(Several new state laws)...It is almost a tradition.

Most laws enacted or approved during the year, go into effect at the beginning of the New Year. One of those is the Bacon Law. It allows the continued sale of pork processed under the old rules, which proponents say should blunt any shortage and price surge. A new process had been approved in 2018, but that ballot measure is being contested through various law suits. The minimum wage in California is going up. Businesses with more than 25 employees  will pay $15 an hour. For businesses with 25 employees or less, the minimum wage will be $14 per hour. The minimum wage law was actually passed in 2016 that called for annual increases by $1 until they hit $15 per hour. Affordable housing laws go into effect in an effort to reduce homelessness in the state. California will become the first state in the nation to bar warehouse retailers from firing workers for missing quotas that interfere with Bathroom and rest breaks. The law also requires the garment industry to pay workers by the hour. Secret employee settlements involving discrimination based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, expanding on a 2018 law. There are 2 dozen new higher education laws. Among them, one makes it easier for students in community colleges to transfer into public universities. Another streamlines an application process that students have described as a maze