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    • Special reports

    New Laws 2021

    Jan. 15, 2021

    New Laws

    Attorneys review some of the important new laws passed during the California Legislature's 2020 legislative session.

    In This Issue:

    Real Estate/Development, Land Use

    AB 1561: An 18-month extension for housing entitlements

    Racial Injustice and COVID-19 Prompt the California Legislature to address broad factors impacting housing development in California, with the support of the California Building Industry Association and a near-unanimous vote of the Assembly and Senate.

    Health Care & Hospital Law

    AB 1989, SB 312: New ingredient disclosure requirements in menstrual products, cosmetics

    The enactment of these laws follows the recently enacted Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017, which established the first-in-nation ingredient disclosure requirements for cleaning products.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 2143: ‘No rehire’ provisions in settlement agreements

    Assembly Bill 2143 aims to bring new changes to AB 749, which prohibited "no-rehire" provisions in settlement agreements. AB 749, which went into effect last January, restricted the right of an employer to include a no-rehire provision in employee workplace dispute settlement agreements.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 2257: The ‘clean up’ bill for California’s landmark worker classification law, AB 5

    The bill maintains the essential framework of its predecessor, but cleans up several areas.

    Land Use, Real Estate/Development

    AB 2345: A new year for the state density bonus law

    Assembly Bill 2345 increased the maximum density bonus under the State Density Bonus Law from 35% to 50%.

    Land Use

    AB 3182: Removing barriers to more residential infill development

    Assembly Bill 3182 added a new section to the Davis-Stirling Act as Civil Code Section 4741, furthering the Legislature's efforts to encourage the creation of new housing by removing barriers to more residential infill development.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 323: Expanded temporary AB 5 exemption for newspaper carriers

    Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 323, the Save Local Journalism Act, into law to grant the newspaper industry an extra year to meet certain labor standards.

    Labor/Employment

    AB 685: Clarifying COVID-19 workplace regulations

    Assembly Bill 685, effective as of Jan. 1, includes two facets: It codifies an employer's reporting requirements in the event of COVID-19 infections at the workplace and clarifies Cal/OSHA's authority to cite and shut down worksites violating COVID-19 safety requirements.

    Data Privacy, Health Care & Hospital Law

    AB 713: A breather for the health care and life science industry

    Assembly Bill 713 recently took effect and provides some helpful California Consumer Privacy Act clarifications and exemptions for companies in the health care space.

    Land Use

    AB 831 and 168: Clarifying SB 35’s streamlining provisions for infill housing projects

    Assembly Bills 831 and 168 amend Senate Bill 35, which was adopted in 2017 to streamline the approval process for infill housing projects.

    Corporate

    AB 979: California requires more diversity on boards

    Echoes of this summer's protests calling out institutional racism and discrimination are now reverberating in C-suites across California thanks to a new law requiring more diversity on the boards of publicly held domestic and foreign corporations that are headquartered in the Golden State.

    Real Estate/Development, Tax

    Prop 19: Limitations on inherited real estate

    Under Proposition 19, which California voters passed by a 51% margin, family legacy or rental property owners must take action to analyze property tax assessments and capital gains prior to transferring properties to the next generation.

    Labor/Employment

    Prop 22: App-based drivers are classified as contractors

    After the most expensive ballot measure campaign in state history, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 22 in November, which classifies app-based drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees, and adopts labor and wage policies specific to app-based drivers.

    Data Privacy

    Prop 24: Alters key parts of existing California privacy law

    California voters approved on Election Day Proposition 24, which changes the requirements of the California Consumer Privacy Act less than a year after the landmark privacy law went into effect.

    Environmental & Energy

    SB 1044: Firefighting equipment and foam: PFAS chemicals

    SB 1044 seeks to address the fallout from the ubiquitous use of the "forever" chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, by having California join a growing list of other states in banning one of the largest sources of PFAS contamination -- PFAS firefighting foam.

    Law Practice

    SB 1146: Modernizing the legal industry with remote depositions and e-services

    If there is a silver lining to COVID-19 related court closures, it's that it forced our legal system to modernize quickly to address the mounting backlog of cases. Civil litigation came to a near standstill back in March when courthouses closed and attorneys had no experience with remote litigation.

    Labor/Employment

    SB 1159: Clarifying COVID-19 workers’ compensation laws

    Senate Bill 1159, which went into effect in September, makes it easier for employees who contract COVID-19 to make claims under the state's workers' compensation law

    Labor/Employment

    SB 1383: Expands Family Medical Leave rights in 2021

    The Legislature turned its attention to expanding family care and medical leave rights of employees under the California Family Rights Act with Senate Bill 1383, which took effect Jan. 1.

    Administrative/Regulatory

    SB 67: Updates to the Cannabis Appellation Program

    SB 67 which went into effect on Sept. 30, 2020, updates the Cannabis Appellation Program in three important ways.
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