The beginning of 2025 brings several new California laws and regulations that LAAPOA members should be aware of. This past year, California lawmakers passed hundreds of bills that were signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, and many of those became new laws in 2025. Numerous laws that went into effect on January 1 — or will do so at a later date — impact the law enforcement profession, addressing a slew of public safety issues involving firearms, artificial intelligence, shoplifting and more.

“We urge our members to become familiar with these and the hundreds of other laws that affect their lives both on and off the job,” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain says.

Zero Tolerance for Theft

AB 3209: Retail theft restraining orders
This bill allows a court to issue a “retail theft restraining order,” prohibiting a person convicted of organized retail theft, shoplifting, theft, vandalism or assault of a retail employee from entering the establishment or other locations of the same establishment for up to two years.

SB 982: Organized theft
This bill makes the crime of organized retail theft permanent and strengthens measures to address retail crime. It eliminates the expiration date for specific provisions targeting organized retail theft, ensuring long-term tools for law enforcement to combat this issue.

AB 2943: Shoplifting
This bill allows an officer with probable cause to arrest a person for shoplifting, even if the act did not take place in the officer’s presence. It also doubles the permissible probation period for shoplifting and for petty theft from one year to two years, allows defendants under 25 to be referred to rehabilitative programs and creates a new crime punishable by up to three years in jail for possessing more than $950 of stolen goods with intent to sell, exchange or return the goods.

AB 1779: Theft: jurisdiction
This bill enables California district attorneys to work together to consolidate charges for suspects involved in retail theft crimes across multiple counties.

AB 1960: Sentencing enhancements for property loss
This bill creates stiffer penalties for those involved in smash-and-grab robberies. If the crime caused more than $50,000 in damage to a property, the court can impose an additional sentence of one year. Additional years can be added to a sentence if the property loss is higher.

Other Public Safety Laws

SB 1242: Fire crimes
This bill designates setting a fire within a merchant’s premises during organized retail theft as an aggravating factor, leading to longer sentences for those convicted.

SB 1414: Solicitation of a minor
This bill raises the classification for soliciting or paying for sex with a minor under 16 from a misdemeanor to a felony.

AB 1978: Sideshows and street racing
This bill imposes stricter penalties for people participating in sideshows and street racing. It makes it easier for law enforcement to arrest sideshow participants and impound vehicles for illegal activities happening on streets, highways or parking lots. 

AB 413: Stricter parking rules
This bill allows law enforcement to ticket drivers who park within 20 feet of the crosswalk, which is approximately the length of a car. The goal of the law is to increase pedestrian visibility at busy intersections. While the law has been in effect since the beginning of 2024, fines for violations began in January.

Cannabis

AB 1775: The retail preparation, sale and consumption of noncannabis food and beverage products
This bill allows cities and counties to permit existing cannabis retailers and consumption lounges to sell freshly prepared noncannabis food and beverages, provided they obtain local government approval and licensing in compliance with the California Retail Food Code. Currently, cannabis retailers with consumption areas can sell prepackaged food and drinks if authorized by local authorities.

Artificial Intelligence

SB 926: Ban on deepfakes with sexually explicit imagery
This bill prohibits the unauthorized distribution of artificially created sexually explicit images of a real person. The law applies specifically if there is intent to cause serious emotional distress to the person depicted in the image. Last April, Laguna Beach High School officials investigated a student who circulated AI-generated sexually exploitative images, and in Beverly Hills, a group of eighth-graders was expelled for their involvement in superimposing pictures of their classmates’ faces onto simulated nude bodies through artificial intelligence.

SB 981: Streamlined reporting of deepfake content
This bill requires social media platforms to have a reporting mechanism for users who are depicted in a sexually explicit video or image without their knowledge. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, a sponsor of the bill, said that pornographic deepfakes are becoming a “growing threat” to adults and teens on social media.