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    New Laws 2020

    Jan. 8, 2020

    New Laws

    Jan. 8

    In This Issue:

    Real Estate/Development

    AB 1482: Cap on rent increases, just cause evictions

    The signing of Assembly Bill 1482 is considered the most significant policy change for residential landlords and tenants in California in the last 25 years, but how much will really change?

    Civil Litigation

    AB 1510 and other legislation: Game changers for sexual assault victims

    Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Assembly Bill 1510, which is aimed at giving sexual assault survivors of Dr. George Tyndall a chance to seek justice in state civil courts against the disgraced former University of Southern California gynecologist.

    Intellectual Property

    AB 1564: Clarifies methods for requesting personal information under CCPA

    Assembly Bill 1564, which clarifies the required methods for consumers to submit requests for personal information, was part of an important package of amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in October.

    Construction

    AB 1763: Legislature allows affordable housing to be built denser and taller

    Assembly Bill 1763 permits 100% affordable housing projects to be built denser and taller through its adoption of three game-changing modifications to current law that significantly reduce some of the often prohibitive costs associated with the development of affordable housing.

    Civil Litigation

    AB 218: Sexual abuse victims get more time to seek justice

    Assembly Bill 218 gives victims of childhood sexual assault, once barred by the statute of limitations, a three-year window to seek justice in civil court.

    Intellectual Property, Labor/Employment

    AB 25: Exempts employment-related information from CCPA until January 1, 2021

    On Oct. 11, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 25, exempting employee and job applicant personal information collected for employment purposes from certain of the California Consumer Privacy Act's requirements until Jan. 1, 2021.

    Tax

    AB 37: State tax deductions for cannabis businesses

    For tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020 and before Jan. 1, 2025, California's legal cannabis businesses subject to the state's personal income tax (i.e. an entity taxed as a pass through) will be able to claim tax deductions or credits on their California state tax return.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 51: Inspired by #MeToo

    On Oct. 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 51 into law, which prohibits employers from requiring employees to agree as a condition of employment to mandatory pre-dispute arbitration of claims arising under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and related employment statutes.

    Government

    AB 5: Worker classification

    On Sept. 19, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 into law, which officially adopted the "ABC test" articulated in the California Supreme Court's decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court as the method for determining whether a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor.

    Health Care & Hospital Law

    AB 744: Insurers must reimburse telehealth services at same rate as in-person

    California joins over 35 states that regulate private payer coverage for telehealth and 16 states, which require payment parity by private payers for telehealth services with the enactment of Assembly Bill 744, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 13, 2019.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 749: No-rehire law may be contentious

    With so much focus on Assembly Bill 5 codifying Dynamex and the extension of the statute of limitations for Fair Employment and Housing Act claims, some may have overlooked another significant new employment law -- AB 749.

    Government

    AB 874, 1355: Narrowing the definition of ‘personal information’ under CCPA

    On Oct. 11, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five bills amending the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, effective as of Jan. 1.

    Construction

    AB 881 et al.: ADU laws

    In response to the state's housing crisis, California continues to strip local governments of their ability to regulate accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, in an attempt to promote more and cheaper housing.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 9: Extends statute of limitations to file FEHA employment discrimination claims from 1 to 3 years

    California's Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment based on protected classifications such as race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age over 40, disability, and medical condition, among other protected categories.

    Government

    Complete list of new laws 2020

    Complete list of laws that went into effect in California, 2020.

    Entertainment & Sports

    SB 206: Restrictions on the business of college athletics

    On Sept. 30, 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 206, also known as the Fair Pay To Play Act. With the act, California became the first state to allow college athletes to hire sports agents and earn income from the use of their name, image or likeness.

    Government

    SB 230: Requires police agencies to update force policies and training

    Senate Bill 230, authored by Senator Anna Caballero and supported by law enforcement groups, imposes policy and training requirements for police agencies effective Jan. 1, 2021.

    Insurance

    SB 240: Insurance Adjuster Act aims to curb bad advice

    Senator Bill Dodd, who represents counties hit hard by recent fires, authored Senate Bill 240, aimed to curb alleged "bad advice" given by insurance claims adjusters to homeowners.

    Real Estate/Development

    SB 329: Housing protection for those who receive vouchers or subsidies

    California's protection of low-income tenants got a bit more robust with the enactment of Senate Bill 329 this year.

    Construction

    SB 330: Housing Crisis Act

    Senate Bill 330, dubbed the "Housing Crisis Act of 2019," is a long and complicated bill that makes key changes to the Planning and Zoning Law to remove obstacles to the processing and approval of new housing in order to advance state housing production goals of building 3.5 million new homes over the next seven years.

    Construction

    SB 359: Lowers referendum barriers: More time and streamlined process for referendum proponents

    In October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 359, Sen. John Moorlach's "fair referendum practice bill" into law as part of a series of elections bills aimed at increasing civic engagement. It allows project opponents to use a summary of an ordinance for purposes of collecting signatures for a referendum petition, as opposed to the entire ordinance text.

    Labor/Employment

    SB 41: Lost earnings damages can’t be reduced based on race, ethnicity or gender

    Senate Bill 41 adds Section 3361 to the Civil Code stating, "Estimations, measures, or calculations of past, present, or future damages for lost earnings or impaired earning capacity resulting from personal injury or wrongful death shall not be reduced based on race, ethnicity, or gender."

    Litigation & Arbitration

    SB 707: The People standing up to corporate interests

    Arbitration is increasingly used by large corporations to "streamline" the litigation process.

    Labor/Employment

    SB 778: Clarifies harassment training requirements, extends compliance deadline

    In 2018, former California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1343, requiring California employers with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment training to all supervisory and nonsupervisory employees by Jan. 1, 2020.
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