By CalMatters Staff, CalMatters
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Most of the hundreds of new California laws that are set to take effect on the first day of the new year won’t change your life. They’re adjustments to existing laws and directions to state agencies to follow up on past priorities.
But some of them might have a profound effect on you or a loved one.
Know someone who’s struggling to conceive? One new law requires more insurers to cover in vitro fertilization.
How about someone who’s thinking about what to do after high school? Another new law compels more California State University campuses to offer automatic admission to seniors who meet their requirements.
Some new California laws are meant to confront some of the major questions of the moment, including how to regulate artificial intelligence and whether the state’s Democratic leaders can contest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.
In all, lawmakers passed 917 bills in 2025 and Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed 123 of them. Most of the ones he signed take effect on Jan. 1.
CalMatters reporters describe some of the noteworthy new laws in the stories listed below.
NEW CALIFORNIA LAWS FOR 2026
Millions of Californians gain access to in vitro fertilization under new law
DECEMBER 24, 2025
A new California law requires tortillas to include an extra ingredient. Here’s why
DECEMBER 26, 2025
Gavin Newsom signs law in ‘overhaul’ of mental health system. It changes decades of practice
OCTOBER 10, 2023
Even more Cal State campuses will automatically admit eligible students under a new state law
DECEMBER 24, 2025
California schools will have to do more to prevent sex abuse under new law
DECEMBER 23, 2025
New California laws rewrite car-buying rules with return policy and pricing reforms
DECEMBER 26, 2025
Cities can’t punish outreach workers for helping homeless Californians under new law
DECEMBER 28, 2025
Big Tech blocks California data center rules, leaving only a study requirement
DECEMBER 29, 2025
A new California law requires a working fridge in all apartments. LA landlords fought it
DECEMBER 30, 2025
Scared of artificial intelligence? New law forces makers to disclose disaster plans
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Newsom unveils $11 state insulin for Californians: ‘We took matters into our own hands’
OCTOBER 16, 2025
New California law expands Newsom’s mental health court
DECEMBER 27, 2025
California is banning masks for federal agents. Here’s why it could lose in court
DECEMBER 22, 2025
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
