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Posted on 12/31/2025 1:38:49 PM PST by Bullish
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 be impacted by more than 900 new laws effective January 1, 2026. Because we need 900 new laws in the leading regulatory hell state in the nation.
Minimum Wage
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 $900,000 home – the median home price in the Golden State. Even if that hourly worker put in a full-time year, they will only make $35,152, which is less than $3,000 monthly, which barely covers the median cost for a studio apartment. Currently, the average rent in California is $2,155 for Studio, $2,284 for 1 Bedroom, $3,240 for 2 Bedroom, $4,147 for 3 Bedroom, and $5,103 for 4+ Bedroom, according to Rentometer. California’s absurdly high cost of living will not be offset by a $16.90 minimum wage. It just makes Democrats feel better about themselves.
Plastic Bag Ban
Because plastic bags are killing the environment, California Democrats are finally putting the plastic bag out of its misery with a Plastic Bag Ban. The authors of SB 1053, Democrats Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahan and Senator Blakespear, claimed studies found that most Californians were either not recycling those bags or were still using the thicker bags as one time only bags, despite being designed to be used multiple times. Their supposed studies (which there are no links for) claimed volunteers have collected over 300,000 plastic grocery bags in the last three decades. Everyone I know uses the plastic bags many times.
I have been covering the “Paper or Plastic” game since George W. Bush was President. And it’s only gotten 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 that the bags were made out of recycled plastics… which they are now banning to go back to tree-killing paper bags. Or, you can reuse your own filthy multi-use cloth bags. Banning plastic grocery bags does not reduce disposal and recycling costs, studies over the years have shown. Yet, California is banning plastic grocery bags entirely. And stupidly.
Enforcing litter laws would go much further to helping the environment.
Parking Ticket forgiveness for Homeless Vagrants
If Downtown Sacramento is any measurement, parking in California cities is a b*tch…and expensive. Parking meter maids are ruthless. Effective January 1st, Democrats, in their infinite wisdom, will reduce or waive parking fines if the vehicle owner can prove they are unable to pay for the ticket in full due to homelessness or financial hardship. This is largely to address the myriad RVs and beater cars lining city streets which are makeshift crack houses and homes to the 200,000 homeless, drug-addicted vagrants in California.
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 are 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.”
The state government flips the bird at starving students, struggling single moms, and other low wage workers who get parking tickets. You’re on your own while the homeless drug addicts get special consideration.
Food Delivery Services
Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahn, the 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 food delivery market, yet none of these platforms have a clear refund policy. Therefore she wrote the bill requiring food delivery services to provide a full refund to a customer if an order is not delivered or if the wrong order was delivered. And, food delivery companies must provide customer service by humans if their automated systems do not resolve the customer’s concern.
The free market used to sort out crappy service. But never fear, Assemblywoman Bauer-Kahn is here to save you from capitalism and free markets. How about consumers stop using food delivery services if they suck or are unreliable. They will get the message and improve or go broke.
Nanny State: Adding Folic Acid to Corn Tortillas in CA only, forever changing the taste
Because a lack of folic acid puts Latina women at higher risk of giving birth to babies with birth defects like spina bifida and anencephaly, according to the State of California, the California Legislature passed AB 1830 by Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) in 2024 requiring tortillas and corn masa products sold in the state to contain folic acid beginning January 1st.
But the taste of folic acid does not enhance the tortilla. At all.
“Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano put it to the test last year — and the results weren’t pretty,” the NY 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.”
Reminiscent of government ordering fluoride in water, how about we just make sure Latina mothers get folic acid supplements instead?
This bill, as with the others above, demonstrate just how useless California lawmakers really are. They spend their days looking for issues 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, this 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.”
“The California Association of Health Plans, the Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies, and America’s Health Insurance Plans write in opposition to this along with other health insurance mandate bills, that state mandates increase costs of coverage, especially for families who buy coverage without subsidies, small business owners who cannot or do not wish to self-insure, and California taxpayers who foot the bill for the state’s share of those mandates. The California Chamber of Commerce and others write that employer-based health care coverage is usually one of the most formidable expenses a business experiences and, while this bill is well-intentioned, it will unintentionally exacerbate health care affordability issues. Their concern stems from the massive premium increase associated with the new coverage that California’s employers and employees will have to pay for.”
No comment.
Get your Claws Out of me: No Declawed Cats Allowed
In 2026, California cat owners won’t be able to declaw their cats after passage of AB 867 by Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-Palo Alto). Most veterinarians won’t declaw cats anyway.
