October 2, 2026: Five Justice Bills Sponsored by the LA County District Attorney’s Office Signed Into Law

The laws hold drunk drivers, labor traffickers and corporate polluters accountable; protect abused animals; equip prosecutors to fully investigate innocence claims

SACRAMENTO - Five bills sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office have been signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, strengthening public safety and advancing criminal justice in California.

The newly enacted laws protect abused animals (AB 2344); hold intoxicated drivers (SB 907), labor traffickers (AB 1583) and large-scale corporate polluters (AB 2310) accountable; and give prosecutors the tools to fully investigate post-conviction claims of factual innocence (SB 1211).

"District attorneys are only as strong as the laws we enforce. The new laws sponsored by my office will make a tangible difference in public safety, deterring crime and protecting victims across the state," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman. "These laws illustrate the breadth of the Office's work in investigating wrongful conviction claims and protecting workers, animals, the environment and victims of drunk drivers.

"I thank Governor Newsom, our legislative partners and bill co-sponsors for securing real change for Californians. I also want to recognize the District Attorney's Office's legislative advocates, Deputy District Attorneys Daniel Felizzatto and Tamar Tokat, for their steadfast dedication to strengthening public safety laws and advocating for our communities."

The following bills sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office were signed into law during California's 2025-2026 legislative session:

AB 1583 (Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Santa Rosa), co-sponsored by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office:

• Holds labor traffickers and employers who commit wage theft across county lines accountable: Closes a major loophole in current law by authorizing coordinated prosecutions for multi-jurisdiction labor trafficking and wage theft cases.
• Ensures offenders can be prosecuted where victims live and work: Establishes clear jurisdictional authority for prosecutors to bring cases in the county where the victim resided at the time of the crime, the employment agreement was entered into, any portion of the work was performed or the offending business operated.

AB 2310 (Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, D-Palmdale; Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks):

• Ends impunity for large-scale corporate polluters: Strengthens penalties for illegally dumping toxic materials, including wildfire and construction debris. Allows increased misdemeanor and felony sentencing options for large-scale amounts of dumped materials.
• Criminalizes transportation of toxic waste before it is illegally dumped: Makes it a crime to transport toxic waste, for the purpose of illegally dumping, allowing law enforcement to stop violators while the toxic waste is in transit before communities are harmed.
• Closes loopholes in the definition of toxic debris: Expands toxic debris to include all construction debris instead of just concrete, asphalt, rocks and dirt.
• Holds property owners accountable: Prohibits property owners from dumping or allowing others to dump certain types of materials on their property. Allows for a court order compelling property owners to clean up certain dumped material.
• Strengthens enforcement: Expands the list of governmental agencies that can declare dumped material to be a public health hazard, nuisance or fire hazard.

AB 2344 (Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco), co-sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation:

• Protects animals rescued in cruelty and neglect cases from crowded shelters: Authorizes an animal lawfully seized without a warrant to be forfeited to an animal control agency if the owner does not pay or make arrangements to pay the cost for the board and care of the animal within 14 days of seizure.
• Closes a loophole in existing law: The law mirrors the current legal process available for animals seized pursuant to a search warrant.

SB 907 (Senator Bob Archuleta, D-Norwalk), co-sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, CA Safe Roads Coalition and the Orange County District Attorney's Office:

• Braun's Law to warn DUI drivers of the serious consequences of drunk driving: Ensures that drivers whose DUI charges are pleaded down to a lesser or different charge are advised with a Watson warning of the serious consequences of driving while impaired, which include being charged with second-degree murder if they drive again while intoxicated and kill someone. The law is named in honor of Braun Levi, an 18-year-old Loyola High School student, who was killed by a suspected repeat drunk driver in Manhattan Beach in May 2025.
• Increases penalties for a hit-and-run causing death or injury: Allows an increased sentence for hit-and-run causing death or injury, including, permanent, serious injury, if the driver has a prior conviction within the past 10 years for DUI, DUI causing bodily injury, reckless, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated or gross vehicular manslaughter.

SB 1211 (Senator Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach):

• Improves access to justice for individuals wrongfully convicted of a crime: Gives prosecutorial agencies access to critical case information needed to fully investigate post-conviction factual innocence claims.
• Strengthens investigations into the true offender: Full access to case materials gives prosecutors the resources to help identify the actual perpetrator of the crime at issue in a wrongful conviction case, ensuring the right person is held accountable.

The Office is committed to advancing legislation that strengthens public safety, closes gaps in the law and ensures those who put the lives of others at risk are held accountable.