Consumer Protection

Restructures the Consumer Privacy Fund by creating three new subfunds to manage fines and grants for privacy enforcement. Requires state agencies to submit legislative reports electronically rather than in printed form. Establishes the Climate Catalyst Revolving Fund to provide financing for climate-related projects through 2031. Expands eligibility for the California HOPE Trust Account to include adults whose parents died from COVID-19.

Expands regulations on attorney advertising to prohibit misleading claims about skills and experience. Authorizes civil lawsuits with penalties up to $100,000 for deceptive legal advertisements. Requires attorney ads to clearly display the lawyer's name and office location. Mandates withdrawal of violating advertisements within 72 hours of State Bar notification.

Requires web browsers to include easy-to-find settings for opting out of personal data sharing. Mandates browser companies to clearly explain how their opt-out settings work and what data they protect. Authorizes the California Privacy Protection Agency to create and enforce implementation rules.

Requires pornographic websites to verify consent from all individuals appearing in sexually explicit content. Mandates users to certify that depicted individuals are adults who consented to both filming and uploading. Imposes fines up to $75,000 per violation for websites that fail to verify consent or remove unauthorized content. Requires websites to verify user email addresses and maintain consent records for seven years.

Requires insurance brokers to explore moving FAIR Plan policies to standard insurance companies before renewal. Mandates the FAIR Plan to provide annual notices informing policyholders about alternative coverage options. Requires notices to be printed in 14-point bold font on a separate page from other documents.

Establishes new privacy standards requiring insurance companies to protect and limit use of consumer data. Requires insurers to obtain consumer consent before sharing personal data for non-insurance purposes. Mandates clear privacy notices explaining how consumer data is collected, used and shared. Authorizes penalties up to $1 million for privacy violations and creates criminal penalties for data theft.

Extends price gouging protections from 30 to 60 days after declaring a state of emergency. Increases fines to $25,000 for businesses that raise prices more than 10% during emergencies. Expands rental price controls to all residential and commercial properties during emergencies. Prohibits landlords from evicting tenants to charge higher rents during emergency periods.

Removes the public availability exception for sensitive personal information under California privacy laws. Requires businesses to protect all sensitive personal information regardless of its public status. Expands privacy protections by treating all sensitive personal information consistently under state law. Takes effect immediately upon enactment with no delayed implementation period.

Increases maximum fines for corporate antitrust violations from $1 million to $6 million. Extends prison terms for individual violators to up to 5 years and raises individual fines to $1 million. Establishes new civil penalties of up to $1 million per violation based on severity and circumstances. Allows penalties to be combined with other state law remedies for enhanced enforcement.

Establishes penalties up to $1 million for social media platforms that violate personal rights through content or algorithms. Imposes double penalties when platforms knowingly harm minors through content distribution. Applies only to social media platforms earning over $100 million in annual revenue. Holds platforms directly responsible for how their algorithms distribute harmful content to users.

Establishes a process for unclaimed digital financial assets to transfer to state ownership after three years of inactivity. Requires financial institutions to notify owners 6-12 months before their digital assets are transferred to the state. Authorizes the state to select licensed custodians to manage and safeguard transferred digital assets. Mandates holders with private keys to transfer digital assets to the state upon escheatment.

Prohibits businesses from using pricing algorithms that process competitor data to set prices in the same market. Authorizes state officials to pursue civil penalties up to $1 million for violations of the law. Exempts pricing algorithms that only use competitor data collected more than one year ago. Allows courts to award triple damages plus attorney fees for violations of the law.

Establishes new penalties up to $2,500 for price gouging against people displaced during emergencies. Requires housing platforms to remove listings that violate price gouging laws within 30 days of an emergency. Expands price gouging restrictions to counties within 50 miles of declared emergency areas. Authorizes search warrants to gather evidence of price gouging violations during emergencies.

Increases minimum penalties for unlicensed contractor violations from $200 to $1,500 starting July 2026. Authorizes the Contractors State License Board to adjust penalty amounts for inflation every five years. Doubles the Board's maximum reserve fund from 6 to 12 months of annual expenditures. Establishes new minimum penalties of $500 for general contractor violations and $1,500 for serious infractions.

Updates insurance terminology and licensing requirements to modernize state insurance regulations. Expands blanket insurance coverage to include volunteers for educational and sports organizations. Strengthens background check requirements for insurance licensees to include unlicensed professional conduct. Extends investment authority for the State Compensation Insurance Fund indefinitely.

Requires real estate agents to disclose when property photos have been digitally altered in advertisements. Mandates that online property listings must include both the altered and original unaltered images. Defines digital alterations as changes to property features like furniture and walls, not basic photo adjustments. Violations of these disclosure requirements constitute a criminal offense under real estate law.

Establishes new privacy rules for automated license plate recognition systems used by public agencies. Requires agencies to delete license plate data within 60 days if it does not match a vehicle of interest. Mandates security training for all employees accessing license plate data. Authorizes the Department of Justice to conduct annual audits of agencies using these systems.

Makes technical changes to privacy laws regarding health data collection and location tracking.

Exempts businesses from privacy laws when collecting customer data for legitimate commercial purposes. Increases penalties up to $10,000 for unauthorized recording of private communications. Allows consumers to opt out of having their personal information processed by businesses. Maintains existing privacy protections against non-commercial surveillance and recording.

Requires state licensing boards to expedite applications from certified descendants of American slaves. Takes effect only after Senate Bill 518 establishes the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery. Automatically expires four years after implementation or by January 1, 2032, whichever comes first.

Authorizes state agencies to waive licensing requirements for professionals impacted by declared emergencies. Requires contractors performing disaster debris removal to have specific licenses and hazardous material training. Prohibits real estate agents from making below-market offers to property owners in disaster areas. Mandates the Real Estate Commissioner to monitor and report fraudulent practices during emergencies.

Prohibits credit agencies from reporting property sales forced by natural disasters that made homes uninhabitable. Prevents lenders from using disaster-related property sales as a negative factor in credit decisions. Expands existing credit reporting protections that already cover medical debt and certain legal matters.

Allows bars and restaurants to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. on weekends and holidays in designated hospitality zones. Requires cities to create safety and transportation plans before extending alcohol service hours. Limits extended-hours permits to one license per 6,000 residents and charges a $2,500 annual fee. Expires in 2031 unless renewed by the Legislature after reviewing public safety impact reports.

Authorizes car dealers to charge document processing fees up to $350 or 1% of vehicle price, whichever is less. Requires dealers to prominently display fee notices and provide written disclosures to customers. Exempts vehicle sales to state and local government entities from the increased fee provisions. Prohibits dealers from representing document processing charges as government fees.

Requires insurers to notify homeowners before collecting aerial images of their insured properties. Prohibits insurers from using aerial images older than 180 days to cancel coverage without verification. Grants homeowners the right to dispute aerial images and verify remediation before coverage termination. Takes effect July 1, 2026 and applies to all residential property insurance policies in California.