California: Governor Newsom signs commonsense legislation to make your life easier

News

Sep 28, 2026

Governor Newsom signs commonsense legislation to make your life easier

What you need to know: Not all bills are tied to a specific policy issue — some are just about making life a little easier. Governor Newsom just signed new legislation to help Californians in their day-to-day lives — helping them connect to the customer service they need, avoid annoyingly loud commercials, and allow for virtual meetings with teachers when life prevents in-person connection.

SACRAMENTO – Today, Governor Newsom signed commonsense bills aimed at making everyday life easier for Californians. The new laws crack down on blaring podcast and streaming commercials, make it easier to reach a real person for customer service, eliminate unnecessary fees for paid family and medical leave paperwork, speed up heat pump, water heater, and HVAC installations, and make it easier for parents to stay involved in their kids' education.

A little common sense goes a long way. Fewer loud commercials. Less time running in circles with customer service chatbots, fewer headaches — helping people doesn't have to be complicated.

Governor Gavin Newsom

The Governor is signing common sense bills to make life easier by:

✅ Helping customers connect with a human, not a bot (and know the difference!), requiring large businesses to make a good-faith effort to connect a customer to a human within 15 minutes after a request for human customer service is made, or schedule an appointment with the customer. The law also requires large companies to disclose when connecting with customer service if the representative is a chatbot and not a human, and also requires certain large businesses to list contact information on their websites so customers know how to reach customer service.

✅Turning down the volume on excessively loud commercials, building on legislation the Governor signed last year focused on television advertisements, by requiring that podcast and music streaming commercials can't be louder than the content itself.

✅ Helping parents more easily connect with their child's teacher, by giving parents the ability to request a parent-teacher conference online or over the phone if they are unable to attend in person. Building on Governor Newsom's work to make it easier for parents to be engaged in their child's education.

✅ Keeping more money in your pockets by eliminating junk fees for completing medical documents. Now in California, physicians can't charge unnecessary fees to complete forms required for paid family or medical leave.

✅ Allowing teenagers to get a library card without parental accompaniment — if you can drive a car, you should also be able to get a library card. Now 16- and 17-year-olds don't need to bring a parent with them to get a public library card.

✅ Eliminating red tape to install residential heat pumps. When a homeowner wants to make a commonsense upgrade to their home, they shouldn't have to worry about navigating a Byzantine permitting process. Also, creating an automated and streamlined permitting process for standard heat pump water heaters and HVAC installations, reducing the time and energy needed to make these critical upgrades.

More on EntSun News

• ​CTown Sounds & Collaborators Announce Groundbreaking 20-Track Album 'Various Artists Vol. 1'
• Infinity Infusion Solutions Launches "Women Leading Infusion Care" Campaign for National Women in Business Month
• HuskyTail Digital Puts AI to Work Behind the Scenes to Cut Client Turnaround Time
• AI, Real-World Data "RWD" and U.S. Expansion Put Predictive Healthcare in Focus for POMDOCTOR Ltd. (N A S D A Q: POM)
• $11.18 Million DARPA Award Ignites a Major New Catalyst as FDA, Robotic TMS and Commercialization Milestones Converge for NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc

The Governor has signed the following bills

• AB 1609 by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) — Customer service chatbots.
• AB 2292 by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) — Disability benefits: certificates
• SB 96 by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) — Streaming services: commercial advertisements.
• SB 222 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) —  Residential heat pump water heater or heat pump HVAC systems.
• SB 965 by Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) — Public libraries: library cards.
• SB 1412 by Senator Susan Rubio (D–Baldwin Park) — Parental communication: teacher meetings.

Expanding on previous actions to make life easier

Since 2019, Governor Newsom and the legislature have worked together to increase affordability, pass commonsense laws, and helped make families' lives easier by:

• Moving more DMV services online so Californians can renew registrations, replace licenses, and complete other tasks without visiting the DMV.
• Implementing Universal TK saving each family nearly $14,000 every year.
• Requiring companies to allow people to cancel their subscriptions with the same ease as it was to sign up.
• Giving TWO free meals for all TK-12 public school students.
• Protecting families from unfair fees, including limits on the amount credit unions can charge for overdraft fees.
• Making it easier for consumers to access refunds when a food delivery platform fails to deliver.
• Requiring that rental units must include a working stove and refrigerator to be considered habitable.
• Strengthening consumer protection laws, including by preventing car retailers from tacking on add-on services and other features that do not benefit car buyers.
• Requiring social media companies to make it clear and easy for a user to delete their account, and requiring that deletion also trigger full deletion of the user's personal data.
• Allowing for homeowners to cancel a contract for home improvement and home solicitation via email or phone.
• Increasing price transparency and ensuring that consumers are aware whether they are renting a gas-powered or electric vehicle.

Economy, Press releases, Recent news, Top story

More on EntSun News

• Kirk Shaw Veteran Producer Tells Intelligence Daily: "The Next Decade Will Belong to the Creator"
• "Next Friday" Star Mike Epps Hits Cherokee as KayeDinero Drops "Cherokee"
• P-Wave Classics to publish Thomas Holcroft's The Adventures of Hugh Trevor in three volumes, beginning 19 January
• Ad Leverage Sponsors ServiceTitan Pantheon 2026, Supporting Education and Growth in the Home Services Industry
• Powwow Times Announces Powwow Dance Championships #2: Top Indigenous Dancers Face Off in Red Deer

Recent news

Governor Newsom signs historic law to stop big business from shutting out competition, cuts red tape to speed up business permitting

Sep 30, 2026

News What you need to know: The Golden State is home to over 7.6 million small businesses, the most in America, and today Governor Newsom is signing legislation to encourage fair competition and expand opportunities for entrepreneurs and workers. SACRAMENTO – Governor...

Governor Newsom announces appointments 9.29.26

Sep 29, 2026

News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Tara Fouch-Moore, of Mariposa, has been appointed to the Native American Heritage Commission. Fouch-Moore has been Director of Landscape Stewardship at the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation...

State leaders agree: Governor Newsom's signature on federal immigration enforcement bills protects Californians

Sep 29, 2026

News What you need to know: Governor Newsom signed 21 bills earlier today cementing California's longstanding efforts to support immigrant communities and reflecting on the state's response to an intensified federal immigration enforcement environment. SACRAMENTO –...

---

Show All News | Disclaimer | Report Violation