Efforts to ban PFAS statewide have advanced this year: in October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1881, introduced by San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, which banned the use of PFAS in firefighting equipment for all California firefighters. And across the U.S., other departments have begun to make the transition: earlier this year, Providence, Rhode Island, rolled out new gear, and in 2024, Massachusetts passed a ban on the use of PFAS in firefighting PPE, set to take effect in 2027.
As technology has advanced, so too has the range of what can be classified as a car key - which can increasingly refer to a device capable of operating with a keyless ignition system. The idea of being able to start a car just by pressing a button has its own appeal, but it can also come at a significant (and literal) cost.
The picturesque wedding swan can now be legally shot in California year-round, without a license. Under a bill signed into law this month by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the mute swan has been added to the list of nongame birds that can taken or possessed at any time. Assembly Bill 764, by Jeff Gonzalez, R-Coachella, takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, and expires after five years.
A law that allowed the sharing of limitless amounts of personal data across the state to find people eligible for CalFresh was rescinded this week. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 593 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, that forbids state and local departments from sharing sensitive personal data to increase food stamp enrollment. RELATED: Gov. Newsom signs 'Safe Schools Act' taking unprecedented action against ICE in schools But only a year ago, it was Wicks who introduced that same data sharing initiative, to get more people enrolled in CalFresh, the state's federally funded food assistance program.
ICE: Senate Bill 627, the "No Secret Police Act," by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, bans law enforcement officers from wearing face masks, except clear shields and other limited exceptions. The ACLU and other supporters say secret masked police are common in authoritarian countries, not democracies. Opponents, led by police groups, say masks are needed to protect officers from death threats. The Trump administration has told ICE to ignore the law, which may end up in court.
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed and vetoed the last of a slew of bills passed by the state legislature this year. Out of nearly a thousand measures awaiting his signature, Newsom signed 794 into law and vetoed 123. About the same ratio applied to bills designed to shore up state protections for transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community, as the Trump administration's crusade against LGBTQ+ identity presses on.
A lot of the videos produced for Streetsblog California focused on what the governor has, and hasn't, signed into law. They include a push for the governor to sign red-light camera reforms, a look at the bills we're still waiting for the governor to sign or veto, and announcements of the signing of a pair of controversial bills. Also, if you haven't voted on Prop. 50 just yet, Streetsblog breaks down how to do that and encourages a "yes" vote.
The bill would have banned companies from making AI chatbots available to anyone under 18 years old unless the businesses could ensure the technology couldn't engage in sexual conversations or encourage self-harm. While I strongly support the author's goal of establishing necessary safeguards for the safe use of AI by minors, (the bill) imposes such broad restrictions on the use of conversational AI tools that it may unintentionally lead to a total ban on the use of these products by minors," Newsom said.
The law mandates that device operating systems and app stores require users to enter their age or date of birth when setting up a new phone or computer. The new rules are slated to take effect on January 1st, 2027, and for devices set up prior to that date, the OS provider - like Apple or Google - must come up with a way for users to enter their ages by July 1st that year.
The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that provides policies to people who can't get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure. The number of homeowners forced onto the FAIR Plan has skyrocketed. With high premiums and basic coverage, the plan is designed as a temporary option until homeowners can find permanent coverage. But more Californians are relying on it than ever as increasingly devastating and destructive fires spark across the state, including in densely populated areas.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Tuesday aimed at preventing sexual abuse in K-12 schools in the state. The legislation was triggered by Business Insider's 2023 investigation into a California high school. The Safe Learning Environments Act, sponsored by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez of Pasadena, will require public and private schools in California to revise their comprehensive safety plans to specifically address sexual abuse and employee sexual misconduct.
We are also immensely grateful to Gov. Newsom, Pro Tem Mike McGuire, Speaker Robert Rivas and to so many of our non-Jewish colleagues of both political parties who have stood as staunch allies in the fight against hate. Together, we will continue to fight to ensure that students of all faiths and backgrounds are safe, welcome, and can thrive in our schools.
A California bill now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) signature would set a pathway to eliminate the state's trailblazing moratorium on pipelines used to transport carbon dioxide. The fossil fuel industry lobbied to shape the Democrat-sponsored legislation, which could allow such pipelines to be constructed without strict distance requirements around communities and sensitive wildlife habitats - raising fears that leaks or ruptures of the asphyxiant gas could occur close to people's homes.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will create new transparency measures for large AI companies, including public disclosure of security protocols and reports of critical safety incidents. Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said Senate Bill 53 will create "commonsense guardrails" to ensure groundbreaking innovations don't sacrifice safety and transparency amid the rapid growth of AI technologies.
Keller's husband is Zach Keller, legislative director for Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana). Last year, when the pair became new - and newly exhausted - parents, their reprieve was watching a TV show on a streaming service while their daughter napped. Even though the TV and the baby were in separate rooms, a random commercial would "blare so loudly that it would startle [the baby] and wake her up," Keller told The Times.
The bill aims to reduce the cost of rideshare services for Californians by removing the requirement that rideshare drivers carry $1 million in coverage for accidents caused by other drivers who are uninsured or under-insured - a cost that today is passed on to riders in fees. The bill will lower the requirement to $60,000 in uninsured motorist coverage per individual and $300,000 per accident.
In howling winds and choking smoke during the January fires that devastated Altadena and Pacific Palisades, more than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters cleared brush and dug fire lines, some for wages of less than $30 per day. Those firefighters could soon see a major raise. On Thursday, California lawmakers unanimously approved a plan to pay incarcerated firefighters the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour while assigned to an active fire, a raise of more than 700%.
The audit found serious problems, including crazy long lag times for investigating urgent complaints (almost three months for high-priority situations, such as patient deaths) and more than a year for less dire complaints (meaning problems can fester and put patient safety at risk). It also found that when the state brought its weight to bear on unlicensed homes illegally providing services, regulators didn't always bother to venture out to see for themselves what was actually happening.
Wayne Gardiner, 58, watched his home of 20 years roll onto the back of a flatbed tow truck in San Jose on a recent Monday afternoon. Then he realized he'd forgotten something inside. He threw open compartments in the bottom of the RV as fast as he could, looking for the pressure-washing tools he uses for cleaning jobs to make extra money.
The proposal would put new congressional maps before voters in November, which are designed to oust at least five of California's nine Republican members of Congress. Democrats say the effort is a necessary counter to Republican-led gerrymandering in Texas, while GOP lawmakers in California have blasted the plan as an abuse of power. In hearings Wednesday, Republicans pressed Democrats for a clear price tag on running the statewide special election. Bill analyses of the proposals provided few details about the cost, saying the special election would cost somewhere in the "low millions" of dollars. "No one has time to figure this out, where the money is going to come from," said Asm. Dianne Dixon, R-Newport Beach.
Senator Aisha Wahab has introduced a bill that would prevent retailers from using artificial intelligence to increase prices by using the information stored on customers' phones. This is aimed at stopping the practice of dynamic pricing, where prices fluctuate based on consumer data. Wahab's motivation is to create an equal playing field for consumers, regardless of their socioeconomic status, by preventing price discrimination based on the data from devices like smartphones.
