On Jan. 1, Senate Bill No. 826 took effect. The bill adds Section 301.3 and Section 2115.5 to the California Corporations Code and requires each publicly held domestic or foreign corporation with its principal executive office located within the state of California to have a minimum number of female directors serving on its board of directors. With this new law taking effect, the state of California became the first U.S. state to require public companies to have female directors on their boards of directors.

  • Section 301.3—Publicly Held California Corporations and Foreign Corporations with Principal Executive Offices in California

Under the new law, no later than Dec. 31, 2019, each publicly held California or foreign corporation whose principal executive office, according to the corporation’s SEC Form 10-K, is located in California, must have at least one female director on its board.