2026 Key Statutory Developments
For California Attorneys
Artificial Intelligence, Tech, & Privacy
SB 53 Sets a Regulatory Baseline for California's AI Sector
On Sept. 29, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 53, the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA). The law is both the most comprehensive AI transparency law in the country and the first to go into effect. Given that the earliest stages of required disclosures are set for Jan. 1, 2026, AI firms regulated by the law were given about three months to prepare (although arguably they’ve had much longer than that, with the knowledge that lawmakers have been pursuing similar regulations for years).
California's CALM Act Takes Aim at Loud Commercials on Streaming Services
Californians who want to protect their ears got some good legislative news this session. Starting July 1, 2026, under the California CALM Act (SB 576), streaming services providing content to California consumers will have to make sure the ads they present aren't any louder than the movies and TV shows they accompany.
California’s New Account Deletion Law Is a Compliance Iceberg for Social Media Platforms
Major social media platforms will soon be subject to a new law in California that entitles users to a conspicuous “delete account” button that can erase their personal data from the clutches of Big Tech.
California's 'Age Signal' Approach to Social Media Regulation Codified in New Law
Following a Ninth Circuit decision upholding the constitutionality of California’s Social Media Design Code (SB 976), the California Legislature passed a companion age verification law. Both will become operative in 2027.
California’s new age verification law, AB 1043, is designed to give platforms the “actual knowledge” that a user is a minor, activating protections under SB 976 and other laws targeting harms associated with social media addiction.
CEQA & Environmental Law
Newsom Signs AB 30, Allowing 15% Ethanol Gasoline Blend To Be Sold in California
On Oct. 2, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 30 into law, permitting the E15 blend of gasoline to be sold in California. E15 gasoline contains 15% ethanol, an increase from the previous 10% ethanol threshold for gas blends allowed in the state.
California’s CEQA Overhaul Could Accelerate Housing Projects
California enacted the most significant reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in decades by signing Assembly Bill 130 and Senate Bill 131 into law in June 2025. The two budget trailer bills expand CEQA exemptions for infill housing, streamline the CEQA review process, and limit the scope of CEQA review for eligible projects.
Civil Litigation
AB 1524 Aims to Make Court Records More Accessible to the Public
Assembly Bill 1524 was signed into law by California Gov. Newsom on Oct. 3, 2025, with the aim of reducing the barriers to accessing court records. The bill allows the public to reproduce court records on court premises with their own equipment, rather than having to pay the court for copies.
Criminal Law
Gov. Newsom Signs AB 321 to Give Courts More Time to Consider Reduction of Wobblers
On Oct. 11, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 321 (Cal. Stats. 2025, ch. 611) which allows a court to reduce a wobbler to a misdemeanor at any time before trial. In addition, AB 321 requires that, after a denial of a motion to reduce a wobbler to a misdemeanor, a later motion can only be made on a showing of changed circumstances.
California Bans Practice of Withholding Death Notifications from Families After Officer-Involved Shootings
Assembly Bill 572, enacted on Oct. 11, 2025, outlaws the practice of law enforcement agencies withholding death notifications from families of those who have been killed or seriously injured by peace officers. Critics of the practice say it’s an intentional law enforcement tactic to collect incriminating information about people killed by police from their families.
Newly Enacted AB 1036 Expands Access to Post-Conviction Discovery
Authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz, AB 1036 (Stats. 2025, ch. 444) is designed to expand access to post-conviction discovery to all individuals convicted of felonies with sentences of one year or more. The bill aims to eliminate the burdensome requirement of first seeking discovery from trial counsel, and to broaden the definition of "discovery materials" to include exculpatory and mitigating evidence, as well as jury selection notes.
New California Bill Aims to Raise Wages for Incarcerated County Jail Workers
On Oct. 3, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 248 into law, eliminating the statewide cap of $2 for every eight hours of work performed by people incarcerated in county jails. The bill authorizes the county board of supervisors to set wages for their respective jails.
Employment Law
Under SB 809, Construction Contractors Can Avoid Penalties for Misclassifying Drivers as Independent Contractors
Eligible construction contractors in California will soon have an opportunity to avoid civil and statutory penalties for misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors, after an exemption from the "ABC test" for that sector expired on Jan. 1, 2025.
AB 1340 Allows California Rideshare Drivers to Unionize, But There's a Long Road Ahead Before Drivers See Benefits
In October 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1340 into law, paving the way for rideshare drivers to unionize and collectively bargain for higher wages, paid leave, health insurance, and more. Lawmakers, representatives from the labor union SEIU, and some driver advocates hailed the bill as a major accomplishment for drivers’ rights.
California Creates Union Opportunity for Rideshare Drivers: Takeaways for Practitioners
On Oct. 3, 2025, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1340, a landmark measure establishing a new collective bargaining framework for app-based transportation network company (TNC) drivers in California. The TNC Drivers Labor Relations Act, administered by the state's Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), creates a statewide, sector-wide model for collective negotiations between major rideshare platforms and a certified driver representative.
Family Law
California Legislature Expands Availability of Joint Parent-Nonparent Guardianships
Assembly Bill 495 (Stats. 2025, ch. 664), effective Jan. 1, 2026, amends Probate Code sections 1502 and 2105. The new law greatly expands the ability to appoint a custodial parent and their nominee as joint guardians in situations where the parent is not only terminally ill, but is “unavailable.”
