New California Laws Take Effect Addressing Issues From Assault Rifles To Student Loans

SACRAMENTO (AP/CBS13) -- July 1 marks not only the beginning of a new fiscal year for the State of California, it's also the day some new laws will go into effect.

As of Thursday, California now has new regulations on issues ranging from semi-automatic rifle purchases to helping homeowners who are the victims of wildfires.

Here's an overview of the new laws:

-California's ban on buying more than one handgun in a 30-day period expands to semiautomatic centerfire rifles, which include some that meet California's definition of an assault rifle.

-California will create an ombudsman to advocate for and field complaints from student loan borrowers faced with predatory practices.

-Laura's Law, a 2002 measure that allows judges to require intensive mental health outpatient treatment, becomes permanent. To qualify a person must have a serious mental illness and recent history of psychiatric hospitalizations, incarceration or violent behavior.

-Portions of two laws designed to help homeowners who lose property in wildfires during states of emergency take effect, including provisions for coverage of living expenses.

-The state's three prisons for juveniles stop accepting new admissions and will close in 2023.

Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.