Eight high-profile California laws set to take effect in 2023
Tori Richards
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As with every approaching new year, a host of laws are about to take effect in California that include a focus on minorities and animals.
On Jan. 1, 2023, numerous bills signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), surrounding clothing, the workplace, and the criminal justice system, will go into effect. Here are the most high profile examples:
No more fur
Hollywood celebrities and Silicon Valley moguls will have to buy their fur somewhere else. The manufacture and sale of fur products will be prohibited as the progressive state becomes the first to ban all new fur products.
The cities of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Francisco, and Berkeley already have this law on the books. The law does not apply to the sale of used products for faux fur, which is manufactured with plastics.
Freedom to jaywalk
Crossing a street outside of a sidewalk is technically illegal in California, but as of Jan. 1, police are urged to look the other way. The Freedom to Walk Act says wayward pedestrians should not be ticketed unless they create an “immediate danger of a collision.”
Backers of the new law say racial disparities exist when police hand out tickets, with black pedestrians cited more often. A previous version of the law was vetoed by Newsom in 2021.
Prostitution loitering
If you are a prostitute and want to claim a street corner as your own, starting on Jan. 1, police can’t do anything about it.
The Safer Streets for All Act strikes portions of the state’s criminal code section that prohibits “loitering with the intent of prostitution.” Proponents say the current law unfairly targeted minorities, but Newsom stressed that prostitution is still illegal in California.
“It simply revokes provisions of the law that have led to disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults. Black and Latino women are particularly affected,” Newsom said.
The pink tax
For years, women have been purchasing products aimed at men because the cost can be substantially less than a female counterpart, such as shampoo or razors. This markup has been called the “pink tax” and it will soon be illegal.
A “person, firm, partnership, company, corporation, or business shall not charge a different price for any two goods that are substantially similar if those goods are priced differently based on the gender of the individuals for whom the goods are marketed and intended,” the underlying Assembly bill states.
New holiday
Respect for some Californians’s Asian heritage has inspired a new state holiday: Lunar New Year, which varies by date in January. It gives state employees eight hours of vacation or compensation if they do not take the day off.
“Recognizing this day as a state holiday acknowledges the diversity and cultural significance Asian Americans bring to California and provides an opportunity for all Californians to participate in the significance of the Lunar New Year,” Newsom said.
Criminal records disappear
A controversial new law will permanently seal most felony convictions after defendants complete their sentences and any probation requirements. They must also go a certain number of years without any new arrests. These records will still be available to law enforcement and school districts, but cannot be accessed by the general public.
Proponents argued that the law was necessary to avoid discrimination in various sectors of society, such as job and housing applications. Criminal records are readily available on databases to county superior courts.
Transgender youth haven
Minors who arrive in California to obtain transgender surgeries or other medical treatment are safe from repercussions by other states. The law blocks out-of-state subpoenas and record sharing by doctors.
It also allows judges to make child custody determinations if one parent resides in another state where custody is revoked from a California parent supporting transgender treatment.
New police officers
Police officers in California no longer need to be a citizen or legal resident of the United States. The new law removes language that officers “must be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident alien who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship.”
Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from becoming officers, so this law would only apply to legal immigrants who have a visa or green card, supporters say.