On the penultimate day of 2023, in partnership with the Legislature, Governor Gavin Newsom signed historic legislation to support Californians' reproductive rights, increase affordable housing, hold Big Oil accountable, and protect the safety, health, and well-being of all Californians.
Thus, as of the first minute of January 1, 2024, new laws have come into force.
In reproductive health, AB 352 requires companies that manage electronic health records to protect the electronic health records of all Californians and visitors related to abortion, gender-affirming care, pregnancy loss, and other sensitive services.
This law closes an important loophole in privacy protections for people traveling to California for abortion and gender-affirming care.
Furthermore, SB 345 protects providers and individuals from enforcement actions in California of other states' laws that criminalize or limit reproductive and gender-affirming health care services.
To continue to combat the opioid crisis, life-saving treatments have been expanded to communities in need as AB 663 allows for more mobile pharmacies to be created in communities across the state to dispense opioid use disorder treatment medications.
Workers were not forgotten and in an effort to help ensure Californians can take the time they need to care for themselves and their families, Newsom signed SB 616, which expands the number of sick days available to workers from 3 to 5.
In election matters, AB 545 allows voters with disabilities to complete a regular ballot outside of any polling place, known as curbside voting, and removes the requirement that a voter declare under oath that he or she is unable to mark his or her ballot in order to receive assistance in doing so.
In an effort to help Californians' pocketbooks, SBX1-2 was signed into law, giving the California Energy Commission new authority to penalize refiners and set a maximum gross margin on gasoline refining if necessary to help combat price gouging.
The legislation also creates a new independent state watchdog to investigate market or price manipulation.
Affordable housing is arguably one of the most pressing tasks in the state, and SB 423 extends and expands existing law by requiring local governments that are not meeting state housing planning goals to expedite affordable housing projects.
SB 4, known as the “Yes in God’s Backyard” bill, allows housing to be developed on property owned by religious or independent higher education institutions. These groups are granted this authority “by right,” which does not require any discretionary intervention by local government.
To address the behavioral health crisis, the Governor signed legislation to improve health care delivery systems and make these services more accessible. Together, these reforms will be proposed to voters for approval on the March 2024 ballot as Proposition 1.
SB 326 reforms the Mental Health Services Act, making better use of Mental Health Services Act funds to address current needs and increasing accountability to the public.
AB 531, meanwhile, would issue $6.38 billion in bonds to fund 11,150 new behavioral health beds and housing, as well as 26,700 outpatient treatment spaces.
To support public safety, SB 14 will increase penalties for human trafficking of minors in California. The law designates human trafficking of a minor for commercial sex as a felony.
Finally, in terms of education, AB 1291 establishes the University of California (UC) Associate Degree for Transfer Pilot Program, beginning with UCLA, to prioritize admission of a student who earns an associate degree for transfer (ADT) from select community colleges and to redirect a student who meets those requirements but is denied admission to the appropriate campus and offer admission to at least one other campus.
The expansion of ADTs to the UC system allows transfer students from qualified community colleges to meet the requirements of an ADT and qualify for participating UC and CSU campuses, streamlining the transfer process and saving students money by earning two degrees in four years.
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