Get Up To Speed Fast On These New California Laws Taking Effect In 2025

Connor Forbes
Connor Forbes
2 Min Read
Illustration by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters; iStock

New California Laws

Cannabis cafes and expanded outdoor drinking? An end to a banking fee? More protections for your credit score if you face medical debt? These are among the roughly 1,000 new laws hitting California starting the first day of 2025.

If that sounds like a lot, it could have been much more: California lawmakers introduced nearly 5,000 bills in the most recent legislative session ending this fall, a two-year period that saw nearly half die without a single vote.

In all, lawmakers passed about 1,200 bills in 2024 and Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed 200 of those. And that’s the bureaucratic funnel in a nutshell. 

Most of these incoming laws are technical, fix previous laws or are narrow in scope. But there are some that affect lots of Californians, or are just plain interesting. 

There are the consumer finance protection laws, numerous education-related laws — including one to expand alcohol education that was written by a former lawmaker arrested for a DUI — as well as a law banning local voter ID rules and another granting a few more days to fight an eviction. Paris Hilton makes a cameo, too.

Some less publicized new laws include designations for state wildlife: State Wildlife

   — AB 1797. Makes the Dungeness crab the official California crustacean.

   — AB 1850. Makes the banana slug the state’s official slug.

   — AB 2504. Makes the Black abalone the state’s official seashell.

For More New Laws Click Here and Here.

Visit www.zapinin.com/california-news For More.

New California Laws. Illustration by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters; iStock
Illustration by Adriana Heldiz, CalMatters; iStock
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