Consumer Privacy, Rent Control And Gig Work: 20 New Laws That Will Reshape California

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, Alexei Koseff
Photo: In this October 8, 2019 photo, California State Assembly member David Chiu holds up AB1482, his statewide rent cap bill, after it was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom at West Oakland Senior Center in Oakland, Calif. It’s just one of the many important new laws that go into effect on Jan. 1. (Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle)

In his first year in office, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed nearly 900 bills into law. Most of them take effect Jan. 1, which means a lot of changes, big and small, are coming to California in the new year. Here are 20 that could transform people’s lives and the state in 2020 and beyond.

Consumer privacy: Personal information has become a valuable commodity, prompting a campaign by advocates to regain some of the privacy consumers have lost by shopping, banking and posting photos online. The long-awaited AB375 requires businesses to disclose the types of user data they are collecting on their websites and apps and gives customers the ability to opt out of having their information sold or demand that it be deleted.

The law emerged from a deal in 2018 among legislators, privacy advocates and industry groups that wanted to head off a more sweeping proposal that San Francisco real estate developer Alastair Mactaggart had qualified for the ballot. But their compromise has not ended the fight over consumer privacy in California. While tech companies and other industries unsuccessfully lobbied this year for measures to fix what they said were serious flaws in the law before it took effect, supporters are already pushing another initiative to expand its safeguards and boost penalties for violations.

Housing: California’s first-ever statewide rent cap prohibits landlords from raising rents by more than 5%, plus regional inflation, annually. AB1482 is retroactive to March, so any increases since then that exceeded the limit will have to be reduced. The law also prevents tenants who have been living in an apartment for more than a year from being evicted without a just cause, such as failing to pay rent or engaging in criminal activity.

These new protections are expected to cover millions of Californians, though they do not extend to apartments built within the past 15 years or to single-family homes, except those owned by corporations.

Homeowners who want to add an in-law unit to their properties should have an easier time: Five new laws aim to streamline the process for approving and building these projects, including SB13, which exempts them from most of the fees cities charge to offset the cost of providing services to secondary homes.

The changes are part of a state push to boost construction of much-needed new homes in California. So are the provisions of SB330, which places a five-year moratorium on local policies that make it harder to build in cities without enough housing. That means local governments could not limit the number of permits for new homes, add fees or rezone land to accommodate smaller projects.

Employment: Gig workers are set to gain new protections and benefits on the job as AB5 turns them from freelancers into employees of the companies for which they drive, deliver food and perform other temporary tasks.

Building on a California Supreme Court ruling, the law establishes a three-part test for determining who can be considered an independent contractor, including whether the work they do is outside the company’s core business. The law was a top priority for organized labor.

Professions including doctors, real estate agents and hairstylists were exempted from AB5. Now Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based companies are going to the ballot to try to keep their workers from being reclassified as employees, a shift that would require the companies to provide minimum wage, unemployment insurance and paid sick leave.

Under another law, AB9, workers will now get three years rather than one to file a harassment or discrimination complaint with the state. They cannot be forced to sign mandatory arbitration agreements that prevent them from suing their employers under AB51 — a change that business groups are suing to stop. Both were issues that surfaced during the #MeToo movement against workplace sexual harassment.

SB188 bans discrimination against black Californians who wear natural hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists, on the job or at school. With lawmakers aiming to integrate immigrants further into society, SB225 allows any California resident over the age of 18 to serve on state boards and commissions, regardless of their immigration status.

Police shootings: Prompted by the heightened public scrutiny of fatal police shootings and their disproportionate impact on communities of color, California adopted one of the toughest use-of-force standards in the country.

AB392 directs officers to “use deadly force only when necessary in defense of human life” and, when possible, to use techniques to de-escalate a confrontation before shooting. The law does not explicitly define “necessary,” but courts could consider the actions of both the officer and the suspect when determining whether a shooting was justified.

A companion law backed by law enforcement, SB230, orders the state to develop new training for police on use of force and requires 20 elements that every department must have in its internal policies. The changes aim to reduce the number of people slain each year by California police: Officers killed 146 people in 2018, according to the state Department of Justice, down from 172 deaths in 2017 and 157 in 2016.

Guns and gun violence: Gun violence restraining orders, under which a court can temporarily take away someone’s firearms, are designed to head off mass shootings and other violence. But they have been lightly used since California passed a law allowing family members and law enforcement to intervene when they see “red-flag” behavior by taking their concerns to a judge. Under AB61, employers, co-workers and school staff will also be able request that a judge temporarily confiscate guns and ammunition from someone they believe poses a danger to themselves or others, starting in September.

That was one of more than a dozen gun laws passed as the state looked for ways to stop mass shootings, such as one in July at the Gilroy Garlic Festival that left three victims dead. SB61 forbids Californians under age 21 from purchasing semiautomatic center-fire rifles and, starting in July 2021, limits gun buyers to one such rifle per month. SB376 requires that firearms won at charity auctions or raffles be transferred through a licensed dealer and that the recipients undergo a waiting period.

Environment: Former Gov. Jerry Brown resisted the idea for years, but environmentalists finally won out under a new administration: SB8 bans smoking at state parks and beaches — whether cigarettes, vapes or marijuana — except for people on a paved parking lot or roadway. Supporters hope the potential $25 fine will cut down on cigarette butts and related pollution.

Criminal justice: Because of concerns about privacy and errors in the technology, police will not be able to use facial recognition software in their body cameras for at least three years under AB1215.

In an effort to make juries more representative, particularly for nonwhite defendants, SB310 opens up jury service to people who have been convicted of felonies once they complete their parole.

SB233 prevents prosecutors from using condoms as evidence in prostitution cases and prohibits police from arresting sex workers who come forward as victims or witnesses of rape, domestic violence and other serious crimes. Though prostitution remains illegal in California, the law is meant to address the inherent health and safety risks of sex work.

Elections: Anticipating a contentious campaign cycle, AB730 makes it illegal to distribute political “deepfakes” — edited videos and audio clips intended to damage a politician’s reputation or deceive someone into voting for or against a candidate — within 60 days of an election.

California also continues to expand access to the ballot with SB72, which makes same-day registration and provisional voting available at every polling place for those who miss the deadline to register.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Consumer-privacy-rent-control-and-gig-work-20