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New California laws you need to know in 2022

December 29, 2021

Sacramento California state capitol

By KAREN VELIE

The new year brings hundreds of new laws with major consequences to Californians. Here’s a summary of seven new laws taking effect in 2022.

No more pigs packed into pens, increase in pork prices

Legislation to protect farm animals, Proposition 12, requires each pig to have 24 square feet of space. The law also bans the sale of pork products from other states, where most pork consumed in California originates, if the rancher does not abide by Proposition 12’s space requirements. Retailers and restaurant owners have voiced concerns that the regulation will double or triple the price of pork.

Take a cocktail to go, time extended

Want to get a mixed drink to go? With the passage of SB 389, pubs and restaurants can continue delivering or selling mixed drinks and wine to go until 2027. In an attempt to help the struggling restaurant industry, legislators voted for the bill that allows customers to purchase alcohol to go, as long as the drinks are in sealed containers and accompanied with a meal.

Incoming minimum wage hike of $1 an hour

Hourly workers can rest a little easier as the state helps them deal with inflation in 2022. California’s minimum wage for employers with 25 or fewer employees will increase to $14 per hour while the state’s minimum wage for employers with 26 or more employees will increase to $15 per hour.

You need to request plastic cutlery, ketchup packets

In line with plastic straw laws, AB 1276 prohibits restaurants from providing plastic cutlery or individual condiment packets with a food order unless requested by a customer. Violators face fines of $25 to $300 per occurrence.

Stopping bad cops from moving to a new department

Officers determined to have committed serious misconduct, such as excessive use of force or sexual assault, can no longer just jump to another department and will instead need to find a new profession.

Laws ease restrictions on multifamily housing

With median home prices above $800,000, several new bills are slated to increase housing. SB 9 allows homeowners to build up to four units on a lot previously restricted to a single home.

To graduate, you will need an ethnic studies course

While most of California State University campuses have offered ethnic studies courses for years, every campus is now required to offer courses on minority groups. And beginning with the graduating class of 2024/25, in order to graduate all students will be required to complete at least one 3-unit ethnic studies course.


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Just what we need, more new laws to pick from and when they will be enforced. Last January 6th, thousands became political dissidents and this January the media announced that thousands of these dissidents will become political prisoners. Easy to do because we rat on each other and carry a recorded locator.


-4

The one party state model serves the one party well. Hopefully people wake up and smell the coffee soon.


20

You think rents are coming down….nope…. Gas and food prices coming down…. Nope… Thanks for nothing progressives. Now go get a new bumper sticker for your Prius.


46

After I read the new laws , I had to scroll back up to article picture .I swore to myself that picture caption stated Sacramento State Hospital


14

I get it we live in California and liberal politicians will pass laws to make themselves look good at cocktail parties but how about reducing taxes on fuel prices to help the average joe save on the price of bacon that your new law just jacked up.


56

With so many very difficulties facing our state, our legislators focus on the silly – do you care how pigs are treated or if you do or don’t eat with plastic utensils? Years ago it was determined that California needed a full time legislative body – that decision appears to be incorrect, it appears that we don’t need a legislative body at all.


41

Yes, some of us do care that pigs not be tortured and mistreated before they give their lives for our very important BBQ.


-31

Fail,fail, success, fail, success, fail, fail. 2/7 for me. Not great. But majority rules so, too bad. oh well!


-26

The majority hasn’t ruled in California for a long time….


35

“Laws ease restrictions on multifamily housing


With median home prices above $800,000, several new bills are slated to increase housing. SB 9 allows homeowners to build up to four units on a lot previously restricted to a single home.”


You think neighborhood streets are crowded now? Wait until strapped-for-cash homeowners build extra units / tiny homes in their back yard. Picture a near downtown residential street with another 50-100% people living there. Or maybe over in the French Park area, where everyone has room in their backyard for an extra structure or two. Or three.


A nightmare.


76

I think we should just encourage all the poor people to live in low income housing. Think of the housing projects in large cities. I’ve heard they have worked out wonderfully.


8

I assume you are being sarcastic.

Do you remember Pruitt-Igo? Peabody? Darst? These were high-rise, modern, low income housing projects in St. Louis that were epic failures. Crime ridden, terrible conditions – people stole the copper piping for resale as scrap; elevators did not stop at each floor, only every third floor; long dangerous hallways with no cover from bullets or muggers; trashy, horrible places inside and out. Pruitt-Igo was eventually demolished. I knew people who lived there and who worked there. My predecessor at work died there, a Vietnam veteran who grew up there and who was a victim of an armed robbery. It was a nightmare, many wanted out but had nowhere to go. Let’s not repeat the past!


-2

No one thinks of the electrical lines, transformers, sewer lines water lines, gas lines.

The infrastructure of normal neighborhoods are designed as single-family with a max of occupants, Recently an 8 unit apartment building caught fire, and 40 people were displaced, another single-family house in Santa Maria caught fire, 13 people lived in a 3 bedroom home. Close the borders, we have a housing crisis, water crisis, CV19 Health crisis, overcrowding, schools overcrowded, freeways are jammed, we don’t need muliti-family housing in single-family neighborhoods, we need better government to serve the citizens.


35