In 2023, the California Legislature passed 1,046 bills.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed 890 of those bills into law, many of which went into effect as of January 1st, 2024.
Several new laws address two issues impacting just about every corner of the state – employment and housing.
On this week's "In Focus SoCal," host Tanya McRae talks with California Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas about a package of bills she authored that support working families. She discusses SB 521, known as the Campus Protection For Pregnant And Parenting Students.
"This bill says when our young parenting and lactating students are dealing with the important issue of taking care of their children, we should accommodate them and ensure that their educational future – and also their financial safety net – isn't in any way undermined because they are simply caring for their families," the Senator explained.
Ashley Hoffman, a senior policy advocate for the California Chamber of Commerce, also joins the conversation to explain several new laws that will impact the workplace.
Some of the more significant new laws include SB 616, which changes the number of hours employees can accrue to get paid sick leave; SB 553, which requires employers to create workplace violence prevention plans; AB 1228, which will increase the minimum wage for fast food workers; and SB 848 that will allow employees leave time for a reproductive loss.
We also look at a new housing law that changes some major statutes regarding Accessory Dwelling Units, referred to as "ADUs" or "granny flats."
An ADU can be a converted garage, a detached office, or a new building on the same property as the main house. AB 1033 repeals a state ban on selling ADUs separately from the main house. It gives local governments the power – if they opt in – to allow property owners to both construct an ADU on their land and sell it separately – following the same rules that apply to condominiums.
It has the potential to remedy a couple of California's housing problems, such as giving homeowners more options for building on their property, increasing housing availability, and offering some financial options to the owner in the future.
Corey and Jerry Chappell talked about their journey of building a new home for Corey's elderly mother to live in so that she could be closer to the family.
"We chose to build an ADU versus purchasing an entirely separate home for financial reasons," said Corey Chappell. "My mom retired and sold the house that she's owned since 1978. And even still, it wasn't enough to purchase a new home in Southern California. And her fixed income did not allow her to afford to rent anything where she was going to feel comfortable living alone."
They found a house in Montebello with a large enough backyard where they could build an ADU and suggested that people new to the home-building process find a company to help them through all the planning and construction steps.
"We went to a one-stop-shop in Southern California and couldn't be happier," said Corey Chappell. "They helped us navigate the process. They had everything. An architect was in the house. They took us through the engineers, the plans, the city permitting. They had already vetted through 80 different contractors, so they put the teams together. I didn't have to try to do any of that on our own."
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