California’s new consumer protection laws go into effect July 1
New state laws going into effect on Tuesday will protect tech customers from shady auto-renewal subscriptions the sale of stolen goods via online marketplaces and self-cleaning requirements for guests at short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo Lawmakers also tweaked one of Gov Gavin Newsom s bulk prized mental wellbeing projects to keep loved ones notified when their mentally-ill kin are traveling through the court system And specific cities in the Bay Area will see minimum wage increases Auto-renew protections Consumer advocates have long argued that companies take advantage of consumers with subscriptions that automatically renew a trillion industry according to state lawmakers In the U S Federal Arrangement Commission accused Amazon of automatically enrolling millions of customers in Amazon Prime a paid subscription and then making it hard to cancel Then this spring the agency took rideshare giant Uber to court over what it revealed were unfair and deceptive practices about its auto-renew subscription operation AB sponsored by Los Angeles area Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo a Democrat requires companies to get explicit approval from customers to auto-renew their subscription Companies must send customers an annual reminder of their subscription and instructions on how to cancel and they ll have to make it easier for customers to cancel As it stands now various subscriptions are almost impossible to cancel without undertaking a Kafkaesque process that frustrates consumers to no end and does so to the direct financial benefit of corporations the Consumer Federation of California wrote in a bill analysis last fall The federation and district attorneys supported the bill It was opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Retailers Association Vacation rental cleaning fees Guests at short-term rentals hosted by Airbnb Vrbo and the like will also enjoy added protections on July Existing law as of July required those companies to alert customers about all fees and tacked-on charges before they book their stay or face a fine of up to On July it ll also be illegal for hosts to charge guests for failing to perform cleaning duties without advance notice Hosts must disclose all fees up-front in advertisements not just on their profiles Those additions are part of AB sponsored by former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon a Democrat from Los Angeles Airbnb Expedia and the Journey Tool Association opposed the bill while consumer groups supported it Hot items in online marketplaces Also related to online marketplaces SB is another attempt to crack down on the sale of stolen goods online The law forces online sites like Facebook Marketplace to write policies banning the sale of stolen goods on that platform and to notify law enforcement when that happens The law already required high-volume online sellers to submit their names bank account information phone numbers and email addresses to online marketplace platforms This new law was spearheaded by former East Bay state Sen Nancy Skinner a Democrat Cities and district attorneys supported the bill while the Chamber of Progress a tech commerce group opposed it Tracking state mental robustness recovery Lawmakers also made tweaks to one of Newsom s prized mental wellbeing initiatives The CARE Act passed in set up new mental soundness courts aimed at getting those with serious psychiatric disorders into healing and housing not incarceration or a life on the street CARE courts work by empowering family members close friends first responders behavioral wellbeing providers and others to refer people with severe untreated psychiatric issues to the scheme If someone is eligible a judge helps to facilitate a rehabilitation plan which may include medication drug counseling and a bed in supportive housing or a residential care facility In Silicon Valley and the East Bay started their CARE Court programs last year SB which goes into effect Tuesday gives a mentally ill person s friends and family the right to be updated about the court s work as well as others who referred them to the court It is also intended to streamline the legal process by reducing the court s obligation to inform the recipient of their rights Families Advocating for the Seriously Mentally Ill and California Professional Firefighters advocated for the bill The ACLU s action wing opposed it as did Disability Rights California and Mental Healthcare America of California Those groups contended the law violates patients privacy New wage rates kick in In the Bay Area workers will also get a pay boost when laws already approved in past years in these cities raise their minimum wage on July City of Alameda from hour to hour Berkeley from hour to hour Emeryville from hour to hour Fremont from hour to hour Milpitas from hour to hour
