Restaurants, stores and other property owners will be banned from using drinking water to irrigate their lawns under a new California law. Assembly Bill 1572 requires business owners, public agencies and other entities to phase out the use of potable water to irrigate nonfunctional and decorative turf starting in 2027. Instead, they’ll have to use recycled and non-potable water to keep landscaping looking fresh and green. Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, D-Burbank, introduced the bill in February.

A new law effective on Jan. 1 will lead to the installation of automated speed cameras near specific zones, including schools, in six California cities.

Pet owners will be able to schedule remote video visits with veterinarians and local governments will need to make space for pets at shelters during emergencies under two new California laws.

The two new policies are among hundreds of state laws approved by the Legislature this year that will take effect Jan. 1. They will affect the estimated one-third of California households with pets

Speeders better slow down on city streets. Automated speed cameras will capture violations later this year throughout Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach in a bid to curb the alarming rise of fatal car crashes, in which velocity is often a factor.

Veterinarians licensed in California will be able see and treat their pet patients virtually under a new law that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Under AB 1399, veterinarians will be able to examine animals on a camera through a telehealth appointment without needing to see them in-person. They can then prescribe medications and recommend treatments, or direct the owner to a clinic for follow-up care.

About Time Award for a proven strategy to slow traffic on dangerous streets: AB 645, speed camera pilot finally becomes law

The age-old adage “beauty is pain” is challenged in the hands of California Gov. Gavin Newsom after he passed Assembly Bill No. 496 on Oct. 8, which bans the “manufacturing, selling, delivering, holding or offering for sale in commerce any cosmetic product” that contains any of 26 chemicals highlighted within the bill. Although the bill was just recently passed, it is set to commence on January 1, 2027.

Running a NASCAR track through a residential neighborhood, beach community, and university town is a bad idea. Everyone in Malibu knows that, because anyone who has lived in Malibu for any length of time has witnessed, heard, dodged, cringed, caused, been inconvenienced, victimized, traumatized, or all of the above by high-speed driving traffic accidents. 

A total of 33 cameras will be installed across the city

As part of a pilot program that’s bringing speed camera technology to the city’s most dangerous streets, San Jose is gearing up to install 33 of the devices next year at high-risk intersections, with the ultimate goal of reducing the dozens of people killed and hundreds severely injured each year in traffic collisions.