The start of a new year marks not only a fresh start but the implementation of new laws and regulations. In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed and approved 770 new laws. Most of these laws took effect on Saturday, January 1st, 2022. The rest of the laws still need to be reviewed and revised. Many California residents believe these new laws are important, especially to younger populations.

     Starting on January 1st, California cities have more freedom to raise or lower speed limits. In the first 9 months of 2021 alone, there were 30,000 car crashes in the U.S. according to the National Highway Safety Administration. Typically we see speed limits increasing, but now that reckless driving is appearing more and more, the fast speed limit will no longer be a trend. 

     Starting July 1st, Schools are set to start between 8:00-8:30 am, and no earlier than that. This law was implemented to assure that all high school students get a fair amount of sleep considering the amount of stress school can cause. Supporters believe students don’t develop at the same rate as others and have poor health due to a lack of sleep. Rural school districts are exempted from this law due to the long distances they may have to travel. 

     One of our seniors, Adrian Briseno, shared some of his thoughts. “I don’t like that schools are mandated to start after 8:00 am, because we’d have to stay in school a little longer. Also, you’d have more time out of the day if school started earlier than 8:00 am cause you’d get out earlier.” 

     Starting in the 2022-23 school year, all public schools are also mandated to provide free menstrual products for students. Back in 2017, California required low-income districts to provide free menstrual products at school. Now every school, regardless of income rate, is mandated to provide them. California joins New York, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Virginia join this effort to make hygiene products more easily accessible to students. 

     There are many more laws that are soon to be put into place, awaiting revision and approval. A large amount of new laws are becoming more focused on benefiting the youth and future of our generation, whilst also focusing on current problems like the pandemic. Lawmakers are continuing to try to make laws that will keep our society safe and fair for everyone.