California’s minimum wage rose to $16.90 an hour on January 1, 2026, and it’s one piece of a broader wave. The new laws in California touch paychecks and salary thresholds, evictions and security deposits, subscription cancellations and medical debt, retail theft penalties, fertility and insulin coverage, plastic bags, and the first concrete rules for artificial intelligence. Most took effect January 1, 2025 or January 1, 2026; a handful use staggered dates. What follows is a plain-language guide to the changes most likely to affect you.
Work and Pay
The statewide minimum wage for all employers is $16.90 per hour, up from $16.50 in 2025. Because California requires exempt employees to earn at least twice the minimum wage for full-time work, the annual salary threshold for exempt status is now $70,304. Fast-food workers covered by the Fast Food Council continue to earn a separate minimum of $20.00 per hour.1Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
SB 642, effective January 1, 2026, expands the state’s equal pay laws by broadening key definitions and extending the statute of limitations to three years, with potential recovery for up to six years of unlawful pay practices.2Office of the Governor. New in 2026 – California Laws Taking Effect in the New Year
Workers taking state paid family leave no longer have to exhaust up to two weeks of accrued vacation before benefits begin. AB 2123 bars employers from imposing that requirement.
Several 2025 protections are worth knowing. SB 399, the California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act, prohibits employers from requiring workers to attend meetings about political or religious topics, including union organizing, with a civil penalty of $500 per employee per occurrence.3California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 399 – California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act SB 1100 bars job postings from requiring a driver’s license unless driving is genuinely necessary and no reasonable transportation alternative exists. SB 1137 made explicit that anti-discrimination protections cover combinations of protected characteristics, not just each one in isolation.4California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 1137 – Civil Rights
Renting and Housing
If you’re served with an unlawful detainer summons, you now have 10 business days to respond, doubling the five-day window in place since 1971. AB 2347 gives tenants more realistic time to find legal help.
Security deposits are capped at one month’s rent for most landlords. Small landlords who are natural persons, or LLCs made up entirely of natural persons, and who own no more than two rental properties totaling four units, can still charge up to two months’ rent.5California Department of Justice. Know Your Rights as a California Tenant – Security Deposits
Under AB 2747, landlords must offer tenants the option of having positive rental payments reported to at least one consumer reporting agency. For leases signed on or after April 1, 2025, the offer must be made at signing and at least annually after that. Landlords may charge up to $10 per month for the service, and only if they actually incur costs. Nonpayment of that fee is never grounds for eviction.6California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 2747 – Tenant Credit Reporting Starting in 2026, AB 628 requires landlords to provide a working refrigerator in rental units.
For housing production, AB 130 and SB 131 streamline California Environmental Quality Act review for infill housing, farmworker housing, utilities, and wildfire prevention projects, and exempt local rezoning from CEQA when it implements approved housing plans.7Office of the Governor. Governor Newsom Signs Into Law Groundbreaking Reforms to Build More Housing Affordability SB 1037 gives those reforms enforcement power: local governments that block or unreasonably delay approved housing projects face civil penalties of $10,000 to $50,000 per month until the violation is cured.8California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 1037 – Planning and Zoning: Housing Element: Enforcement
Consumer Protection
State-chartered banks and credit unions can no longer charge fees when a withdrawal is instantly declined for insufficient funds, such as at an ATM. AB 2017 applies to state-regulated institutions.
Since July 1, 2025, companies offering auto-renewing subscriptions must let you cancel through the same method you used to sign up. If you subscribed online, they cannot force you to call.9State of California – Department of Justice. Attorney General Bonta Issues Consumer Alert on California Automatic Renewal Law
Food delivery platforms now show customers the driver’s first name and photo when the order is out for delivery under AB 375, effective March 1, 2025.10California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 375 – Food Delivery Platforms: Disclosure of Delivery Drivers Identity AB 578, effective in 2026, bars delivery companies from using tips to offset base pay, requires itemized pay breakdowns for drivers, and guarantees customer refunds for undelivered or incorrect orders.
Medical debt cannot appear on a California resident’s credit report, and lenders cannot use it in credit decisions. The Attorney General’s office has said medical debt is generally unforeseen and not a reliable predictor of creditworthiness.11State of California – Department of Justice. In California, It Remains Illegal for Medical Debt to Appear on Credit Reports
Child Content Creators
SB 764 requires content creators whose videos feature minors in at least 30 percent of their content to set aside 65 percent of a proportionate share of gross earnings in a trust account the child can access at adulthood.12California State Senator Steve Padilla. California Governor Signs Senator Padilla Bill Updating Financial Protections for Youth Content Creators AB 1880 extends the Coogan Law, long applied to child actors in traditional entertainment, to minors working as online content creators on platforms like YouTube.13Office of the Governor. Governor Newsom Joins Demi Lovato to Sign Legislation to Protect the Financial Security of Child Influencers
Crime and Punishment
Proposition 36, approved by voters in November 2024, is the most significant shift in California’s approach to drug and theft crimes in a decade. It rolls back portions of Proposition 47 by reclassifying certain repeat drug and theft offenses from misdemeanors back to felonies.
