With the new year comes a slew of soon-to-be-spurned resolutions, the slog back to the office after the holidays, and, in California, hundreds of new laws governing everything from the cost of a laptop to the recipe for your favorite tortillas.
Nearly 800 bills from state lawmakers were signed last year by the governor, most of which took effect on New Year’s Day and are wildly boring. But here’s a selection of seven new laws that you’ll likely see, feel, or taste in your everyday life.
Change has come for your tortillas
AB 1830 (opens in new tab) requires the makers of corn masa products, such as tortillas and tamale dough, to include a new additive: folic acid. That’s right, lawmakers decided that a centuries-old Latin American staple needed a Sacramento-ordered vitamin boost.
Public health officials tout the health benefits of the additive, particularly in cutting down on birth defects that can affect infants’ brains or spinal cords. The law requires manufacturers that sell the products in California to add 0.7 milligrams of folic acid to every pound of flour and list its addition on nutrition labels.
While the required level of the bitter-tasting vitamin is small, tortilla experts say they can discern (opens in new tab) the difference.
Some restaurants, markets, and other small-batch makers may be exempt, but purists are likely drafting strongly worded letters about government overreach on their dinner plates.
Finally making renting cool
AB 628 (opens in new tab) protects renters by requiring landlords to provide working stoves and refrigerators in order for a home to be legally habitable. A tenant can decide to provide their own refrigerator, but that cannot be a precondition in the lease agreement.
This means that Craigslist post with a carefully framed kitchen photo — artfully taken to avoid showing a lack of appliances — should be a thing of the past. Still, myriad exemptions exist for the types of properties not subject to the new law, including SROs, permanent supportive housing, and units in a residential hotel.
It’s only a matter of time before Sacramento takes up the issue of in-unit laundry.
Your PlayStation just got more expensive
SB 1215 (opens in new tab) slaps a 1.5% “recycling fee” — capped at $15 — on new electronic devices that have a nonremovable battery. That includes video game consoles, laptops, and those annoying — er, charming — greeting cards that play tinny music when you open them.
The surcharge will help fund an e-waste recycling program that’s been quietly collecting old monitors and TVs for 20 years. And it applies whether the device is rechargeable or not.
The law is a reflection of the increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. Lawmakers argue that the fee is needed to properly dispose of the millions of pounds of batteries thrown away each year.
Kitty’s got claws
KitKat, this one’s for you: AB 867 (opens in new tab) bans the practice of cat declawing unless it is medically necessary.
Declawing for cosmetic, aesthetic, or convenience reasons is prohibited, and vets who practice the procedure could be fined and have their license revoked.
Nail trimming and nonsurgical ways to tamp down on scratching — like attaching a device to a cat’s claws — are allowed for those looking for less painful ways for their kitty to make biscuits (opens in new tab).
A new front in the war on plastic bags
SB 1053 e (opens in new tab)xpands the state’s ban on plastic bags by prohibiting the more sturdy ones sometimes offered at store checkout counters. The law closes a loophole that allowed those bags to be considered “reusable.”
There are still some plastic bag holdouts that are exempt, including certain pharmacy prescription bags, dry cleaning covers, and bags for unwrapped food items. The law also requires a change to paper bags, mandating that they contain at least 50% recycled material by 2028. The law has yet to address how flimsy those paper handles remain.
Refunds for your DoorDash deliveries
One of the horrific realities of modern life is the off chance you get the wrong food delivery order. AB 578 (opens in new tab) aims to address that issue by mandating that DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats provide a full refund if the order is not delivered or the wrong items arrive at your door.
The law also requires that the companies have a customer support line staffed by real people to talk through issues. Delivery workers, meanwhile, benefit from greater pay transparency because of a requirement that they receive a clearly identified, itemized breakdown of each delivery, including base pay, gratuities, and promotions.
However, there is no remedy for the shame you feel over paying $30 for a carne asada burrito because you were too lazy to get off the couch.
Won’t somebody turn the TV down?
SB 576 (opens in new tab) fixes another major problem with modern technology: It bans streaming sites from playing their ads at a louder volume than the show or movie you are watching.
Yes, that means you won’t be startled in the middle of a binge session of “Law & Order” by someone shouting enthusiastically about Crest Whitestrips.
This law doesn’t take effect until July, but we’re eagerly waiting with our finger on the mute button.