Now that 2025 is in the rearview mirror, several important new laws take effect this year that will have key impacts on San Joaquin Valley residents.

The Merced FOCUS, with help from CalMatters Digital Democracy and EdSource, has compiled a list that includes some of the top new laws that will impact Valley and California residents in 2026.

According to CalMatters, lawmakers passed a total 917 bills in 2025 and Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed 123 of them. Most of the ones he signed took effect on Jan. 1.

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California Minimum Wage Rises

The hourly minimum wage in California increased to $16.90 on Jan. 1.

The adjustment — a boost of 40 cents per hour — was calculated in August by the Department of Finance as part of its minimum wage annual review required by state law, CalMatters reported.

The state’s minimum wage has been going up over the past decade. Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 signed a law increasing California’s minimum wage from $10.50 per hour to $15 per hour, including annual adjustments for inflation.

Related Story: Will California’s New Guns Laws Make Us Safer? Or Violate 2nd Amendment?

Streamlined Process for Valley Farmworker Housing

Authored by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced, AB 457 adds Merced, Fresno and Madera as eligible counties for a streamlined approval process for new farmworker housing, as established by a prior law allowing agricultural housing developments that are 150 units or less within 15 miles of areas designated as farmland or grazing land, according to the analysis of the bill.

“The Farmworker Housing Act will increase the supply of low cost housing for our Central Valley farmworkers. California farmworkers are the backbone of our Ag economy, now they will have more access to safe, dignified housing,” Soria said in a news release.

California Water Plan Targets

Existing law requires the Department of Water Resources to update California’s Water Plan every five years. Plus, the state is required to establish an advisory committee to assist in updating the plan.

Under SB 72, authored by Senator Anna Caballero, D-Merced, the department must expand the membership of the advisory committee to include interests like tribes, labor, and environmental justice. Plus, the bill would require DWR, as part of the 2033 update to the water plan, to update the interim planning target for 2050. The new law requires the target to consider the identified and future water needs for “all beneficial uses, including, but not limited to, urban uses, agricultural uses, tribal uses, and the environment, and ensure safe drinking water for all Californians, among other things,” according to the bill’s language.

Related Story: California Has New Road Laws in 2026. What Do Drivers Need to Know?

Prohibition of Masks for Law Enforcement

Amid the national debate over immigration agents and law enforcement wearing masks, in California it will now be a crime for a law enforcement officer to wear a facial covering in the performance of their duties, with certain exceptions.

Under SB 627, law enforcement agencies must maintain and publicly post a written policy limiting the use of facial coverings by July 1.

The law includes peace officers with local agencies, as well as officers or agents belonging to federal agencies.

Immigration Enforcement at School Sites

Signed into law by Gov. Newsom in September, AB 49 prohibits school officials and employees from allowing immigration enforcement officers to enter nonpublic areas of school sites for any purpose, unless they are presented with a valid judicial warrant, judicial subpoena or a court order.

The law requires school officials and employees of a local educational agency, when possible, to request valid identification of any officer or employee of an agency conducting immigration enforcement seeking to enter a school.

On a similar note, Senate Bill 98, requires leaders of school districts, charter schools, universities and colleges to notify staff and parents when immigration officers are on a campus. School safety plans should include an official procedure for making these notifications by March 1, EdSource reported.

Cellphone Restrictions for Schools

With the aim of cutting down on classroom distractions caused by cellphones, local school districts (including charter schools) must adopt new rules limiting the use of those devices.

As EdSource reported, the “Phone-Free School Act” follows laws passed in five other states to take measures to keep cellphones from being used during school hours. Districts have until July 1 to adopt a policy in compliance with the new law.

CARE Court Expansion

At the start of December of last year, California launched its much-debated CARE Court program – a civil judicial division that can order people with certain mental illnesses into treatment

Stanislaus was one of seven counties to launch the new program more than a year early in October 2023, and the program was subsequently rolled out statewide. But a CalMatters investigation found the program fell short of expectations, helping far fewer people than projected.

Senate Bill 27, which took effect Jan. 1, expands who is eligible for CARE Court. Under the original law, only people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders qualified for the program. Now, people who experience psychosis as a result of bipolar disorder can also enter the program.

Penalties for Sexual Battery in Hospitals

After an ultrasound tech in Los Banos was accused of sexually abusing patients, Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Merced, introduced a bill aimed at protecting victims. Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, AB 848 creates an aggravating factor in the sentencing of felony sexual battery for cases where the offender was employed by a hospital and the victim was seeking care from the offender or their hospital, according to Soria’s website. By increasing the punishment for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Wider Admission to CSUs

SB 640 expands automatic admission for eligible graduating high school seniors to 16 campus in the California State University system. Among those campuses are Stanislaus State and Fresno State.

According to the California State University website, the university system will make an offer of admissions before a student has even applied if they meet certain academic standards. CSU officials said more details about the automatic admissions program will be released next month.

About The Merced FOCUS

The Merced FOCUS is a a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering Merced and the San Joaquin Valley.