California’s New 2023 Abortion, Housing, and Police Laws

SACRAMENTO— The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark federal abortion rights case Roe v. Wade has sparked a flurry of new laws in California, even though abortion rights are already strongly protected in the state.

Still, 2022 has proven to be a fairly measured year in terms of the number of bills approved by the California Legislature and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, perhaps a continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic lull. 19 in recent years. The Legislature sent 1,166 bills to Newsom for consideration in 2022. He signed 997 and vetoed 169. By comparison, California enacted 1,821 new laws in 1971, when Governor Ronald Reagan was governor. .

The Times list highlights a few dozen notable new laws for 2023, including several that were approved years earlier but only take effect now. Most of those listed come into effect on New Year’s Day. As in years past, the slate primarily reflects the interests of Democrats who hold a supermajority of seats in both the Senate and the state Assembly.

Some of the most notable new laws make significant changes to workers’ rights and benefits, housing, criminal justice, and health care.

Two state ballot measures approved by voters in November became law before the start of the new year: Proposition 1, which expressly guarantees in the state Constitution “the fundamental right of a person to choose abortion and her fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives”; and Proposition 31, which bans the sale of most flavored tobacco products in stores and in vending machines.

Some laws due to come into effect in 2023 are in limbo due to challenges, both in court and potentially at the ballot box.

In December, a federal judge struck down part of a new California gun law inspired by Texas anti-abortion legislation that gives citizens the power to sue anyone who imports, distributes, manufactures or sells firearms. illegal in California, such as assault weapons. 50 BMG rifles and so-called ghost guns.

Businesses and restaurant groups said this month they had submitted enough voter signatures for a ballot measure to overturn a landmark California law that could open the door to a worker wage hike to 22 dollars an hour. On Friday, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge temporarily suspended the new law, which was set to go into effect Jan. 1. The oil and gas industry is also trying to garner enough petition signatures for a ballot measure to strike down a law banning new oil or gas wells within 3,200 feet of a residence, educational resource , a healthcare facility or any other sensitive area.