Hundreds of new laws are going into effect in 2022, from requiring ethnic studies to graduate, to cracking down on illegal street racing, and allowing restaurants to continue selling to-go cocktails -- to name a few.
Here are some of the new laws going into effect in 2022 that residents should know about.
Prop 12: The "Bacon" Law
The contentious law over farm animals -- specifically bringing bacon and pork products into the conversation -- was passed in 2018. The first deadline passed Jan. 2020, and required that egg-laying hens have adequate space. The hens have to be housed with a minimum of 144 square inches per hen. Calves intended to be sold as veal must be housed with a minimum of 43 square feet per calf.
The second part of the law is what goes into effect in January 2022. Egg-laying hens must be cage-free, and breeding pigs must be allotted 24 square feet per pig.
Meat industry critics say it's going to drive the price of meat way up, and cause a meat shortage.
The popular notion of buying alcoholic drinks to go from restaurants will be continued in 2022 after the positive effect on businesses.
There are many rules for how the alcohol is packaged and sold, which can be found here.
AB 367: Free Menstrual Products on Campus
California public schools, including colleges, must provide free menstrual products to students. The signing of the bill followed a nationwide push for affordable access to pads, tampons and other items.
The Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021 requires public schools to stock restrooms from grades 6-12 with an adequate supply of free products in all women’s restrooms and all-gender restrooms, and in at least one men’s restroom, before the start of the 2022–23 school year. It also requires California State University schools and each community college district to stock free menstrual products, and make them easy to get to.
AB 101: Ethnic Studies
Starting with the graduating class of 2024–25, students within the California State University system will be required to complete at least one 3-unit ethnic studies course. This won't increase the number of units a student is required to complete to graduate.
While some say it's long overdue that students were required to learn about the diverse history of California and Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American studies, others were not on board with the embattled bill. In a first iteration, the bill was criticized for being too politically correct.
AB 1084: Gender Neutral Toy Sections
Large department stores will have to provide a gender-neutral toy aisle in 2022. Some critics say the government should not dictate how stores lay out their sections, while others say it's combatting how some products marketed toward girls are priced higher.
Advocates say it will encourage kids to freely express themselves, and with toys separated by gender, it makes it more difficult for consumers to compare products.
The fines for stores that do not comply start at $250, and go up to $500 for each following offense.
It applies to stores with 500 or more employees.
SB 1383: Composting and Organics Recycling Law
The bill calls for businesses to help reduce what's called short-lived climate pollutants. The aim of the bill is to reduce the amount of organic trash that goes to landfills, which makes up a third of what goes to the landfill, CalRecycle said. Ultimately, the aim is also to reduce the greenhouse gases generated from organic materials decomposing in landfills.
It not only calls for a big commitment from businesses, but also from residents.
Organic waste like kitchen scraps must be separated from the rest of the trash.
Local jurisdictions are responsible for outreach and educating residents. Businesses are also to start donating edible food that was intended to be trashed.
AB 3: Street Racing and Sideshows
This new law defines a “sideshow” in California and outlines penalties for a related offense. California Vehicle Code will define “sideshow” as an “event in which two or more persons block or impede traffic on a highway for the purpose of performing motor vehicle stunts, motor vehicle speed contests, motor vehicle exhibitions of speed, or reckless driving for spectators.
As for penalties, courts will be permitted to suspend a driver’s license between 90 days and six months. That part of the law is effective July 1, 2025.
SB 224: Mental Health in Schools
In middle and high schools that already have a health education course, part of the curriculum must now be dedicated to mental health.
The aim of the bill is to teach mental wellness in young people, but also to help them identify when then need to ask for help.
Police Reform Laws
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed multiple police reform bills into law, including not allowing police to use rubber bullets or tear gas unless other crowd control methods have been used, and officers have no recourse.
Another such bill, SB 2, aims to stop officers from transferring to other departments once they've been found to have committed serious misconduct.
AB 286: Food Delivery Tips
In a push for transparency, this new law states that tips via food delivery services and apps must go to the individual worker, and cannot go to the delivery service.
It also makes it against the law to charge a customer a purchase price higher than what is listed on the website at the time of order.
If you order for pickup, the gratuity will go to the restaurant -- not the app.
A few bills, including decriminalizing jaywalking and allowing bicyclists to roll through stop signs, were vetoed.
Baseball Hall of Fame player and manager, Tommy Lasorda, poses during a 1980 Los Angeles, California, photo portrait session at Dodger Stadium. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996. He died on Jan. 7, 2021.(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
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A mural depicting Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna by artist Mr Brainwash is seen in Los Angeles. Jan. 26, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash which led to the death of nine people, including Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
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In this handout image provided by NASA, members of NASA’s Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, , February 18, 2021 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.
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LA County Sheriff’s officers investigate an accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along Hawthorne Blvd. in Rancho Palos Verdes, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods made his triumphant return to golf in December 2021, after a long road to recovery after the accident.
