New laws effective Jan. 1

With the new year come new laws. Here are 24 of California’s changes to crime, civil proceedings and court administration that start Jan. 1.

Crime

• SB 97 will allow a person to file a writ of habeas corpus alleging unlawful imprisonment after learning evidence, even after trial concluded. It would also allow an incarcerated petitioner to appear at an evidentiary hearing through remote technology. 
• SB 14 adds the felony of human trafficking of a minor to the category of felonies that are counted under California’s Three Strikes Law.
• AB 701 will impose an additional term in prison for people convicted of a fentanyl related crime. If the fentanyl involved weighs over one kilogram (2.2 pounds) the defendant will receive an additional three years, if the fentanyl weighs over four kilograms they will receive five more years. The scale keeps increasing to an additional 25 years if the fentanyl involved weighs over 80 kilograms (176 pounds). The law will add fentanyl to the list of drugs that already had this scale, including heroin and cocaine.
• AB 1539 will close a technical loophole by making it a misdemeanor to vote in an election in California and another state on the same day. California law already made it a crime to vote twice in any election “provided for by the Elections Code”—but an election in another state is not provided for by California’s Elections Code. The bill was drafted after a couple in Santa Clara was found to be voting in both Oregon and California.
• SB 46 will require a person convicted of a drug offense to complete a treatment or education program while on probation.
• AB 1253 allows hearsay statements from victims, eyewitnesses and medical examiners in a sexually violent predator probable cause hearing.

Civil proceedings

• SB 2 sets California’s firearm law in line with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen. Among many changes, it provides that a judge licensed to carry a firearm in public is allowed to bring it into the courtroom. It also removes the good character and good cause requirements to get a concealed carry license in California. Instead, it disqualifies applicants based on their reasonable danger to themselves or others. It lengthens the training requirement from no more than 16 hours of training to no less than 16 hours of training. It also prohibits gun owners from bringing their gun into a place of worship. 
• AB 954 will require juvenile court to determine if a guardian can afford court-ordered services before ordering them. It will also prohibit a court from finding the guardian non-complaint if they find that the guardian cannot afford the service
• AB 1756, a judiciary omnibus bill, will allow meet-and-confer hearings for dispositive motions to be held through video conference.
• SB 463 will eliminate the presumption in juvenile court that a guardian’s lack of participation in a treatment program endangers the child while determining custody.
• AB 1089 makes it illegal to 3D print firearms without a license to manufacture firearms. 
• AB 933 will prevent a person from suing another for defamation based on comments the defendant made about sexual assault, harassment or discrimination.
• AB 1171 will allow a person licensed to run a cannabis company to sue another person for running an unlicensed cannabis company. The prosecuting party can win at most $75,000.
• AB 1366 will allow the attorney general to ask for an additional financial demand in lawsuits brought under the Unfair Competition Law. The money paid in the suit would be put toward the newly created Victims of Consumer Fraud Restitution Fund.
• AB 1485 will allow the Department of Housing and Community Development and the attorney general to intervene in all lawsuits that claim a violation of the Housing Accountability Act, the Density Bonus Law and the Housing Crisis Act of 2019.
• SB 60 will allow people to seek court orders that require social media platforms to remove solicitations for the sale of illegal drugs.
• SB 71 will increase the small claims limit from $10,000 to $12,500 and the limited civil cases limit from $25,000 to $35,000.
• SB 235 will amend discovery law. Initial disclosures must be made within 60 days of a demand by a party to the action, instead of 45 days of a court’s order to provide the disclosure. The law will also increase discovery sanctions from $250 to $1,000. Sanctions are placed against litigants who do not respond in good faith to a document request or who do not meet and confer to resolve disputes regarding the request.
• SB 365 will keep cases rolling despite appeals. Currently, California law halts proceedings if a judge’s ruling to deny a petition to compel arbitration is appealed. Under SB 365, the proceedings will continue despite the appeal.
• SB 439 will create a special motion to strike unfounded lawsuits against affordable housing developments. 
• SB 487 will prohibit health insurers from penalizing a provider due to a civil judgment or criminal action against the provider based on care illegal in a different state but legal in California.
• SB 497 will establish a presumption in favor of an employee’s retaliation claim and adds a $10,000-max penalty for employers who violate whistleblower protections.

Court administration

• SB 133 is a budget trailer bill that will extend the authority to conduct remote hearings in civil matters and will establish the nonprofit California Access to Justice Commission, with a budget of $250,000. 
• SB 75 authorizes 26 new superior court judgeships across the state. Funding will have to be provided later.