New 2025 California laws: Artificial intelligence protection, octopuses and cannabis cafes and more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) — Artificial intelligence is having a greater impact on our lives and numerous new laws in California aim to make sure AI does not become a detriment.

They are just some of the hundreds of new laws taking effect Jan. 1, 2025.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

(SB 926) Deepfakes
Makes it a crime to create and distribute sexually explicit images of a real person that are artificially generated but made to appear authentic with the purpose of causing that person emotional distress.

(SB 981) Sexually Explicit Images
Requires that social media platforms establish a mechanism for users who are California residents to report sexually explicit images that were created or altered digitally but made to appear authentic. Social media companies must take down the content while they investigate the complaint.

(AB 1836 & 2602) Digital Likeness
Protects deceased actors and performers from having their image, likeness or voice reproduced without authorization by artificial intelligence. The law requires consent from the actor’s estate before their likeness can be digitally replicated. A similar law (AB 2602) allows performers to back out of existing contracts if the language is vague enough to allow studios to digitally clone their image or voice in the future without expressed consent.

ENTERTAINMENT

(SB969) Entertainment Zones
Allows local governments to create entertainment zones where bars and restaurants can sell alcoholic beverages that customers can drink on public streets and sidewalks. It replaces a law that only allowed outside vendors to sell alcohol at festivals and parades. A similar law that took effect in January of 2024 allowed San Francisco to set up entertainment zones to improve business at brick and mortar bars and restaurants.

(AB 1775) Cannabis Cafes
Cannabis dispensaries are about to get livelier. The law will allow licensed cannabis retailers to prepare and sell food and beverages at newly created cafes or lounges. That means customers can buy and consume cannabis at the business while they eat a meal or watch a live performance.

ONLINE

(SB 764) Child Vloggers
Parents or guardians who earn money by posting online videos that features their children must set aside a percentage of their earnings in a trust account that benefits the minor. Parents will have to keep detailed logs of how much money they earned from each post and how many minutes their children appeared in the video. Children can sue parents that fail to follow the law.

(AB 1979) Doxxing
Allows victims of doxing to sue their aggressors for up to $30,000 in damages. Doxxing is when someone shares personal information like phone numbers, addresses or sensitive materials about someone else with the intent to harm or embarrass them. A survey by SafeHome.org found that 11 million Americans have been victims of doxing.

HOUSING

(SB 611) Rent Checks
Prohibits landlord from charging tenants a fee if they pay their rent or security deposit by check. Starting in April, landlords will also have to provide renters with a written statement if they charge a security deposit higher than the standard.

(AB 2347) Evictions
Doubles the current deadline that tenants have to respond to an eviction notice to ten days. Under California law, if a tenant does not respond to an eviction notice within the required time they lose the case automatically. Advocates say this will give renters more time to seek legal advice.

(SB 450) Housing Developments
Makes it easier to convert single-family homes into duplexes and fourplexes by removing loopholes used by some local governments to slow down conversions. The new law requires local governments to respond to housing conversion applications within 60 days and bars local governments from denying an application to split up a lot based on the visual impact to the community.

CONSUMERS

(AB 2426) Digital Goods
Requires sellers of online products like digital movies, music, books or video games to disclose whether the consumer is purchasing unrestricted ownership or a revocable license. Sellers are not allowed to use the terms “buy” or “purchase” if the consumer is only receiving a license to access the digital good. It is not clear if the law applies to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

(SB 1217) Pet Insurance
Requires pet insurance providers to be more transparent about whether their policy premiums are based on the age of the pet or where the pet lives, and if their policies exclude pre-existing conditions, hereditary disorders, congenital anomalies or chronic conditions.

(AB 2863) Automatic Renewals
Requires subscription services to get clear consent from a customer for automatic renewals and send annual reminders about the automatic renewal or continuous service. The law, which takes effect on July 1st also makes it easier to cancel a subscription either online or by telephone.

(AB 2017 & SB 1075) Overdraft Fees
Limits the overdraft fees that banks and credit unions can charge. The law prohibits financial institutions from charging a customer a fee for non-sufficient funds if the transaction was declined instantaneously. Starting in 2026, credit unions would be prohibited from charging an overdraft fee in excess of $14.

(SB2202) Cleaning Fees
Requires short-term rental like Airbnb to disclose if there will be any additional fees or charges that will be added if the customer fails to perform certain cleaning tasks at the end of their stay. The law takes effect on July 1, 2025.

HEALTH

(AB 1817 & AB2771) Chemicals in Cosmetics
Bans the use of PFAS in clothing, textiles and cosmetics. PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) can lead to liver damage, thyroid disease, reproductive problems and cancer. California would be the first state to impose a ban on PFAS, which are already prohibited in the European Union.

Another law taking effect in 2025 bans the manufacture or sale of cosmetic products with 11 other chemicals, including formaldehyde, mercury and methylene glycol.

