New California Laws In 2023: Gavin Newsom, the governor, has ratified several laws that will go into force on January 1, 2023. Four new state holidays, a ban on new fur apparel, and updated rules for penalizing jaywalkers on Californian streets are among them. The most prominent new laws that could affect Californians’ lives in the coming year are listed here.
No New Furs Will Be Purchased Anymore
In California, one of the earliest types of clothing known to man would soon go extinct. All new fur items cannot be manufactured or sold in the state under Assembly Bill 44.
Since becoming a status symbol in the 1970s, when U.S. fur sales exceeded $600 million annually, mink coats, raccoon caps, and chinchilla scarves have seen a sharp fall in demand over the previous several decades.
When PETA began its “I’d rather go nude than wear fur” campaign in the 1990s, featuring unclothed supermodels and artists like Tyra Banks, Pamela Anderson, and The Go-to Go’s protest the alleged animal cruelty, the anti-fur movement went into overdrive.
Since then, plastic-made faux fur has dominated chiefly the American market. Following the implementation of citywide bans in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berkeley, and West Hollywood, California is now the first state in the nation to enact a nationwide ban. The law does not include products made from used fur.
New Rules For Renegade Pedestrians
It suddenly became less dangerous to cross the street outside of marked crosswalks, a crime that most Californians have probably committed at some point.
It is not technically allowed to jaywalk, but the Freedom to Walk Act, which takes effect in California on January 1, does stipulate that police officers shouldn’t ticket errant pedestrians unless their behavior poses an “immediate threat of an accident.”
In 2021, Newsom vetoed an earlier version of the law over safety concerns. Some believe that the law that makes it illegal to jaywalk targets people unfairly based on their race and economic background because it was initially a felony pushed for by the auto industry. Read our in-depth analysis to learn how complex the history of the law is despite appearances.
Loitering With The Intent Of Prostitution
Before Newsom finally signed the contentious bill into law in July, it received harsh condemnation from both sides of the state Senate. It forbade arrests for “loitering with the aim of prostitution.”
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is the author of the Safer Streets for All Act, which repeals loitering laws that proponents claim discriminated against LGBTQ people and people of color but falls short of decriminalizing sex work.
The bill, according to critics, will make it more difficult for authorities to assist in preventing the sex trafficking of vulnerable people. As I noted before, this measure does not legalize prostitution, according to Newsom.
Simply put, it repeals legal prohibitions that have resulted in disproportionate harassment of women and transgender adults. Women of color and Latinas are particularly impacted.
‘Pink tax’ Ban
Have you ever observed that men’s shampoo frequently costs less than a comparable product for women or that pink razors are typically more expensive than black ones?
Women are thought to spend a startling $188,000 more on similar things throughout their lives than men do. The “pink tax” is a discriminatory phenomenon that will be the focus of a new California law that will go into effect in 2023.
New California laws in 2023 include a fur ban, new state holidays https://t.co/KRpbqlPqeU
— KSBW Action News 8 (@ksbw) December 26, 2022
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,” according to Assembly Bill 1287.
California Adds New State Holidays
New holidays have been added to the calendar for Californians. Lunar New Year is now an official state holiday thanks to Assembly Bill 2956. To mark the day, employees are permitted to take “eight hours of vacation, annual leave, or compensated time off instead of obtaining eight hours of personal holiday credit.”
The Lunar New Year will occur in 2023 on January 22. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, said in a statement that declaring this day a state holiday “acknowledges the variety and cultural value Asian Americans bring to California and allows all Californians to partake in the significance of the Lunar New Year.”
Additionally, employees have the option of observing Native American Day (June 18), Juneteenth (June 19), or Genocide Remembrance Day (April 24). (September 22).
Police Use Of Rape Kits Will Change
Following a high-profile controversy involving the San Francisco Police Department, California is tightening its regulations on rape kits. People who report sexual assault may consent to a medical examination, frequently referred to as a “rape kit.”
A biological sample from a wound, body fluid, or fingernail scraping may be taken as part of the examination; a DNA match to the rapist may be possible from these samples. The victim’s DNA is also used to build a DNA profile.
New California laws in 2023 include a fur ban, new state holidays https://t.co/wj2QgEIfL9 via @SFGate
— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) December 25, 2022
Chesa Boudin, the district attorney for San Francisco at the time, said in February that SFPD was using the kits’ samples of victims’ DNA to incriminate rape victims in other cases. In at least one incident, according to Boudin, DNA from a woman’s rape kit was used to link her to a suspect in a separate property offense.
A new state rule limits using rape kit evidence to identify the rapist; police agencies are no longer allowed to store the victim’s DNA. The decision to come forward, report a crime, and go through an intrusive rape kit screening at the hospital is already difficult for sexual assault survivors, according to state senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s sponsor.
The very last thing we want to do is to warn survivors that if they come forward, their DNA sample might one day be used against them.
California Minimum Wage Is Going Up
After former Governor Jerry Brown signed S.B. 3 into law in 2016, California became the first state in the U.S. to lay out a plan for a $15 minimum wage. The minimum wage at the time was $10, and the law required minor increases every year until California’s minimum wage reached $15 in 2022.
Since the state reached that goal last year, the minimum wage in California will increase to $15.50 per hour on January 1, 2023. But several counties in the Bay Area already have higher minimum salaries, with San Francisco’s being close to $17.
Employers Must Disclose Salary Ranges
Interviewers may no longer skirt around inquiries about remuneration because California now requires most firms to provide pay scale information upfront. The new regulation mandates that a pay range be disclosed in job advertising for all companies with 15 or more employees.
This implies that the estimated wage for each listing will be included in job posts on LinkedIn and other job boards. Additionally, businesses with 100 workers or more must provide the state with certain information, including the workers’ pay and contractors broken down by gender, color, and ethnicity.
Brothers & Sisters, we did good. Look what’s in store for California workers in 2023.
Wait until they see what we have planned for next year. #unionizeCalifornia https://t.co/6JtxC6IGEP
— Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (@LorenaSGonzalez) December 22, 2022
Restricting The Use Of Song Lyrics In Court
One of California’s most unexpected new rules governs the admissibility of musical lyrics in court, notably those from rap songs. Judges are required by law to assess any creative works—including song lyrics, movie scripts, and literary works—that the prosecution offers as evidence.
It was passed after Atlanta rapper Young Thug’s song lyrics were used as evidence by the prosecution in his racketeering indictment. The rapper’s attorneys contended that his artistic identity was no evidence of criminal activity.
Judges in California must now determine if artistic work contributes to the criminal allegations or if it “explicitly or tacitly injects racial bias into the proceedings.” Prosecutors cannot use material as evidence if they cannot show it is more than merely artistic expression.
In a statement, Newsom stated that “artists of all kinds should be able to create without the fear of unfair and prejudiced prosecution.” “California’s culture and entertainment sector set patterns throughout the world, so it is appropriate that our state is playing a national leadership role in defending free speech and making sure that artists are not subjected to discriminatory laws.”
Final Lines
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