The penalty for soliciting and buying sex from minors under 16 will be raised to a felony under a new California law signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills into law this year aimed at addressing a range of key issues facing California including retail theft, consumer protection and affordable housing.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pair of proposals Sunday aiming to help shield minors from the increasingly prevalent misuse of artificial intelligence tools to generate harmful sexual imagery of children.