(SB 540) Cannabis Health Warnings
Requires the state health department to create brochures or flyers that explain the risks associated with cannabis use. The documents must be displayed at cannabis retailers by March 1st.

(SB 729) Infertility Treatments
Starting on July 1, 2025, health insurance plans are required to cover the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). Religious employers are excluded from the requirement.

CRIME AND SAFETY

(AB 1394) Sexual Exploitation
Holds social media companies like Meta, Instagram and Tik Tok liable for images of a person that appear on sexual exploitation videos or photos posted on their platforms. Victims of child sex trafficking can sue these companies for up to $4 million if they knowingly facilitated the distribution of these images. The new law also requires social media platforms to establish a process for sex abuse victims to report videos or photos that include them. Companies have 36 hours to take the images down from their platforms.

(SB 1414) Sex Solicitation
Makes it a felony to solicit a minor under the age of 16 for sex. If the minor is 16 or 17, the crime can be upgraded to a felony if the teen is a victim of trafficking. The law penalizes anyone paying for sex with a minor even if the sexual act never occurred.

(SB 428) Restraining Orders
Allows employers to obtain a temporary restraining on behalf of an employee who has suffered harassment. The employee can choose not to be named in the restraining order petition. A court can deny the order if it would prohibit speech or activities protected by the constitution or labor law.

(AB 1978) Sideshows & Street Racing
Governor Newsom signed several laws that impose stricter penalties for people participating in sideshows and street racing. The laws would make it easier for law enforcement to arrest sideshow participants and impound vehicles for illegal activities happening on streets, highways or parking lots.

(AB 1960) Smash & Grab Robberies
Creates stiffer penalties for those involved in smash-and-grab robberies. If the crime caused more than $50,000 in damage to a property, the court can impose an additional sentence of one year. Additional years can be added to a sentence if the property loss is higher.

EMPLOYMENT

Minimum Wage
California’s minimum wage will increase to $16.50 per hour for all employers. The increase is tied to inflation. Fast food workers and healthcare facility workers have a higher minimum wage.

(AB 2123) Paid Family Leave
Allows an employee to take paid family leave without using accrued vacation time. Previously employers could require workers to take up to 2 weeks of vacation time before they could access California’s Paid Family Leave Program. The law applies to employees that need to take leave from work to care for a sick family member, bond with a new minor child or because a military family member is on active duty.

(SB 988) Freelance Workers
Requires employers that hire freelance workers for professional services worth more than $250 to provide a contract in writing that includes information on the work that will be performed and payment information. Employers must pay the freelance workers within the date specified in the contract or no later than 30 days after the work is completed.

(AB 1815) Hairstyles Discrimination
Expands protections against racial discrimination by widening the definition of race to include traits such as hairstyles and hair textures that are associated with certain races.

(SB 399) Mandatory Meetings
Bans employers from requiring that workers attend mandatory meetings concerning union organizing, otherwise known as ‘captive audience’ meetings. Also prohibits employers from requiring its workers attend meetings or participate in communications whose primary objective is to express the employer’s stance on political matters or religious leanings. Employers who ignore the law can face a $500 penalty per employee for each violation.

(SB 1100) Driver’s License
Employers would no longer be allowed to require a driver’s license in job postings unless the employer reasonably expects the job function to include driving and taking alternate transportation would be a detriment in travel time and cost to the employer.

EDUCATION

(AB 1780) Legacy Admissions
Bans legacy admissions for students applying to a private non-profit university in California. Universities like Stanford and USC would no longer be allowed to take into account whether a student applicant has ties to a donor or an alumnus. The law takes effect in September, so it does not apply to current applicants for the fall 2025 school year.

(AB 1821) Native Americans
Requires K-12 public schools in the state to teach about the treatment and perspectives of Native Americans during the Spanish colonization of California and the Gold Rush periods.

STATE SYMBOLS

Several laws have established official state symbols, including the Dungeness crab as the official state crustacean (AB 1797), the banana slug as the official state slug (AB 1859) and the shell of the black abalone as the official state seashell (AB 2504).

MISCELLANEOUS

(SB 1174) Voter ID Requirements

Prohibits local governments in California from requiring voters to present identification in order to vote. The law is in response to an ordinance passed in Huntington Beach that allowed the city to verify voter eligibility through IDs.

(AB 1810) Menstrual Products

Requires state prisons or jails in California to provide incarcerated people with free menstrual products without the inmate having to ask for them. Before this law, inmates had to ask for sanitary pads or tampons, which criminal justice advocates say allowed prison security to withhold menstrual products as a form of punishment and oppression.

(AB 3162) Octopus Farming

California becomes the second state to make it illegal to raise octopuses in farms with the intent to sell them for human consumption. The law also bars businesses from selling octopuses that came from octopus farms. The law still allows for the fishing of octopuses as long as it does not exceed the daily limit.