5 New CA Laws You Need To Know About

CALIFORNIA — Ahead of election season, Golden State lawmakers have signed several new bills into law that will spur change in firearm policies, establish new rights for victims of violent crime and more.

This year, the Legislature sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a raft of bills that he signed into law this week. Here's a breakdown of five laws that will take affect later this year and in the coming years.

AB 1576

This bill, taking affect in 2024, will require the superior court to provide any visitor access to a lactation room. The law will require the lactation room to be located within the facility and in an area that is "reasonably" accessible to the public.

AB 452

Moments after the deadliest mass shooting on an elementary school campus in a decade, California lawmakers set to work on legislation that would further crackdown on firearm safety.

This law would require school districts, county offices of education and charter schools to annually educate parents and guardians of students of California’s child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms.

The bill will also make school districts and education departments immune from civil liability for any damages relating to the notice.

The law will become active on Jan. 1, 2023.

"The data is clear: Unsecured firearms cause school shootings. In America, 76% of school shootings are enabled by kids having access to unsecured or unsupervised guns in the home. AB 452 is a common-sense measure that will immediately address this preventable violence through education and information, and we commend Asm. Laura Friedman and the state of California for leading the way in gun violence prevention efforts. Together, we can end family fire, and that starts with safe firearm storage," said Kris Brown, president of The Brady Plan, an organization that seeks to end gun violence.

SB 1268

This new law will hand more rights back to the parents or guardian of a minor whose death is being investigated. Law enforcement will be required to provide parental figures with "critical information" regarding the investigation.

"At the California Department of Justice, we’re leveraging all of the tools of this department to stand up for victims, survivors, and their families," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta of the bill."There is no way to undo the harms of sexual assault or violence, but we’re committed to helping survivors find healing and justice."

AB 1598

Exiting California law prohibits the manufacture, sale and possession of what is defined as "drug paraphernalia" and prohibits testing equipment that could trace specific substances in street drugs.

This new law would enable Californians to use equipment that is intended to analyze a substance to detect fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid, or any analog of fentanyl.

The law comes as authorities continue to report a rapid increase in fentanyl deaths. In Placer County, there has been a 450 percent increase in related deaths from 2018 to 2021, KCRA reported.

Across the U.S. rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased over 56 percent from 2019 to 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.