5 New CA Laws That Will Take Effect July 1

Beginning Tuesday, the second half of the year will bring a mixed bag of new laws that will take effect in California — from legislation that bolsters mental health care for students to insurance coverage for fertility treatments and more.

New legislation typically becomes active on July 1 since that date aligns with the state's fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.

Here are five new laws that legislators penned last year.

1. Companies Must Offer Click-To-Cancel Option For Subscriptions

Beginning July 1, 2025, consumers in California will be able to get out of paid subscriptions a lot easier than they could before. AB 2863 will require companies to cancel subscriptions through the same medium or method a person used to subscribe.

The Federal Trade Commission also mirrored the Golden State's new law in October, enacting a similar click-to-cancel policy to crack down on companies offering continuous subscriptions for gyms, streaming services and more.

2. California Insurance Companies Must Cover Fertility Treatments

In response to political tension around women's reproductive rights over the past year, SB 729 was penned to strengthen access to fertility treatments and diagnoses as well as in-vitro fertilization, which is commonly called IVF.

The law will require insurance companies to provide coverage for such treatments. Access will also be expanded to LGBTQ+ families.

"It's simple: everyone who wants to should be able to start a family — without going broke," Newsom said.

Last year, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created and stored for IVF are children, a decision that many feared could limit fertility treatments in the state and spur more implications nationwide.

"As Republicans across the country continue to claw back rights and block access to IVF – all while calling themselves ‘the party of families’ – we are proud to help every Californian make their own choices about the family they want," Newsom said.

3. Upfront Fee Disclosure For Short-Term Rentals

AB 2202, authored by Democrats Anthony Rendon and Marc Berman, requires hotels, motels and short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO to disclose cleaning fees or any other additional fees upfront. The rule applies to any advertising, display or public-facing offer.

Violators of this new law, which bans "hidden fees," could be subject to a civil penalty up to $10,000.

Former Assembly speaker Rendon said the bill was inspired by a large family trip to Tahoe, where he and his sister discovered last minute that they would need to scramble to accomplish a long list of cleaning tasks after other members of their party had already left.

“We thought, ‘crap, we wish the three other carloads hadn’t left,’” he said, according to Politico. “All that would’ve been fine if we had budgeted it into our day, if we had known ahead of time.”

The consumer protection law comes after widespread reports of vacationers being forced to pay exorbitant cleaning fees that have come along with large cleaning lists that require guests to do things like mop the floors or take out the trash.

4. Student ID Cards Must Include Mental Health Hotlines

In an effort to help connect pre-teens and teenagers to mental health resources, SB 1063 requires all schools — public, private and charter that serves grades 7 to 12 — to print the number for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on student identification cards.

The bill was authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield).

5. Local Cities And Counties To See Minimum Wage Hikes

Beginning Tuesday, 10 cities and counties across the Golden State will increase in the minimum wage. In some cities, industry-specific wage hikes will take effect.

The news is especially important for employers, since they will be required to adhere to new ordinances that mandate the wage increases.

The following cities and counties will introduce higher wages on July 1, according to UC Berkeley's Labor Center:

• Alameda: $17.46 per hour
• Berkeley: $19.18 per hour
• Emeryville: $19.90 per hour
• Fremont: $17.75 per hour
• Los Angeles City: $17.87 per hour
• Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas): $17.81 per hour
• Milpitas: $18.20 per hour
• Pasadena: $18.04 per hour
• San Francisco: $19.18 per hour
• Santa Monica: $17.81 per hour