A handful of bills signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom are set to take effect in the new year. The 2026 slate of new California laws includes artificial intelligence chatbot protections, a ban on declawing cats and even a new tortilla ingredient.

Californians who order food through apps such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub will see changes in how delivery platforms handle refunds, tips and customer service under Assembly Bill 578, a consumer protection bill signed this fall by Newsom.

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Under the new law, food delivery companies must give customers full refunds to their original payment methods when orders are late, wrong or never completed, instead of just offering credit toward future purchases. Platforms also have to offer a real person for customer support, not just chatbots or automated menus. Under the law, delivery apps must show an itemized breakdown of pay and fees and may no longer use tips or gratuities to offset a driver’s base pay.

The bill was inspired by its author Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s own experience ordering pizzas for her daughter’s bat mitzvah; she had paid for 12 pizzas, but only one showed up, as she shared in a Senate committee hearing earlier this year.

A San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency parking control officer writes a parking ticket for an illegally parked car on July 3, 2013, in San Francisco.

Local California governments can now ease the burden of parking fines by reducing, suspending or waiving penalties for people who show financial hardship, including homelessness or inability to pay. The law also lets individuals apply for a parking citation payment plan. Assembly Bill 1299 takes effect on Jan. 1 and applies statewide to local parking enforcement practices.

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A new law will require most commercially sold corn masa flour and corn tortillas to be fortified with folic acid. The B vitamin reduces the risk of birth defects during pregnancy. Corn masa products, common in many Latino households, were historically exempt from federal folic acid fortification rules that apply to wheat flour. State health officials estimate the change could help prevent dozens of severe birth........

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