Interestingly, the California Veterinary Medical Association opposed the bill, writing: “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.” CVMA states that 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.”
No words.
K-12 Schools Gender Neutral Bathrooms
SB 760 by Senator Josh Newsom (D-San Bernardino), passed by the California Legislature in 2023, now requires on January 1st that all K-12 public schools and charter schools have at least one gender neutral restroom at each school site.
According to Sen. Newman, “SB 760 is a measure that aims to create a safe and inclusive environment not only for non-binary students but to all students by requiring each public school to establish at least one all-gender restroom.”
Becasuse while California public schools are secretly transitioning your son from a boy to a girl without your knowledge or consent, they will need a gender-neutral restroom to use while at school – but notably, cannot be forced to use it.
Newman says, “This issue originated in 2021 when a member of the Chino Valley Unified School District introduced a measure that would have banned non-binary and transgender students from using restrooms corresponding with their gender identity. During the midst of this proposal, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond warned that the Chino Valley Unified School District’s proposed resolution to exclude non-binary students from sex-segregated restrooms would violate state law. Although the proposed measure failed, the Superintendent and I believed there was an opportunity to create an inclusive environment for all students. In response to Chino Valley Unified School District’s proposed resolution, the Superintendent launched the Safe School Bathrooms Ad Hoc Committee.”
It’s lawsuit time, and well past time to get back to California public schools teaching the classical liberal arts education which has turned into an afterthought, and not allowing gender distractions. This is being fomented by crazed and mentally-ill educators and lawmakers who need psychotherapy, not surgeons to resolve their gender dysphoria.
***There are 893 more bills to cover besides the seven I noted in this article. In the next few weeks, the California Globe will cover the bills we know will impact California taxpayers, parents, employees, workers, and school kids.
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The only ones polluting the West’s environment with plastic bags are the Indians and Africans that the Left brought in and they have no clue there’s such a thing as Garbage Collection
The plastic bags in the produce department will be the next to go.
Out of control government is verrry out of control.
We probably have the most ridiculous, stupid, immature, irresponsible and unrealistic thinking legislature in the history of the world here in California.
Article:
“Unpaid parking tickets can pose a significant burden for low-income individuals. For people living in poverty, parking tickets pose are 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.”
That is an excellent example of anarcho tyranny or equal injustice under the law:
https://chroniclesmagazine.org/view/anarcho-tyranny-u-s-a/
Ca. dems are taking the State down with no end in sight.
What, no ridiculous gun laws? The state assembly is losing their touch.
I lived a long time in Southern California decades ago, when it was still paradise.
Before it became the Peoples Republic of Californicated.
Interesting how all of those "low-income"
people can afford all of those cars.
(Assuming California will have gasoline to
run those autos in the future.)
This is an example of leaving the door open so all kinds of other nefarious action can be taken at the whim of govt edict. Laws have to be for everyone across the board, no one should ever be exempt from any law that others are held to. NO ONE!
If the “social contract” does not apply to some people then it does not exist at all.
The implications of that are truly terrifying—because at that point we are looking at true anarchy—the war of all against all.
I hate the left. They just agitate.
Remember when we had paper bags? The left screamed “Save The Trees” (too stupid to know tress are a crop) and switch to plastic.
Now they say “Save The Oceans” and want plastic gone. Switch to Tote bags!
They’ll next ban Tote bags...”Save Our Cotton”.
Here in Cal grocery stores we’re now being given the same old paper bags that they had banned again.
Funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.
All forced by government
The worst thing that ever happened in California politics was adopting a full-time legislature. This was the brainchild of Sen. Houston Flournoy (R-Pomona) who rammed it through the legislature in 1966. He was always proud of this accomplishment, but as a result, the legislature always passes a raft of stupid and asinine laws every year.
I was born and raised in SoCal and I’m still living here to this day. It’s why I post a lot of news about Ca politics to this forum.
It’s a shame the left-wingers and illegals have wreaked havoc on that incredibly beautiful state.
It saddens me.
Please keep posting about the situation in Calif.
What? No mention of the closing of the State’s largest oil refineries? There’s no media coverage of that at all and there is nothing else that is going to cause more suffering for the people than not being able to buy gasoline and diesel. The economic impact of these refineries closing down is going to literally kill the state’s economy. Think of the bleakest picture you can imagine in this real life scenario and then get ready, it’s going to hurt. I was informed that Standard and Shell gas stations in the Placerville area have already turned off their gas pumps.
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