Dr. Tomas Aragon, State Public Health Officer and California Department of Public Health Director, takes part in a vaccination event at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 11, 2021 -- the one year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic -- to highlight the then-new, one-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. The event was part of the state’s efforts to increase vaccine acceptance among groups that are less likely to be vaccinated. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
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The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in front of socially distanced filled stadium before the game against the Washington Nationals during the 2021 MLB season home opening game at Dodger Stadium on April 09, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
In an aerial view, the San Gabriel River and the exposed lakebed of the San Gabriel Reservoir are seen in the third week of spring as another year of drought develops throughout the West, on April 8, 2021 in the San Gabriel Mountains near Azusa, California. Precipitation was extremely low in Los Angeles County during the winter of 2021, with no measurable rain recorded in downtown Los Angeles during the month of February, which is the height of the rainy season. As native vegetation grew drier and more flammable each month, fire officials expected another devastating season of massive wildfires. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Park visitors got emotional inside Disneyland as the theme park reopened for the first time in more than a year on Friday, April 30, 2021. The reopening of Disneyland, which was shut down in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “is a monumental day for Anaheim,” city spokesman Mike Lyster said. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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A year after COVID-19 put ceremonies for the class of 2020 on hold, USC 2020 and 2021 graduates prepared for a pandemic-adjusted, but in-person, commencement. The school held multiple, smaller ceremonies from May 14 to May 20, 2021.
Leos Family
Aiden Leos, pictured in this undated photo provided by his family, was killed in a road rage car-to-car shooting on the 55 Freeway on May 21, 2021. His death set off community-wide mourning and outrage, with local businesses donating thousands of dollars in reward money for information leading to the killers. Two suspects were arrested and charged in the death of the 6-year-old boy.
A security camera captured a devoted dog mom’s wild standoff with a protective mama bear in the back yard of a San Gabriel Valley home over Memorial Day weekend, 2021. Fearing for her dogs’ safety, a teen girl joined the fray after hearing frantic barks. The encounter went viral online.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom selects 15 vaccinated Californians to receive $50,000, on Friday, June 4, 2021, as part of the state’s “Vax for the Win” vaccination incentive program.
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Illegal fireworks that were seized in South LA exploded during transport on June 30, 2021. The containment truck used to contain the explosives was overloaded, and could not contain the force of the blast, which bomb squad technicians vastly underestimated when loading the vehicle. The explosion shattered windows, sent debris throughout the neighborhood, and displaced some residents for months.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store Monday, July 19, 2021, in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reinstated an indoor mask mandate due to rising COVID-19 cases, just a few weeks after California lifted most pandemic restrictions. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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Cows are seen in a Pico Rivera neighborhood Tuesday June 23, 2021, after breaking free from a slaughterhouse and making an escape attempt. Only one cow managed to escape slaughter, and found a new home at Southland Farm Sanctuary.
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President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pose for photographs with the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House on July 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the championship series at the end of an abbreviated season due to the coronavirus. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Team USA gold medalists pose on the podium after winning the Women’s Gold Medal match between Spain and the United States on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre on Aug. 7, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. A grand total of 63 of Team USA's 113 medals at the Tokyo Olympics were won by athletes with ties to Southern California.
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Hundreds of people joined a hike Sunday Aug. 29, 2021 in memory of Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, a 2019 Norco High School graduate. Nikoui was one of 13 service members killed while helping people evacuate Afghanistan when the Taliban took over Kabul, ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a crowd in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday night, Sept. 14, 2021. Newsom defeated an attempt to oust him from office in a recall election, overcoming Republican criticism of COVID-19 restrictions that shuttered schools and businesses.
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Randy Duncan leaves flowers in support of the Bruce Family and George Floyd at Bruce’s Beach on April 20, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California. – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to return a valuable parcel of land to the descendants of a Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, who once operated a beach resort before it and additional land owned by Black families was taken via eminent domain in the 1920s only to sit vacant for decades. A county lifeguard training center is operated on the parcel of land once owned by the Bruce family. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
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HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Oil is washed up on Huntington State Beach after a 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore oil platform on October 3, 2021 in Huntington Beach, California. The spill forced the closure of the popular Great Pacific Airshow with authorities urging people to avoid beaches in the vicinity. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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An LAPD photo reveals a Jack Skellington balloon that may have been the explanation behind an ongoing mystery near LAX. Multiple pilots reported seeing a mysterious "jetpack man" in the skies over Los Angeles, starting in 2020 and with the most recent sighting in July 2021. NBC4's I-Team uncovered what may have been the cause.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Supporters of the “Free Britney” movement rally in support of musician Britney Spears outside the Stanley Mosk courthouse in Los Angeles, California, Nov. 12, 2021. – A Los Angeles judge on Friday formally approved the process of ending the controversial guardianship that has controlled Spears’ life for the past 13 years.
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A person wearing a face covering walks past a white flag memorial installation outside Griffith Observatory honoring the Los Angeles County residents who have died from COVID-19 on Nov. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, California.
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Read it and weep: Gas prices at some SoCal stations were even higher than the statewide, record-high prices per gallon in mid-November.
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A shattered glass door is pictured after robberies in Burbank early Friday Dec. 3, 2021. Locations all around Southern California were hit by burglaries and smash-and-grab robberies towards the end of the year, in a sudden crime spike.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 03: People who arrived on international flights wait to be tested on the first day of a new rapid COVID-19 testing site for arriving international passengers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 3, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The free voluntary tests are being offered to arriving passengers in the Tom Bradley International Terminal by the Los Angeles County Department of Health after the county confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant December 2. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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NewsChopper4 Alpha captures crews removing the iconic Staples Center lettering and logos from the outside of the stadium on Dec. 6, to make way for its new identity as the Crypto.com Arena.
Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez performs at AmericanAirlines Arena on October 10, 2010 in Miami, Florida. The icon, El Rey, died on Dec. 12. (Photo by Olivia Salazar/WireImage)
