New laws taking effect in 2028
36 changes from California, Federal. Pick a state or topic to narrow the list.
January 2028 27
Banks must also report suspected elder financial abuse to the FBI and tell the person
When a financial institution's mandated reporter reports suspected financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult, a report must also go to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center within 2 working days. The institution must notify the person within 48 hours and train reporters yearly.
CalPERS members must pay unpaid service credit balances within 90 days of retiring
For CalPERS service credit purchases taking effect from this date, any balance left at retirement must be paid within 90 days or the credit is cut or removed. Members can no longer cover it by taking a smaller pension.
Cannabis packaging and ads can't use cartoons or other designs that appeal to under-21s
"Attractive to children" for cannabis packaging, labels and ads now means designed or likely to appeal to people under 21, such as cartoons, unicorns, candy images or bubble lettering. Edible and vape labels can't show cartoon fruit.
Cities and counties must set truck routes that keep warehouse traffic away from homes
Cities and counties outside the Riverside and San Bernardino warehouse region must adopt an ordinance setting truck routes that avoid homes, schools and other sensitive sites. Places with no warehouses get two years after one is approved, and smaller places get extra time.
Cities, counties and special districts must post their audited finances online
Cities, counties and independent special districts with a website must post their audited financial statements or annual financial report there, in a prominent spot, within 30 days after the report is completed.
Gas utilities must offer some homeowners payments to quit gas instead of replacing lines
Each gas utility must offer owners of homes whose gas line is due for replacement within five years an optional payment to switch to non-gas energy and end gas service. Enrollment is capped at 1% of customers, utilities may limit it to some areas, and disadvantaged communities get more.
Glass recycling payments to bottle makers continue, with funding cut to $20 million a year
The state's market development payments to glass bottle makers that buy California recycled glass, set to end, continue for two more years. Funding drops from $60 million a year to up to $20 million a year, and only if the Legislature funds it.
Hemp concentrates count as cannabis, and sellers of presumed cannabis products owe excise tax
Anyone selling a product presumed to be cannabis, such as an unlicensed cannabinoid product not shown to meet hemp rules, owes cannabis excise tax plus a penalty of at least $500. Hemp concentrates count as cannabis concentrate, and the licensed market's temporary hemp ban ends.
Home insurers must give 90 days' notice and detailed reasons before dropping a policy
Home insurers must send nonrenewal notices at least 90 days ahead instead of 75, explain the reasons in plain language and give time to fix problems. They may not drop a policy over certain claims, coverage questions, or roof age if an inspection shows 5 years left.
Large group health plans must cover hearing aids for children and young adults
Large group health plans and policies issued or renewed from this date must cover medically necessary hearing aids and related services for members under 21. Plans may cap coverage at $3,000 per hearing aid.
Money transmission companies must use two-factor login checks for user accounts
Companies licensed under California's Money Transmission Act can't let users log in without two-factor, multifactor or equally secure authentication, a way to reverify identity, and a way for users to report errors or suspected fraud on the same platform.
Older insured collector cars no longer need smog checks
Insured collector cars older than a model-year cutoff no longer need smog checks. The cutoff moves up one model year each year for five years, then stops. Collector cars driven under 1,000 miles a year can qualify later.
Paper receipts may no longer contain added BPA, then any added bisphenols
Making, selling or offering paper receipts with intentionally added bisphenol A is banned, and the ban later widens to all bisphenols. Makers must switch to the least toxic option, not a listed cancer-causing chemical, and fines run up to $5,000, then $10,000.
People 80 and older can get a permanent jury excuse without a doctor's note
A person 80 or older with a medical impairment may be permanently excused from jury service by sending the jury commissioner a written statement, without a letter from a health care provider. The court must grant the excuse once the statement is received.
Police and prosecutors must tell crime victims about immigration relief options
Police and prosecutors must tell crime victims, or their next of kin or parents, about immigration relief they may qualify for, such as U and T visas, and give them a rights and resources card. The Attorney General designs the card in several languages.
Public defense contracts must meet new standards, with flat fees banned in top cases
County and court contracts for appointed defense lawyers must meet set standards, including separate money for investigators and other defense services. Flat-fee and per-case pay is banned in cases carrying a possible sentence of death or life without parole.
Public libraries can't require a parent present for a 16- or 17-year-old's card
Public libraries may not require a parent or guardian to be present to issue a library card to a California resident aged 16 or 17. Libraries may still require a parent's consent or signature unless the teen is emancipated.
Sports facilities that keep a defibrillator must let youth teams use it
Public and private sports facilities that keep a defibrillator must let youth sports groups use it during practices and games they permit, and maintain and test it. If a site has none, the youth sports group must bring a working one.
