New California laws going into effect in 2018

There's some big changes coming. There's some big changes coming. Photo: Getty Photo: Getty Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close New California laws going into effect in 2018 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

New year, new laws.

In 2018, the lives of Californians will change dramatically thanks to laws regulating marijuana, community college tuition, immigration policy and — less pressingly — entering a crosswalk before the countdown hits zero.

The most controversial laws surround the creation of a "sanctuary state" in defiance of President Donald Trump. SB54 prevents law enforcement from arresting individuals based on civil immigration warrants, inquiring about immigration status or participating in joint task forces with federal officials enforcing immigration law.

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Although Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce federal immigration laws, state law enforcement will now no longer participate in aiding those actions.

"It will put a large kink in Trump's perverse and inhumane deportation machine," Senate President Kevin de León said when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into law in October.

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The law is popular among Californians, according to a poll by USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times; 53 percent of those surveyed said they approved of the legislation. The poll also found that a majority of respondents believe undocumented individuals make cities better.

"We have seen this in California forever," Jill Darling, the survey director for the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC told the Los Angeles Times. "People, including Republicans, have been more supportive of immigrants and reform, even to the point of supporting a path to citizenship, more so than Republican leadership."

To see more of California's most important — and unusual — laws going into effect in 2018, check out the gallery above.