Opinion: California’s New Laws

The State of California probably has more laws than any other state. I don’t know that for a fact, but it stands to reason because, although we don’t have more legislators than any other state, our elected officials at the state level keep their jobs by having their names attached to a senate or assembly bill that is eventually signed into law by the governor. So, each January the state adds more laws to the books. And 2026 is no exception.

Members of the Assembly and State Senate are especially overjoyed and broadcast that emotion widely when the bean counters calculate that their bills will not cost any taxpayer dollars. Of course, that’s not the same as saying that the bills will not result in higher costs in either goods or services to most Californians. My PG&E bill for December, which was 33.3 percent higher than my November bill is just one example, like a punch below the belt. The Public Utilities Commission, which might as well be composed of children of the top managers of the local monopoly, allowed six rate increases in 2025, and some of those increases are just kicking in now. Here are some of the other changes that we will see in 2026.

Minimum Wage

According to Jill McLaughlin, writing for The Epoch Times, “Workers in 22 states and 66 cities across the United States will get a boost in pay in 2026 as minimum wage hikes take effect.” In California, the increase to $17.79 per hour for employers with many employees and $16.90 for small businesses began on Jan. 1 in certain designated cities. The new rates vary depending mainly on the location of each affected city. Of course, the cost of the new legislation in tax-payer dollars is zero, but the added employment expense will be reflected in the price of goods and services to consumers.