For retail theft, Prop 36 lets prosecutors aggregate the value of stolen property across multiple incidents into a single charge, making felony thresholds easier to reach. Repeat offenders with two or more prior theft-related convictions face felony charges even for petty theft or shoplifting. A new provision makes forcible entry into a vehicle with intent to commit theft a wobbler, chargeable as a misdemeanor or a felony carrying up to three years in state prison.
Organized retail theft now has its own framework. Possessing more than $950 worth of goods obtained through retail theft with intent to resell is a felony, as is breaking into vehicles to steal property valued at $950 or more for resale.
On the juvenile side, AB 1186 eliminates restitution fines for minors adjudged as wards of the court. Outstanding restitution fine balances, including collection fees, become unenforceable and uncollectible 10 years after imposition.14California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 1186 – Restitution Fines
Health Coverage and Care
SB 729 requires large and small group health plans to cover fertility diagnosis and treatment, including IVF, for plans issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025. Coverage includes up to three completed egg retrievals with unlimited embryo transfers. The law’s broad definition of infertility extends coverage to LGBTQ+ families and single individuals.15California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 729 – Health Care Coverage: Treatment for Infertility and Fertility Services
Starting January 1, 2026, large state-regulated health insurers must cap insulin copays at $35 for a 30-day supply under SB 40. Roughly 4 million Californians live with diabetes.
AB 2515 bans the sale of menstrual products, including tampons, pads, and menstrual cups, that contain intentionally added PFAS chemicals.16California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 2515 – Menstrual Products: Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances AB 1902 requires pharmacies to offer accessible prescription labels for individuals with print disabilities.
SB 43 broadened the definition of “gravely disabled” for involuntary mental health holds to include people unable to provide for basic personal needs due to substance use disorders, not only mental health disorders. AB 2319 expanded implicit bias training for healthcare providers involved in perinatal care, with initial training required by June 1, 2025.17State of California – Department of Justice. Attorney General Bonta Sponsored Bill to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality Through Implicit Bias Training Signed Into Law
Climate, Emissions, and Plastics
SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, requires businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenue that do business in California to publicly disclose greenhouse gas emissions.18California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 253 – Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting begins in 2026, with first reports due August 10, 2026. Scope 3 reporting starts in 2027. Noncompliance can carry fines up to $500,000 per reporting year.19California Air Resources Board. California Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting and Climate Related Financial Risk Disclosure Programs
SB 261 requires companies with annual revenues over $500 million to file biennial climate-related financial risk reports. First reports were due by January 1, 2026, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a temporary injunction against SB 261 in November 2025, and CARB’s final rulemaking was not completed in time. Affected companies should watch CARB’s website for updated guidance.20California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 261 – Greenhouse Gases: Climate-Related Financial Risk
SB 1053 eliminates plastic-film checkout bags at grocery stores, retail outlets, and convenience shops as of January 1, 2026. The 2014 bag ban had permitted thicker “reusable” plastic bags, but those were rarely reused. Stores may now offer only recycled paper bags at checkout, or customers can bring their own.21Senator Catherine Blakespear. Ban on Plastic Bags Being Provided at Grocery Store Checkouts Takes Effect
AB 363 banned certain neonicotinoid pesticides for non-agricultural outdoor and consumer use as of January 1, 2025, targeting chemicals harmful to bees and other pollinators.22California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Additional Restrictions on Neonicotinoids for Non-agricultural Outdoor and Consumer Use Effective January 1
Artificial Intelligence
Several AI laws took effect January 1, 2026. SB 53 requires developers of large AI models to maintain documented risk-mitigation strategies. SB 243 requires AI companies to include disclaimers that chatbots are not real people when used by minors, and to build in safety protocols preventing chatbots from encouraging self-harm. AB 489 prohibits AI chatbots from presenting themselves as doctors, nurses, or other licensed professionals. SB 524 requires police agencies to disclose when AI tools are used to draft official reports.2Office of the Governor. New in 2026 – California Laws Taking Effect in the New Year
When These Laws Take Effect
Most California laws take effect on January 1 of the year after enactment. Laws from the 2024 session generally took effect January 1, 2025; laws from the 2025 session take effect January 1, 2026. Urgency measures can take effect immediately upon the Governor’s signature. Some of the laws above use staggered dates: the auto-renewal cancellation rule kicked in July 1, 2025; fertility coverage under SB 729 applies to plans issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025; SB 253’s first emissions reports come due August 10, 2026, with Scope 3 in 2027.
How To Look Up a California Law
The California Legislative Information site at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov is the primary resource for the full text of any bill or statute. You can search by bill number, keyword, or author to pull up text, legislative history, and committee analyses. The site also hosts the California Codes, organized by subject and updated as new legislation is codified. For summaries of newly signed legislation, the Governor’s office posts them at gov.ca.gov.