Every year, hundreds of new California laws take effect. Many of them won’t have much effect on your daily life, but here’s a closer look at some that might in 2020:

Consumer Protection
AB 375: Data privacy for consumers
Passed in 2018. Introduced by Asm. Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park).
The state’s sweeping new consumer data privacy law gives Californians the right to learn what companies like Facebook and Google know about them – and to stop the sharing or selling of their data. They will also be able to sue over data breaches if companies fail to adequately protect their data.

AB 539: Predatory lending
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara).
Caps the interest that can be charged on loans between $2,500-$10,000.

Criminal Justice
AB 218: Statute of limitations: Childhood sexual abuse
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).
Extends statute of limitations for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse to report their abusers from age 26 to age 40.

AB 602: Deepfake pornography
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto).
Allows a victim of nonconsensual deepfake pornography to sue for damages.

SB 273: Statute of limitations: Domestic violence
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park).
Extends statute of limitations for domestic violence felonies from 3 years to 5.

SB 310: Felons serving on juries
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley).
Convicted felons who have completed their sentences, parole, probation and supervision will no longer be disqualified from serving as jurors.

SB 439: Prosecution of children under 12
Passed in 2018. Introduced by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).
Ends the prosecution of children under age 12 who commit crimes other than murder and forcible sexual assault.

Domestic Partnerships
SB 30: Domestic partnership expansion
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).
Opens up domestic partnerships to all Californians, regardless of age or sexual identity. Until now, they’ve been restricted to same-sex couples, or opposite-sex couples aged 62 and up (for social security reasons).

Elections
AB 1707: Smart phones in polling places
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto).
Allows voters to use handheld electronic devices to help them cast their ballots at polling places, as long as they don’t violate other election laws.

AB 2188: Campaign finance disclosure: Digital ads
Passed in 2018. Introduced by Asm. Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco).
Requires digital ads to clearly display “Who funded this ad?” and link to a website that contains such disclosures.

SB 47: Campaign finance disclosure: Ballot measure petitions
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica).
Requires signature petitions for initiatives, referenda and recalls to list their campaigns’ top contributors.

Environment
SB 1249: Animal testing ban: Cosmetic products
Passed in 2018. Introduced by Sen. Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton).
Bans sale of cosmetic products with ingredients that were tested on animals on or after January 1, 2020.

SB 8: Smoking ban: State parks and beaches
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda).
Bans smoking at state parks and beaches. It comes with a caveat: people can still smoke on paved surfaces like parking lots.

Food
AB 205: Definition of ‘beer’
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Tom Daly (D-Anaheim).
Expands the definition of beer to include alcoholic beverages fermented with fruit, honey, herbs and other newly approved ingredients.

AB 619: Reusable food containers
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. David Chiu (D-San Francisco).
Allows restaurant customers to bring – and eat with/from – their own food containers and silverware. It also allows food vendors at fairs, festivals, and farmers markets to use reusable items, which has been against the code until now.

SB 677: Foodserver latex glove ban
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica).
Prohibits the use of latex gloves in food facilities and retail food establishments and requires food employees to use nonlatex utensils, including nonlatex gloves.

Health
AB 577: Maternal mental health coverage
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Susan Eggman (D-Stockton).
Ensures that mothers diagnosed with a maternal mental health disorder whose providers leave their insurance network can still see that provider and be fully covered for up to 12 months. A separate change in the budget extends Medi-Cal coverage to moms with mental health disorders to one year, up from the current 60 days.

State Budget: Health insurance mandate
Passed in 2019.
Californians who go without health insurance in 2020 will have to pay a penalty on their 2021 tax returns, under a new state-imposed mandate. Gov. Newsom has proposed using revenue from this mandate to fund premium assistance for low and middle income Covered California enrollees.

State Budget: Medi-Cal benefits
Passed in 2019.
Allows adults enrolled in Medi-Cal to obtain several optional benefits that were eliminated during the recession. Among them: audiology, incontinence creams and washes, eyeglasses, podiatry, speech therapy.

State Budget: Health coverage for undocumented young adults Passed in 2019.
Expands Medi-Cal coverage to income-eligible undocumented young adults ages 19-25.

Housing
AB 1482: Rent cap and tenant protections
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. David Chiu (D-San Francisco).
Caps annual rent increases at 5% plus inflation, and prohibits landlords from evicting tenants without just cause.

AB 68: Accessory dwelling units
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Phil Ting (D-San Francisco).
Makes it cheaper and faster for Californians to build granny-flats on their property, considered a way to address state’s housing crisis.

SB 329: Housing voucher discrimination
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).
Prohibits landlords from issuing blanket denials against the 300,000 low-income Californians who receive Section 8 housing vouchers.

Pets
AB 588: Dog bite disclosure
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Philip Chen (R-Brea).
Requires public and private animal shelters to disclose a dog’s biting history to a potential new owner if a dog has broken a human’s skin at age 4 months or older.

Workplace
AB 5: Independent contractor rules
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).
Codifies California Supreme Court decision that established a new test for classifying workers as independent contractors, while providing exemptions for a number of industries.

AB 9: Workplace harassment complaints
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Asm. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino).
Extends time limit to file complaint of workplace harassment or discrimination with the state Dept. of Fair Employment & Housing from 1 year to 3.

SB 1343: Sexual harassment training
Passed in 2018. Introduced by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).
Requires employers to provide sexual harassment training to all employees. Under current law, only supervisors at most employers have to receive training.

SB 142: Lactation rooms at work
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco).
Expands requirements for lactation rooms in workplaces and requires employers provide female workers a break each time they need to express milk.

SB 188: CROWN Act: Hair-based discrimination
Passed in 2019. Introduced by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles).
Known as the CROWN Act, prevents discrimination in workplaces and schools based on traits historically associated with race, including certain hairstyles such as braids, twists and locks.