A one percent lumber tax goes into effect in California beginning this month. The tax will shift the burden of paying timber harvest fees from the forestry industry to the consumer.

Three new California laws intended to improve reporting of suspected child sexual abuse took effect on January 1st.

Homeowners will have new rights under laws designed to reduce foreclosures in California. The package of laws known as the “Homeowner Bill of Rights” takes effect this year.

Starting this January, California veterans who commit a crime will be able to erase record of it if they complete a treatment program relating to a mental illness.

A ban on selling some kinds of homemade foods is about to be lifted in California.

Cases of carbon monoxide poisoning go up in the winter. Typically it’s because of a faulty gas heater, or other heat generating device that’s not working properly, and lack of ventilation. But an expanding California law is designed to change that.

About 300 California prison inmates have been sentenced to life without parole for crimes they committed while teenagers. A new law will give some of them a second chance.

We continue our “New Laws” series with a look at California’s major pension changes that take effect in the new year. It creates a second tier of public employees with lower pension benefits than their co-workers.

Businesses licensed by the State of California will still be able to settle lawsuits against them, but they won’t be able to hide the reasons for the suits.

A new California law taking effect in January may mean women won’t have to wait as long to get birth control at the local clinic.

There will soon be a large number of California employers who will be prohibited from demanding access to their employees’ social media accounts.

We continue our series on new California laws that take effect January 1st with a measure that could affect everyone who drives a car. Drivers will soon be able to prove they have auto insurance electronically.

We begin a series that looks at new laws taking effect January 1st with a measure that will overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system. Its backers say it could save California between $500 million and $1 billion in the first year.