On the penultimate day of 2023, in partnership with the Legislature, the governor Gavin Newsom signed landmark 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 a significant loophole in protecting the privacy of people who travel 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 the fight against the opioid crisis, life-saving treatments were expanded to communities in need as AB 663 allows more mobile pharmacies to be created in communities throughout the state and for them to dispense treatment medications for the opioid crisis. opioid use disorder.
Workers were not forgotten, and 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 elections, AB 545 allows voters with disabilities to complete a regular ballot outside of any polling place, known as curbside voting, and eliminates the requirement that a voter declare under oath that they cannot mark their ballot to receive help to do it.
To help Californians' pockets, SBX1-2 was signed into law, giving the California Energy Commission new authority to penalize refiners and establish a maximum gross gasoline refining margin if necessary. to help combat price gouging.
Likewise, said legislation creates a new independent state control body to investigate market or price manipulation.
Affordable housing is undoubtedly one of the most pressing tasks in the state; In that sense, SB 423 extends and expands existing law, 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 the property of religious or independent higher education institutions. These groups are granted this authority ?by right?, which does not require any discretionary intervention from local governance.
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.
Meanwhile, AB 531 would issue $6.38 billion in bonds to finance 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 the purpose of a commercial sexual act 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 the admission of a student earning an associate degree for transfer (ADT) from selected community colleges and redirect a student who meets those requirements but is denied admission to the applicable 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 for an ADT and meet the requirements for participating UC and CSU campuses, streamlining the transfer process and saving money for students by being able to obtain two degrees in four years.
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