By Robin GOLDSWORTHY

For those who thought 2020 was confusing – are salons open or closed? Are restaurants allowed to have outdoor dining or only pick-up service? – new laws kicked in on Jan. 1 that California citizens need to know. Note that some ordinances have been passed by local authorities – cities and counties – and are not represented in the list below.

Here’s a brief overview of some state laws that went into effect Jan. 1:

AB 979 requires, no later than the close of the 2021 calendar year, that a corporation have a minimum of one director from an underrepresented community. It requires, no later than the close of the 2022 calendar year, such a corporation with more than four but fewer than nine directors to have a minimum of two directors from underrepresented communities, and such a corporation with nine or more directors to have a minimum of three directors from underrepresented communities.

SB 145 exempts from mandatory registration a person convicted of certain offenses involving minors if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the person to register.

AB 1196: Existing law authorizes a peace officer to make an arrest pursuant to a warrant or based upon probable cause, as specified. Under existing law, an arrest is made by the actual restraint of the person or by submission to the custody of the arresting officer. Existing law authorizes a peace officer to use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape or to overcome resistance.

This law prohibits a law enforcement agency from authorizing the use of a carotid restraint or a chokehold. By requiring local agencies to amend use of force policies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

AB 2658 makes it a crime for a person, after receiving notice to evacuate or leave, to willfully and knowingly direct an employee to remain in, or enter, an area closed under prescribed provisions of law due to a menace to the public health or safety, including an employee employed for household domestic work, except as specified. For these purposes, the law states that the term employee includes a person who performs household domestic service that is publicly funded. The law also make conforming changes.

AB 2717 exempts a person from civil liability and criminal liability for property damage or trespass to a motor vehicle if the property damage or trespass occurs while the person is rescuing a child who is 6 years of age or younger from a motor vehicle under circumstances that reasonably could cause suffering, disability or death to the child, if certain steps are taken during the removal. It establishes procedures that apply to a peace officer, firefighter or emergency responder under those circumstances, including, but not limited to, arranging for the treatment and transport of the child according to existing policies of the local EMS agency.

Minimum Wage Increase: California’s minimum wage increased to $14 per hour for businesses employing 26 or more people, and $13 per hour for businesses that have 25 or fewer employees.