President Biden last year called out junk fees and backed a bill in Congress that would ban the fees nationally. The Federal Trade Commission has also started drafting regulations that would bar companies from advertising prices without including mandatory fees.

Limits on security deposits

Many California landlords will be barred from charging more than the equivalent of one month's rent for security deposits. Landlords could previously charge the equivalent of two times the monthly rent for unfurnished units, and three times the monthly rent for furnished units.

Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), who introduced AB 12, said that high security deposits can be a barrier to finding affordable housing, especially in coastal California cities where rents are among the country's highest.

Mom-and-pop landlords who own up to two rental properties, with no more than four units, are exempt from the law.

Credit card codes for gun retailers

Starting July 1, credit card payment networks must provide a unique identifying code for gun and ammunition retailers. Those four-digit identifiers, known as "merchant category codes," already appear on credit card statements for most types of businesses, including grocery stores, hotels and gas stations, and help payment networks offer rewards and track spending trends.

Typically, gun and ammunition retailers are categorized as sporting goods stores. Under AB 1587, introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), credit card payment networks must begin offering the merchant category code for gun and ammunition retailers on July 1. Retailers have until May of next year to integrate the code into their systems.

Ting's office said the code would allow banks to flag suspicious activity related to gun purchases, akin to the warnings that banks already pass along to law enforcement agencies about purchases potentially linked to terrorist financing, fraud and identity theft.

Date-rape drug testing kits in bars

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