Because the cost of living in California is so high, Democrat lawmakers think increasing the minimum wage to $16.90 per hour will help hourly workers afford a median-priced $900,000 home
California residents will feel the effects of more than 900 new laws taking effect on January 1, 2026. Because clearly, what California needs most as the nation’s leading regulatory hellscape is 900 more laws.
Minimum Wage
Because California’s cost of living is sky-high, Democrat lawmakers believe raising the minimum wage to $16.90 an hour will help hourly workers afford a $900,000 home — the median home price in the Golden State. Even if that worker puts in a full-time year, they will earn just $35,152, or less than $3,000 a month, which barely covers the median cost of a studio apartment.
According to Rentometer, average rent in California is $2,155 for a studio, $2,284 for a one-bedroom, $3,240 for a two-bedroom, $4,147 for a three-bedroom, and $5,103 for a four-plus-bedroom. California’s absurd cost of living won’t be offset by a $16.90 minimum wage. It simply makes Democrats feel better about themselves.
Plastic Bag Ban
Because plastic bags are supposedly killing the environment, California Democrats are finally putting them out of their misery with a plastic bag ban. The authors of SB 1053, Democrat Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahan and Senator Blakespear, claim studies found most Californians weren’t recycling the bags or were still using thicker bags as single-use items, despite being designed for reuse.
Their supposed studies — which are conveniently not linked — claim volunteers collected more than 300,000 plastic grocery bags over the past three decades. Everyone I know reuses plastic bags multiple times.
I’ve been covering the “Paper or Plastic” debate since George W. Bush was president, and it has only become more ridiculous.
First, California lawmakers banned paper bags because they “killed” trees — which are the ultimate renewable resource. They replaced paper with plastic bags and promoted them as being made from recycled materials. Now those same bags are banned so the state can return to tree-killing paper bags. Or, you can reuse your own filthy multi-use cloth bags.
Studies over the years have shown that banning plastic grocery bags does not reduce disposal or recycling costs. Yet California is banning them anyway — and stupidly.
Actually enforcing litter laws would do far more to help the environment.
Parking Ticket Forgiveness for Homeless Vagrants
If downtown Sacramento is any indication, parking in California cities is brutal — and expensive. Parking meter maids are relentless. Effective January 1, Democrats, in their infinite wisdom, will reduce or waive parking fines if a vehicle owner can prove they are unable to pay due to homelessness or financial hardship.
This move largely addresses the endless RVs and beat-up cars lining city streets, serving as makeshift crack houses and homes for the state’s roughly 200,000 homeless, drug-addicted vagrants.
According to the author of AB 1299, Assemblyman Bryan:
“Unpaid parking tickets can pose a significant burden for low-income individuals. For people living in poverty, parking tickets pose a severe financial burden that can quickly spiral from a $52 fine to a vehicle registration hold. This bill gives local agencies the ability to look at a person’s whole circumstance when deciding an action on a parking ticket. For situations where a parking ticket can push an individual from poverty to financial crisis, local jurisdictions should have the ability to do what is best for their constituent.”
Meanwhile, the state flips the bird at starving students, struggling single moms, and other low-wage workers who get parking tickets. You’re on your own — while homeless drug addicts receive special treatment.
Food Delivery Services
Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahn, author of AB 578, says, “The rise of food delivery platforms has led to increased consumer complaints about undelivered orders, lack of refunds, and unreliable customer service.” She claims Grubhub, DoorDash, and Uber Eats dominate the market yet lack clear refund policies.
As a result, she wrote a bill requiring food delivery services to issue full refunds if an order is not delivered or if the wrong order arrives. The bill also requires companies to provide human customer service if automated systems fail to resolve complaints.
The free market used to weed out bad service. But fear not — Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahn is here to save you from capitalism and free markets. Instead of simply stopping use of unreliable delivery services and letting them improve or go bankrupt, the state steps in.
Nanny State: Adding Folic Acid to Corn Tortillas in CA Only, Forever Changing the Taste
Because the state claims a lack of folic acid puts Latina women at higher risk of having babies with birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly, the Legislature passed AB 1830 in 2024. Authored by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno), the law requires tortillas and corn masa products sold in California to contain folic acid starting January 1.
But folic acid does not improve the taste of tortillas. At all.
“Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano put it to the test last year — and the results weren’t pretty,” the New York Post reported. “In a blind taste test between a regular tortilla and one loaded with the B vitamin, he and tortilla factory owners could immediately spot the difference.”
Much like government-mandated fluoride in water, how about ensuring Latina mothers receive folic acid supplements instead?
This bill, like the others above, shows just how useless California lawmakers are. They spend their days hunting for problems to legislate.
Expanded Coverage for In Vitro Fertilization for Queer Couples
SB 729 by Senator Caroline Menjivar (she/her/Ella) (D-Burbank) mandates expanded coverage for in vitro fertilization by large employer health plans “for all individuals regardless of marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity and single parents by choice.”
According to the author, the bill “will ensure that queer couples no longer have to pay more out of pocket to start families than non-queer families. This bill is critical to achieving full-lived equality for LGBTQ+ people.”
Opposition came from the California Association of Health Plans, the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies, and America’s Health Insurance Plans, which warned that state mandates increase coverage costs — especially for families without subsidies, small business owners who can’t self-insure, and taxpayers footing the bill.
The California Chamber of Commerce and others also cautioned that employer-based health care is already one of the most significant business expenses and that this well-intended bill will worsen affordability due to massive premium increases for employers and employees.
Get Your Claws Out of Me: No Declawed Cats Allowed
Starting in 2026, California cat owners will no longer be allowed to declaw their cats following passage of AB 867 by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-Palo Alto). Most veterinarians already refuse to declaw cats.
Notably, the California Veterinary Medical Association opposed the bill, stating:
“While this bill is aimed at prohibiting veterinarians from performing a surgical declawing procedure on cats under certain circumstances, it would — if passed — have a far-reaching and precedential impact on a veterinarian’s ability to practice veterinary medicine.”
The CVMA added it is “deeply concerned that the veterinary profession is being singled out among our fellow healing arts professionals with legislation proposing to ban specific medical and surgical procedures in statute, which is a dangerous precedent.”
K-12 Schools Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
SB 760 by Senator Josh Newman (D-San Bernardino), passed in 2023, now requires that by January 1 all K-12 public and charter schools have at least one gender-neutral restroom on each campus.
According to Newman, “SB 760 is a measure that aims to create a safe and inclusive environment not only for non-binary students but for all students by requiring each public school to establish at least one all-gender restroom.”
Because while California public schools are secretly transitioning your son from a boy to a girl without your knowledge or consent, they’ll also need a gender-neutral restroom — though students cannot be forced to use it.
Newman says the issue began in 2021 when a Chino Valley Unified School District board member proposed banning non-binary and transgender students from restrooms matching their gender identity. During that debate, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond warned the proposal would violate state law. Although it failed, Newman and Thurmond used the moment to push for what they call inclusivity, launching the Safe School Bathrooms Ad Hoc Committee.
It’s lawsuit time — and well past time for California public schools to return to teaching classical liberal arts instead of allowing gender distractions. This is being driven by crazed and mentally ill educators and lawmakers who need psychotherapy, not surgeons, to address gender dysphoria.
There are 893 more bills beyond the seven highlighted here. In the coming weeks, the California Globe will cover additional laws expected to impact taxpayers, parents, employees, workers, and schoolchildren across the state.
