate Increases
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California Privacy Protection Agency. Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP)
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California Legislative Information. SB-362 Data Broker Registration Accessible Deletion Mechanism
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State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. SB 478 – Hidden Fees
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Department of Consumer Affairs. Bureau of Household Goods and Services Industry Advisory Right to Repair Act
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California Legislative Information. SB-244 Right to Repair Act
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LegiScan. California SB53
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California Legislative Information. SB-2 Firearms
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California Legislative Information. AB-28 Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax
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Legislative Analyst’s Office. Firearms and Ammunition Revenue Update (2025 Q3)
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LegiScan. California AB645
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LegiScan. California AB2013
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California Health and Human Services Open Data Portal. Medi-Cal Adult Full Scope Expansion Programs
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Riverside County District Attorney. Prop 36 – Understanding the New California Laws on Drug and Theft Offenses
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LegiScan. California SB253 – Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act
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California Air Resources Board. CARB Approves Climate Transparency Regulation for Entities Doing Business in California
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California Legislative Information. AB-1817 Product Safety Textile Articles Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)