On July 1, 2024, California’s new laws changed the rules on security deposits, hidden fees, device repairs, firearm taxes, workplace violence prevention, and school suspensions. Most California legislation takes effect on January 1, but this mid-year package was unusually broad, and every measure below is now fully in effect and enforceable.
Security Deposits Capped at One Month’s Rent
Assembly Bill 12 cut the maximum security deposit a landlord can charge to one month’s rent, regardless of whether the unit is furnished. Before the change, landlords could demand up to two months’ rent for an unfurnished unit and three months’ for a furnished one.1California Legislative Information. AB-12 Tenancy: Security Deposits
There is a narrow exception for small landlords. If you are a natural person (not a corporation) and own no more than two rental properties totaling four or fewer units, you can still charge up to two months’ rent. The exception also covers limited liability companies whose members are all natural persons. It does not extend to corporate landlords or LLCs with entity members.2California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1950.5
On a $3,000-a-month lease, the maximum deposit dropped from as much as $9,000 to $3,000. Landlords who collected larger deposits before July 1, 2024, can keep them on existing leases, but any new agreement signed after that date must comply with the one-month cap.
Hidden Fees Banned From Advertised Prices
Senate Bill 478, the Honest Pricing Law, requires that the price you see advertised be the price you actually pay, not counting government taxes and reasonable shipping charges. It applies to hotel bookings, short-term rentals, event tickets, food delivery platforms, and most other consumer goods and services.3State of California – Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General. SB 478 – Hidden Fees
Restaurants and bars got a late carve-out through Senate Bill 1524, signed two days before the law took effect. Food and drink establishments can still list service charges and gratuities separately from menu prices, but only if those charges are clearly displayed with an explanation of their purpose. As of July 1, 2025, those disclosures must also meet specific text-size requirements.4California Legislative Information. SB-1524 Consumers Legal Remedies Act: Advertisements: Restaurant, Bar, and Other Food Services
Violations fall under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, which gives consumers the right to sue for actual damages, restitution, and in some cases punitive damages.5California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1770 – Deceptive Practices
Right to Repair for Electronics and Appliances
Senate Bill 244, the Right to Repair Act, requires manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair shops with the same parts, tools, diagnostic documentation, and software they use internally. Before this law, manufacturers could effectively force you into their authorized service channels by withholding those materials.6California Legislative Information. SB-244 Right to Repair Act
How long the obligation lasts depends on the product’s wholesale price to the retailer, not the sticker price you pay:
- For products with a wholesale price of $50 to $99.99, repair materials must be available for at least three years after the last date the model was manufactured.
- For products with a wholesale price of $100 or more, that period is at least seven years.
Both timelines run whether or not the warranty has already expired.7Bureau of Household Goods and Services. Industry Advisory – The Right to Repair Act Effective July 1, 2024
11% Excise Tax on Firearms and Ammunition
Assembly Bill 28, the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act, added an 11% state excise tax on retail sales of firearms, firearm precursor parts, and ammunition.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Firearm Excise Tax Law – 36011 This sits on top of the federal Pittman-Robertson excise tax, which runs 11% on long guns and ammunition and 10% on handguns. A buyer picking up a rifle and a box of ammunition now pays roughly 22% in combined excise taxes before state sales tax applies.
Two exemptions apply. Sales to active or retired peace officers and the law enforcement agencies employing them are exempt. Dealers, manufacturers, and ammunition vendors whose total quarterly gross receipts from these products fall below $5,000 are also exempt for that quarter.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Firearm Excise Tax Law – 36021 Revenue flows into the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Fund, with the first $75 million each year going to the CalVIP Grant Program for violence intervention.10LegiScan. California Assembly Bill 28 – Firearms and Ammunition: Excise Tax
Workplace Violence Prevention Plans Required
Senate Bill 553 requires nearly all California employers to maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan covering every work area at all times. The plan must include procedures for identifying and evaluating violence hazards, and employers are expected to involve employees in developing it.11Cal/OSHA. Cal/OSHA Workplace Violence Prevention for General Industry
Employers must also maintain a violent incident log documenting every workplace violence incident and provide effective training. Initial training is required when the plan is first established, with annual refresher training after that. Additional training is required whenever a new hazard is identified or the plan changes.12LegiScan. California Senate Bill 553 – Occupational Safety: Workplace Violence: Restraining Orders and Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
The law applies to general industry workplaces. Healthcare facilities already covered by separate Cal/OSHA violence prevention standards for healthcare settings are outside its scope, as are employees who work remotely from locations not controlled by their employer.
Willful Defiance Suspensions Banned Through 12th Grade
Senate Bill 274 extended an existing ban on suspending students for willful defiance, which covers behavior like disrupting class or ignoring a teacher’s directions. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade were already protected, and a temporary ban covered grades six through eight. SB 274 extended the ban through high school, prohibiting willful-defiance suspensions in grades nine through twelve.13California Legislative Information. SB-274 Suspensions and Expulsions: Willful Defiance: Interventions and Supports
Teachers still have authority to remove a disruptive student from their individual class for the day of the incident and the day after. What schools cannot do is impose a formal suspension from campus based solely on defiance. The ban for grades six through twelve runs through July 1, 2029, when the legislature will need to renew it or let it expire. The K-5 ban is permanent.13California Legislative Information. SB-274 Suspensions and Expulsions: Willful Defiance: Interventions and Supports
Other Changes That Took Effect the Same Day
A few smaller measures also took effect on July 1, 2024. Assembly Bill 2863 requires businesses to let consumers cancel an automatically renewing subscription the same way they signed up; if you subscribed online with one click, you must be offered a one-click cancellation online. Assembly Bill 2202 requires short-term rental hosts and platforms like Airbnb to disclose any guest cleaning tasks that must be completed to avoid fees or penalties. Senate Bill 729 requires large group health plans and disability insurance policies to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment, including in vitro fertilization.