California Conforms: SB 711 Ends the Spousal Support Deduction Divide
California's Senate Bill 711, authored by State Sen. Jerry McNerney, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 1, 2025 (Stats. 2025, ch. 231). While SB 711’s broader purpose is to simplify tax filing by aligning more closely with federal tax law, it has a direct and significant impact on how spousal support is treated for California's income tax purposes.
Health Care
California Enacts New Protections for Reproductive Health Care
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 260 into law, which gives health care providers the ability to mail abortion care medication to patients anonymously. The new measure ensures that patients with California-regulated health plans have access to the abortion pill mifepristone — regardless of the drug’s FDA approval status — and further strengthens protection for doctors who administer abortion medication from adverse legal action.
Housing, Real Property, & Construction
New California Law Aims to Boost Transit-Friendly Housing, But City Leaders Say It Cuts Them Out of the Picture
SB 79, signed in October by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will override local zoning laws in neighborhoods within less than half a mile of rail, subway and bus transit stops in eight populous California counties. In their place, developers will have free rein to build apartment towers in the direct vicinity of high priority transit stops as high as nine stories, while complexes further away can reach up to four stories.
AB 628 Will Require Apartments in California to Have Refrigerators and Stoves
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, California landlords will have to make sure the apartments they rent out have working refrigerators and stoves to meet the state's legal habitability requirements. The range of reactions to this new requirement under AB 628 (Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood) has varied from incredulity that a refrigerator/stove was not a habitability requirement before, to an outcry that this new law further unfairly burdens landlords.
Retention and Construction: California Limits a Victorian Practice Still Protecting Owners and Contractors Today
SB 61, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, now imposes a 5% retention cap on private construction contracts to prevent contractors and subcontractors from facing financial difficulties due to unreasonably high retention rates.
Immigration Law
With Suite of New Laws, California Continues Resistance to Trump Administration's Immigration Crackdown
SB 627, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, criminalizes law enforcement officers wearing a facial covering while performing their duties, except when required for safety reasons. The law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and law enforcement agencies are required to adopt and publicly post the new policy by July 1, 2026. Another new law, SB 805, will “require a law enforcement officer operating in California that is not uniformed to display identification that includes their agency visibly and either a name or badge number to the public when performing their enforcement duties" starting Jan. 1, 2026. AB 49 will “prohibit school officials and employees of a local educational agency from allowing an officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement to enter a nonpublic area of a school site, as defined, for any purpose without being presented with a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena, or a court order.” The other bill, SB 98, requires K-12 schools’ comprehensive safety plans to include procedures for notifying parents, students, teachers and other school personnel if immigration enforcement is present on campus. The bill requires schools to have those procedures in place by March 1, 2026, and to keep them in place until Jan. 1, 2031.
SB 627: A 'No-Mask Mandate' for Peace Officers in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 627, a bill that would make it a crime for certain law enforcement officers to wear masks while policing.
SB 627 defines "law enforcement officer" as any officer defined under California law as a peace officer, an agent of a federal law enforcement agency, or a law enforcement agency of another state. A violation of the law will result in an infraction or misdemeanor. The bill would exempt peace officers of the crime of wearing a face covering if their law enforcement agency maintains and posts a written face mask policy that limits the use of face masks. SB 627 also implements civil penalties against officers for tortious conduct such as false imprisonment or false arrest of a person while wearing a facial covering.
Law Practice Management
SB 37 Creates Private Right of Action for Misleading Attorney Ads
Cracking down on misleading attorney advertising, California enacted Senate Bill 37 on Oct. 11. The bill enhances existing regulations on attorney solicitations, advertisements and legal referral services. Most importantly, the bill authorizes a private right of action for violating the regulations governing those three legal practices.
California’s AB 931 Bans Attorney Fee-Sharing with 'Alternative Business Structures' in Other States Until 2030
AB 931, which aims to protect legal consumers from predatory funding structures, prohibits an attorney authorized to practice in California “from sharing legal fees directly or indirectly with an out-of-state entity that provides legal services while allowing nonlawyer ownership or decisionmaking authority,” with limited exceptions. The bill takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Reparations
Here Are the California Reparations Bills Newsom Signed This Year, and the Ones He Didn't
Headlining the reparations bills signed into law in October 2025 is SB 518, which will create the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery — tasked with “addressing the lasting harms of disenfranchisement, segregation, discrimination, exclusion neglect, and violence” impacting descendants of slavery. Newsom also signed into law SB 437, which gives $6 million to the California State University system to research how to best verify a person’s descendancy status and make the according recommendations to the state. But a number of bills, many of which would have provided more immediate — and expensive — remedies to slavery descendants, were sent back without Newsom’s signature.
Trusts & Estates
SB 822 Bolsters Protection for Digital Financial Assets Under Unclaimed Property Law
In a decisive move to codify crypto, California enacted Senate Bill 822 on Oct. 11, 2025, formally recognizing digital financial assets as a form of intangible property subject to the Unclaimed Property Law (UPL).
The bill also specifies regulations surrounding the transfer of digital financial assets to the state, and authorizes the state controller to convert digital assets into fiat currency between 18 and 20 months after an unclaimed property report is filed.
Changes Coming to California Probate Notice Requirements
Signed into law on Oct. 1, 2025, AB 1521, the Judiciary Omnibus Bill, introduced changes to the required probate notices under California Probate Code section 9202, adding a fourth required notice in addition to the existing required notices to the Department of Health Care Services, the Director of the Victim Compensation Board, and the Franchise Tax Board that must happen on the issuance of letters to a personal representative.
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