As 2025 arrives, so do hundreds of new laws.

State lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom had a busy year, producing and signing stacks of legislation touching on a variety of topics, ranging from an effort to crack down on retail theft to changes to labor laws to LGBTQ protections to a ban on farmed octopuses.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most notable laws going into effect Jan. 1:

A minimum wage boost >> The new year brings a 50-cent raise for California’s minimum wage workers, who will see their base pay increase to $16.50 an hour. That’s because California’s minimum wage law is automatically adjusted for inflation (though it can’t decrease if the Consumer Price Index falls in any given year). The bump applies to all employers, regardless of size.

Workers in fast food and health care industries have higher base wages and will not see an increase January 1. In November, voters narrowly rejected a measure that would have immediately boosted the state’s minimum wage to $18 per hour by 2026.

Legacy admissions banned >> Beginning in September 2025, all colleges and universities are banned from giving preferential treatment in the admissions process to family members of alumni and donors. These “legacy admissions” are already banned at California’s public universities but have been allowed at private colleges including Stanford and the University of Southern California.

However, the new law, AB 1780 by former Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, has little teeth: it allows the attorney general to investigate potential preferential admissions and request more information from the university. Stanford Law professor Ralph Richard Banks said there is “no basis for actually enforcing” the law and that it acts as “a sort of moral shaming of universities” that ignore it.

Protections for child vloggers influencers >> The new year brings new protections for child influencers and vloggers. AB 1880 by Assemblymember Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, and SB 764 by Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, expand California’s landmark child actor law, known as the Coogan Act, to cover children and teens who post online content or feature prominently in content posted by their parents or other adults.

The laws require parents or guardians of these content creators to set aside a percentage of earnings from views and brand sponsorships into a trust that the minor can access when they reach adulthood. The laws were supported by former child actor Demi Lovato.

Paid family leave and disability laws >> Beginning January 1, 2025, workers who take paid family leave or disability will get more money: SB 951, authored by Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, in 2022 increases the programs’ wage replacement rates from 60-70% to 70-90% in the new year. Durazo said the hikes will allow more people to take time off to recover or bond with a new baby.

Another new law, AB 2123 by Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, bans employers from requiring workers to use vacation time before taking paid family leave. Previously, they could require employees to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation before the employee could take paid family leave to care for a sick family member or bond with a new child.

No more ‘captive audience’ meetings >> A new law bans employers from requiring workers to attend “captive audience” meetings which often have political, religious or anti-union messaging. Newsom signed the law, SB 399, by Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, earlier this year. It allows the California Labor Commissioner to fine companies up to $500 for “subjecting, or threatening to subject, an employee to discharge, discrimination, retaliation, or any other adverse action” if the employee does not attend a captive audience meeting.

Strengthened retail theft laws >> In 2024, lawmakers approved a suite of bills to crack down on retail theft. They include AB 2943 by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, D-Los Angeles, which makes it a crime to possess more than $950 in stolen goods with intent to sell, allows prosecutors to aggregate the value of multiple thefts, and protects retailers from being fined for repeatedly reporting theft to law enforcement.

Other retail theft laws include:

AB 1960 by Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, imposes tiered mandatory sentence enhancements for loss of property totaling $50,000 or more.

AB 3209 by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, allows courts to issue restraining orders prohibiting a person convicted of theft, vandalism, or assault of a retail employee from entering the establishment for up to two years.

SB 905 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, removes a “locked door loophole” that required prosecutors to prove that a car thief entered a vehicle without permission and that the doors were locked. The bill also allows prosecutors to aggregate the value of property stolen from multiple vehicles.

AB 1779 by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, allows prosecutors to consolidate theft charges across multiple counties into a single trial.

The retail theft package was meant to stave off Prop. 36, a more stringent ballot measure, but voters approved the ballot proposition with 68% of the vote and it took effect December 18.

A ban on hair discrimination >> This year, Newsom signed bills intended to address current and historical racist discrimination. While the most prominent bill was a formal apology for California’s role in the slave trade, it also included AB 1815, by Assemblymember Akilah Weber, D-San Diego.

That law strengthens anti-discrimination protections in the workplace by clarifying that the term “race” includes traits associated with race, such as hair texture or protective hairstyles.

Mandatory maternal mental health screenings >> Introduced by then-Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, now a senator, AB 1936 requires maternal mental health programs in the state to consist of at least one mental health screening during pregnancy, and an additional screening in the six-week postpartum period, with additional screenings if deemed medically necessary.

A crackdown on bank fees >> California lawmakers passed a pair of laws that are intended to limit the ability of banks to charge overdraft fees to their customers.

Cannabis cafes can now be approved >> Following in the model of famed Dutch capital Amsterdam, Newsom signed a bill into law in 2024 allowing local governments the authority to approve permits for “cannabis cafes,” places where customers can not only smoke marijuana, but also order food and drinks and listen to music.

AB 1775, by Assemblymember Matt Haney, was actually the second attempt at such a law; Newsom vetoed the first in 2023, citing concerns about the health of cafe workers and the importance of maintaining a smoke-free workplace.

AB 1775 included additional protections on that front, and Newsom, satisfied, signed it into law but not without a warning. The governor cautioned cities and counties that if they fail to prioritize worker safety in implementing these cafes, it may lead to “reconsideration of this limited expansion.”

Medical debt can’t be used on credit reports >> Medical debt. It’s a burden for millions of Californians. But soon, that burden will get just a little bit lighter.

SB 1061, by Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, prohibits consumer credit agencies from including a person’s medical debt in their credit reports, and would make it so that medical debt can no longer be used against a person when they go to rent an apartment, buy a car or apply for a loan.

No octopus aquaculture >> Score one for the cephalopods. AB 3162, by Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, bars the practice of octopus farming, called aquaculture, in the state.

There is currently no known octopus aquaculture operation in California, but Bennett’s law ensures that there won’t be. Octopuses are highly intelligent sea animals that Bennett in a statement said are “not suited for large scale breeding.”

Wild-caught octopuses remain legal for sale >> It remains an open question how the law will be enforced: How does one tell the difference between a farmed octopus and a wild-caught one at the supermarket?

Foster parents must provide for needs of LGBTQ kids >> Finally, a new law requires that foster parents demonstrate “an ability and willingness” to meet the needs of the children they are seeking to care for, regardless of that child’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, before they will be approved to care for the child.

SB 407, by Wiener, also requires California counties to provide caregiver training that supports “children of all races, ethnic group identifications, ancestries, national origins, colors, religions, sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities, mental or physical disabilities, or HIV statuses in foster care,” according to the bill digest.