(The Center Square) – After a busy year for the California Legislature, hundreds of new state laws are taking effect in the new year, affecting everything from immigration to housing and health care. Here are some to watch for in 2026.
Immigration
Unaccompanied immigrant children in court – Assembly Bill 1261: This law requires the state to provide free legal representation for unaccompanied children in immigration proceedings in federal court, as well as state-related immigration proceedings.
The bill also states that if an immigrant youth has private legal counsel, the state does not need to provide counsel to the child during immigration proceedings. The bill was introduced last year after the federal government canceled contracts with outside organizations to fund legal representation for immigrant children, according to the bill analysis. Similar state-run programs also were rolled back in California. These children were not offered government-appointed lawyers to represent them in court, leaving children and toddlers to try to advocate for themselves in immigration court to avoid being deported, the analysis states.
Anti-mask law for law enforcement – Senate Bill 627: This law, authored by Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks on the job. This applies to any law enforcement agency operating in the state, including federal law enforcement. The law states there are exceptions, including for law enforcement officers conducting undercover operations and tactical operations in which gear covering an officer’s face is required for safety.
The bill does not include medical or surgical masks worn to protect against the transmission of disease, the bill’s analysis states, or any transparent face covering worn to protect against things like toxins, gas and smoke. The law will take effect July 1.
Weiner, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and The White House, were unavailable for comment on Friday.
Homeland Security previously said it would not follow the law. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Center Square in September that the law is unconstitutional and would interfere with efforts to protect federal law enforcement officers from being “doxxed and targeted by known and suspected terrorist sympathizers.”
But also in September, Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, who chairs the California Latino Legislative Caucus, said the anti-mask law and other state immigration laws will deliver stronger protections “in the face of egregious immigration raids and escalating authoritarian attacks on our freedoms.”
Immigrant children at school – Assembly Bill 49: Otherwise known as the California Save Haven Schools Act, this bill would bar law enforcement from entering school property for activity that targets immigrant children unless they had a court order or judicial warrant. School officials would have to request identification from officers who come to a school for that purpose. The law also prohibits the release of students’ records or information about a student’s family without a court order or warrant.
Kids and animals
Domestic violence and kids – Assembly Bill 779: This law allows county child welfare agencies to establish a three-year pilot program to work with organizations that deal with domestic violence. Such a program is designed to help county social workers to meet the needs of families suffering from violence. The new law is also intended to help train county social workers with areas such as domestic violence-related services, children witnessing domestic violence, child removal from abusive homes, family resources, and effort to work with law enforcement on domestic violence cases. The law remains in effect until Jan. 1, 2032.
Cat declawing – Assembly Bill 867: This new law bans declawing cats except for veterinarians performing medically necessary procedures for a recurring infection, disease, injury or other abnormal medical condition. While the bill analysis cited data that reflects some support among cat owners for declawing cats to keep them from scratching, advocates for the bill said declawing cats is inhumane and painful for cats when done solely for the convenience of the pet’s owner. Many other cities, states and countries have outlawed the practice, according to the bill analysis.
Housing and homelessness
Fridges and stoves in rentals – Assembly Bill 628: In the new year, property owners who rent to tenants must ensure that there is a working refrigerator and stove in the rental unit, according to the bill analysis. Any rental unit that doesn’t have both will be considered uninhabitable. Landlords have to replace broken or recalled stoves or refrigerators, although AB 628 also allows tenants to provide their own working refrigerator.
New residential building inspections – Assembly Bill 1308: This new law, authored by Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, requires city and county building departments to inspect newly-completed residential constructions within 10 days of receiving notice that construction work is done. The law also applies to new construction on an existing residential building.
Providing for the unhoused – Senate Bill 634: Sen. Sasha Renée Perez, D-Pasadena, authored this bill that aims to make it illegal for local governments to ban organizations or individuals from helping unhoused members of the community or to help provide services that meet basic human needs of survival. This new law applies to local governments seeking to institute new ordinances banning helping the homeless, as well as enforcing existing local ordinances that help the unhoused. Perez was not available to speak with The Center Square on Friday.
Health care
Bipolar individuals in court – Senate Bill 27: This law allows courts to determine if someone with bipolar disorder is eligible for the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment program without a hearing to decide eligibility. The program, established by the CARE Act of 2022, allows people with schizophrenia to qualify for behavioral health aid and other assistance programs if they’re found incompetent to stand trial. The new law expands program eligibility to those with bipolar disorder.
Abortion care for those in prison or jail – Assembly Bill 260: This law bans denying abortion care to an incarcerated person or a minor in juvenile detention. It also authorizes the California Department of Public Health to adopt regulations regarding the common abortion-inducing drug, mifepristone, and similar drugs if those medications are no longer considered legal by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. It also prohibits health insurance providers from restricting or limiting patients’ access to those drugs.