State and local agencies must count Middle Eastern and North African groups separately
State and local agencies that collect data on Californians' ancestry or ethnic origin must use separate categories for major Middle Eastern and North African groups. Most of their demographic reports must then include that data, and the totals must be public.
State housing finance agency must study ways to cut loan costs for subsidized housing
The California Housing Finance Agency must study state loan guarantees, loss reserves and other credit backing that might lower construction and permanent loan rates for state-funded housing, then report its findings and a recommended program design to the Legislature.
State may cut the 50% local match for charter schools facing undue financial burden
Charter schools in the state facilities program must cover half the cost themselves. In new filing rounds, the State Allocation Board may lower that share or the lease payments, and raise the grant, when paying in full is an undue financial burden for the school.
Tobacco shops must post a lung cancer screening sign at each store
Licensed tobacco retailers must display a free state sign about lung cancer screening, with eligibility rules and the Kick It California quit line, at each location. Stores that don't face a $500 civil penalty per offense.
Trainee pest control workers awaiting their exam may apply pesticides outdoors for 60 days
Unlicensed employees of registered pest control companies who have applied for the Branch 2 and 3 exam may apply those pesticides outdoors for up to 60 days under a licensee's supervision, after at least 80 hours of supervised in-person training.
UC and Cal State health centers must advertise their medication abortion services
UC and Cal State student health centers, which already must offer medication abortion, must promote it, inform students and post it on their websites. Community colleges with health centers must offer access and do the same later, only if the Legislature funds it.
Unlicensed people can't offer osteopathic manipulation or call themselves osteopaths
People without a California osteopathic license can no longer give osteopathic manipulative treatment under the exception for alternative healers who make disclosures. Using 'D.O.' or 'doctor of osteopathy', or implying they are a licensed osteopath, becomes a misdemeanor.
Water suppliers in high fire zones must add wildfire plans to disaster preparedness plans
Urban retail water suppliers serving 3,300 or more people in a high or very high fire hazard zone must add wildfire response procedures and mitigation steps to their disaster plans. Failing to follow them, or losing water pressure in a wildfire, can't be called a substantial cause of fire damage.
Anti-money laundering rule for investment advisers delayed by two years
The Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network pushes back by two years its rule requiring registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers to run anti-money laundering programs and file suspicious activity reports. The deadline to set up those programs moves with it.
February 2028 1
California schools must phase out ultraprocessed foods of concern
The state health department must define "ultraprocessed foods of concern" and "restricted school foods," and schools must phase them out of meals and campus food sales in stages. Food vendors, except small businesses and home kitchens, must report yearly on products sold to schools.
May 2028 1
Health plans and insurers must accept medical records for claims electronically
Health plans and insurers must accept medical records for claims through a standard electronic method, with a file size limit big enough for typical records. They may not deny, pend or delay a claim only because their systems can't take the documents.
June 2028 2
Emergency phone alerts get preset templates in 14 languages and American Sign Language
Carriers in Wireless Emergency Alerts must support preinstalled templates for the most common urgent alerts in English, the 13 next most spoken languages and American Sign Language. Phones must show the English version alongside, and templates carry the sender, place, time and an optional link.
Schools must test kindergarten to second grade students in math
Districts, county offices and charter schools serving kindergarten through second grade must adopt a state-approved math diagnostic test, then test each of those students every year starting no later than the 2028-29 school year. Parents get information about the test and their child's results.
July 2028 5
College coaches and athletic trainers must complete student mental health training
Cal State campuses, community colleges and private colleges that get state aid must require athletic coaches and trainers, paid or volunteer, to complete student mental health training covering suicide prevention every two years. The University of California is asked, not required, to do the same.
Driverless car companies must send local technicians to crashes and police requests
Driverless vehicle makers must immediately dispatch local technicians to crashes and to calls from police or 911, and remote drivers must be in the US with a valid California license. Cities and counties can sue to enforce the rules, and makers report response data quarterly.
Insurers face new limits on sharing customers' personal information
A rewritten insurance privacy law bars insurers, agents and their vendors from sharing a customer's personal information unless it is reasonably needed for an insurance transaction or the customer consents. Customers get a stand-alone privacy notice and can see, correct or delete their data.
New electric vehicle batteries sold in California must carry a permanent information label
Battery suppliers must put a permanent label on each new vehicle traction battery sold in the state, listing the supplier, manufacture date, chemistry, capacity, hazardous substances and safe disposal information. Suppliers also pay a yearly fee to the state air board, set by market share.
Paid family leave for military family needs expands to training and stateside duty
Paid family leave for needs tied to a relative's military service will cover duty during training, deployments that are not overseas, and state active duty for reservists, not only foreign deployment. It may start sooner, once the state's claims system is updated.