Get Up to Speed Fast on These New California Laws Taking Effect in 2025

Cannabis cafes and expanded outdoor drinking? An end to a banking fee? More protections for your credit score if you face medical debt? These are among the roughly 1,000 new laws hitting California starting the first day of 2025.

If that sounds like a lot, it could have been much more: California lawmakers introduced nearly 5,000 bills in the most recent legislative session ending this fall, a two-year period that saw nearly half die without a single vote.

In all, lawmakers passed about 1,200 bills in 2024 and Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed 200 of those. And that’s the bureaucratic funnel in a nutshell.

Most of these incoming laws are technical, fix previous laws or are narrow in scope. But there are some that affect lots of Californians, or are just plain interesting.

There are the consumer finance protection laws, numerous education-related laws — including one to expand alcohol education that was written by a former lawmaker arrested for a DUI — as well as a law banning local voter ID rules and another granting a few more days to fight an eviction. Paris Hilton makes a cameo, too.

CalMatters reporters describe some of the noteworthy laws taking effect Jan. 1. Dive in to stay informed about the changes that matter to you — and keep coming back as we add more stories about new laws before 2024 rides off into the California sunset.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.