New California Laws 2026
Continued from page 11
An act to amend, renumber, and add Section 22806 of, to add Section 22807 to, and to repeal Section 22805 of, the Financial Code, relating to commercial financing. SB 364, Strickland. Outdoor advertising displays: permits: new alignments. This bill makes changes to the Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans) re- view process when considering a permit application for a new outdoor advertising display (billboards) along a freeway or highway, as specified. An act to add Section 5367 to the Business and Pro- fessions Code, relating to outdoor advertising. SB 378, Wiener. Online marketplaces: illicit canna- bis: reporting and liability. This bill places obligations on online marketplaces where advertising or sales of illicit cannabis or hemp products occur, including required disclosures, reporting mechanisms, and warnings. This bill prohibits “unlawful paid online advertising,” as defined, related to unlicensed sellers of cannabis or cannabis products, intoxicating hemp products, or unregistered hemp products. An act to add Chapter 31.3 (commencing with Section 22943) and Chapter 31.4 (commencing with Section 22944) to Division 8 of the Business and Pro- fessions Code, and to add Section 1714.47 to the Civil Code, relating to cannabis. SB 395, Wiener. Alcoholic beverages: additional licenses: hospitality zone. This bill authorizes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to issue up to 20 additional new original on-sale gener- al licenses for bona fide public eating places located within a designated hospitality zone, as specified, in the City and County of San Francisco. An act to add Section 23826.22 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. SB 451, Archuleta. Gambling. This bill clarifies the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) authority to investigate suspected violations of illegal gambling activities con- ducted outside of licensed cardrooms, irrespective of whether the suspected violation involves licensees. Additionally, this bill amends existing law to autho- rize an eligible organization to conduct a major league sports 50/50 raffle at a championship game, provided the game is held at the designated venue where the affiliated sports team plays its home game. An act to amend Sections 19826 and 19827 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Sec- tion 320.6 of the Penal Code, relating to gambling. SB 456, Ashby. Contractors: exemptions: mural- ists. This bill exempts an artist who creates, restores, or preserves a mural from licensure under the Con- tractors State License Law. An act to add Section 7050 to the Business and Pro- fessions Code, relating to professions and vocations. SB 517, Niello. Home improvement contract re- quirements: subcontractors. This bill requires con- tractors who enter into a home improvement contract (HIC) with a consumer to indicate whether a subcon- tractor/subcontractors will be used to complete the contract, including any change orders. Requires the prime contractor to provide specified disclosures regarding the subcontractor. This bill clarifies that the prime or direct contractor is responsible for com- Continued on page 16
changes to two sections of the Financial Code. An act to amend Section 2105 of, and to repeal Sec- tion 23057 of, the Financial Code, relating to financial institutions. 2025 Senate Business and Professions Laws SB 50, Ashby. Connected devices: device protec- tion requests. This bill requires account managers of connected devices to provide a process for survivors or their representatives to terminate or disable per- petrators’ access to such devices through a “device protection request” with specified documentation from survivors of “covered acts,” as defined. An act to add Chapter 35.5 (commencing with Section 22948.30) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section 6320 of the Family Code, relating to connected devices. SB 53, Wiener. Artificial intelligence models: large developers. This bill requires large artificial intelligence (AI) developers, as defined, to publish safety frameworks, disclose specified transparency reports, and report critical safety incidents to the Of- fice of Emergency Services (OES), as specified. Ad- ditionally, this bill creates enhanced whistleblower protections for employees reporting AI safety viola- tions and establishes a consortium to design a frame- work for “CalCompute,” a public cloud platform to expand safe and equitable AI research, as specified. An act to add Chapter 25.1 (commencing with Section 22757.10) to Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to add Section 11546.8 to the Gov- ernment Code, and to add Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 1107) to Part 3 of Division 2 of the Labor Code, relating to artificial intelligence. SB 243, Padilla. Companion chatbots. This bill imposes a number of obligations on operators of “companion chatbot platforms” in order to safeguard users. An act to add Chapter 22.6 (commencing with Sec- tion 22601) to Division 8 of the Business and Profes- sions Code, relating to artificial intelligence. SB 291, Grayson. Contractors: workers’ compensa- tion insurance. This bill (1) requires the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) to report statistical data on violations of workers’ compensation coverage re- quirements; (2) increases the civil penalty amount for violating workers’ compensation coverage require- ments; and, (3) requires the CSLB to provide a pro- cess to verify exemption eligibility for workers’ com- pensation coverage by January 1, 2027, as specified. An act to amend Sections 7017.3, 7099.2, 7125.4, and 7125.7 of the Business and Professions Code, re- lating to contractors. SB 362, Grayson. Commercial financing: disclo- sures. This bill regulates the use of “interest” and “rate” as terms to describe charges related to a commercial financing transaction and clarifies the enforcement authority provided to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) for vi- olations of commercial financing disclosure require- ments.
13
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting