September 7–13, 2026
California made a wave of new rules about kids and screens this week, and federal disaster tax breaks for wildfire survivors are now law.
For families with kids in school. This was a big week in Sacramento for anyone raising a child. Five new state laws landed at once, all now in effect. Schools must now teach digital wellness (AB 2071), covering topics like social media risks and how to manage screen time. Separately, if your child uses an app designed to be addictive during school hours, the school must notify you (AB 302). Companies can no longer sell or share your child's personal information to outside businesses without your written permission first (AB 1159). On top of that, minors will see new limits on features like infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds, and autoplay on social media and streaming platforms (AB 2246). And when platforms detect suspected child abuse material online, they must now alert law enforcement faster than before (AB 1946). All five are now law.
At your screen. Two more state measures rounded out California's education push. New computer science standards (AB 2298) take effect for K-12 students across the state, setting a consistent curriculum for coding and digital thinking in every district. And the state's rules on which businesses qualify for government contracts shifted slightly under a constitutional amendment (ACA 7) that passed both chambers; the specifics of who benefits are still being worked through.
After a wildfire or major disaster. At the federal level, a bill signed by the President this week (HR 5366) extends disaster-related tax breaks through 2027. If you lost property or income in a federally declared disaster, including wildfires, you can now deduct your full loss rather than having $500 automatically subtracted from what you can claim. Wildfire survivors who received money from nonprofits or government agencies to cover losses, living costs, or medical bills won't owe federal income tax on those payments, as long as the fire was declared a federal disaster after 2014. Given how frequently wildfires hit Southern California communities, this is worth noting if you filed for aid in recent years.
A handful of other federal bills signed this week covered a federal spending transparency upgrade (HR 2069, which requires certain hidden contract types to be posted publicly on USAspending.gov), an EMS memorial extension in Washington D.C., and land in Paducah, Kentucky with no connection to LA County.
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Coming up next week:
Federal food-system emergency drill. A House bill (HR 9394) that cleared committee would require the Department of Homeland Security to run a large-scale exercise testing how federal, state, local, and private partners would respond to a biological attack on farms or food systems. The bill has no firm vote date yet.
Shelter dogs as support animals for border officers. HR 9327 would have U.S. Customs and Border Protection adopt dogs from local shelters and train them as support animals for staff dealing with grief and trauma. The program would run for three years. That bill has also cleared committee and is waiting on a House floor vote, with no date confirmed.
Several other federal bills cleared committee this week dealing with Nevada land transfers and internal congressional records procedures; none of those directly affect LA County residents.
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