New California Laws 2026: Part 1
Sacramento, Calif. – Part 1 of the New California Laws 2026 series covers laws chaptered during the 2024–25 legislative session. This installment highlights new legislation on residential property insurance, election procedures, cannabis regulations, social media requirements, and additional statewide policy updates.
For complete bill text, authorship details, and official effective dates, click the bill numbers below to access the California Legislature's official releases.
New California Laws 2026 (Part 1)
| BILL | Description & Summary |
|---|---|
| AB-1 | Residential property insurance: wildfire risk. This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2030, and every 5 years thereafter, to consider whether or not to update its regulations to include additional building hardening measures for property-level mitigation efforts and communitywide wildfire mitigation programs. |
| AB-5 | Elections: official canvass. This bill would require elections officials, on or before the 13th day following an election, to finish counting all ballots, with certain exceptions |
| AB-8 | Cannabis: cannabinoids: industrial hemp. This bill, beginning on January 1, 2026, would prohibit industrial hemp raw extract from being incorporated into food, food additives, beverages, or dietary supplements unless the industrial hemp raw extract has a purity level greater than 99 percent and does not contain any tetrahydrocannabinols or synthetic cannabinoids. |
| AB-14 | Coastal resources: Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program. |
| AB-16 | Vote by mail ballots: processing. |
| AB-17 | Elections: precinct maps. |
| AB-30 | State Air Resources Board: gasoline specifications: ethanol blends. |
| AB-36 | Housing elements: prohousing designation. |
| AB-39 | General plans: Local Electrification Planning Act. |
| AB-42 | CalWORKs: CalFresh: eligibility: income and resource exclusions. |
| AB-43 | Wild and scenic rivers. |
| AB-45 | Privacy: health data: location and research. This bill would, subject to specified exceptions, prohibit geofencing, or selling or sharing personal information with a third party to geofence, as defined, an entity that provides in-person health care services in California for specified purposes, and would prohibit the use of personal information obtained in violation of this provision. |
| AB-49 | Schoolsites: immigration enforcement. |
| AB-50 | Pharmacists: furnishing contraceptives. |
| AB-55 | Alternative birth centers: licensing and Medi-Cal reimbursement. |
| AB-56 | Social media: warning labels. |
| AB-59 | Reclamation District No. 108: hydroelectric power. |
| AB-60 | Cosmetic safety. |
| AB-64 | Vital Records |
🔖 Latest in the Series – New Laws in California 2026
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