New year, new California laws: Here are a few that go into effect Jan. 1 - Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed astir 1,000 bills into instrumentality during the 2022 legislative session. 

Among the laws that instrumentality effect Jan. 1, 2023, are harsher penalties for thoroughfare racing, shrinking the minimum wage spread and resources for missing oregon endangered indigenous people.

Here are a fewer California laws that instrumentality effect connected Sunday.

Minimum wage gap

Senate Bill 3 was signed into instrumentality successful 2016, by then-Gov. Jerry Brown. The instrumentality made California the archetypal authorities to acceptable a extremity of a $15 minimum wage.

When Brown signed the bill, California's minimum wage was $10. SB 3 mandated tiny increases each twelvemonth until California deed $15 per hr successful 2022.

Since the authorities has deed the benchmark, effectual Jan. 1, 2023, minimum wage volition beryllium $15.50 per hour. However, immoderate California cities and counties already person higher minimum wages than the state’s rate. 

Pink Tax

Women and girls volition nary longer wage other for pinkish merchandise opening Jan. 1, 2023.

Under Assembly Bill 1287 — besides cognize arsenic the "Pink Tax" — it's amerciable to complaint a antithetic terms for immoderate 2 items that are "substantially similar," if those items are priced otherwise based connected the gender, according to the bill's text.

“The ‘Pink Tax’ is simply a sex based punishment that harms women who are already paid less,” Assembly subordinate Rebecca Bauer-Kahan said. “This benignant of arbitrary gendered pricing has nary spot successful California. It’s agelong past clip to destruct this benignant of inequality. I’m grateful Governor [Gavin] Newsom has signed this measure to guarantee terms equality successful California.”

Online marketplace safety

Assembly Bill 1700 requires the Attorney General’s Office to make an online reporting strategy for users of third-party online marketplaces to study listings of suspected stolen items. 

The reported accusation would beryllium disposable to section instrumentality enforcement and the CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force to assistance with investigations. 

Retention of rape kits

Senate Bill 1228 prohibits the retention of DNA profiles collected from intersexual battle victims by section instrumentality enforcement agencies — including rape kits for intersexual battle survivors. The instrumentality besides prohibits victims’ DNA from being utilized for immoderate intent different than identifying the perpetrator of the crime.

“It’s already hard capable for intersexual battle survivors to marque the determination to travel forward, study a crime, and acquisition an invasive rape kit exam astatine the hospital,” Senator Scott Wiener said. “The past happening we request is to nonstop a connection to survivors that if they travel forward, their DNA illustration whitethorn beryllium utilized against them successful the future.”

Proponents of the instrumentality argued that the measure would warrant the privateness of intersexual battle survivors and promote victims to travel forward. Fewer than a 4th of intersexual battle survivors travel guardant to study to police. Of those who bash report, lone a tiny percent acquisition intersexual battle testing, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. 

Catalytic converters

Catalytic converter theft has spiked dramatically successful caller years.

In 2020, catalytic converter theft claims jumped to 14,433, a 325% summation successful a azygous year, National Insurance Crime Bureau. 

California accounts for disproportionate magnitude of claims, according to the bureau. In 2021, the authorities reported astir 37% of catalytic converter theft claims.

State lawmakers are trying to dilatory the complaint astatine which these costly automotive parks are being swiped and sold.

Senate Bill 1087 prohibits a idiosyncratic from buying a utilized catalytic converter from anybody different than definite specified sellers. There are already laws that specifically database who tin merchantability catalytic converters to recyclers and necessitate those recyclers to support documentation specified arsenic the year, make, model, and transcript of the conveyance rubric from which the catalytic converter was removed.

Pedestrian stops

The fearfulness of jaywalking could go a happening of the past.

Assembly Bill 2147 prohibits constabulary from stopping pedestrians for definite pedestrian-specific violations, specified arsenic crossing the roadworthy extracurricular of a crosswalk. However, pedestrians tin inactive beryllium cited if the usurpation posses a postulation hazard oregon hazard of a car wreck.

California Highway Patrol is required to taxable a study to the legislature by Jan. 1, 2028, connected however the instrumentality impacted pedestrian safety.

Speeding and reckless driving volition outgo you

Senate Bill 1472: Ryan's Law expands the criteria for “gross negligence” arsenic it relates to vehicular manslaughter. 

Drivers progressive successful thoroughfare racing, excessive speeding, oregon speeding implicit 100 miles per hr which results successful a fatality tin present beryllium charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Ryan's Law besides imposes a state-mandated section program.

The measure is named aft Ryan Koeppel, a antheral struck and killed by a repetition reckless driver.

Street racing and sideshows person caused 264 collisions statewide successful the past 5 years. Of those wrecks, 30 were fatal and 124 resulted successful superior injuries, CHP reported.

Feather Alert

The “Feather Alert” allows instrumentality enforcement agencies to petition that CHP initiate an alert erstwhile an indigenous idiosyncratic has been kidnapped, abducted, oregon reported missing nether unexplained oregon suspicious circumstances.

Like AMBER, Blue, and Silver alerts, the “Feather Alert” programme uses radio, television, and societal media to dispersed the accusation astir the missing indigenous person.

Rates of murder, rape, and convulsive transgression against indigenous radical are each higher than the nationalist averages, particularly among Native American and Alaska Native women.

There is nary reliable number of however galore indigenous women spell missing oregon are killed each year.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that astir 4,200 missing and murdered cases are unsolved. These cases often stay unsolved owed to a deficiency of investigative resources disposable to place caller accusation from witnesser testimony, re-examine caller oregon retained worldly evidence, arsenic good arsenic reviewing caller activities of suspects, according to the bureau.