Light bulbs that are illegal in California are light bulbs such as Halogen, Incandescent and other LED bulbs that do not achieve at least 45 Lumens per watt of power.
California compliant light bulbs are light bulbs that must achieve a minimum efficiency level of 45 Lumens per watt of electricity they use.
If the light bulb does not achieve a minimum efficiency level of at least 45 Lumens then it cannot be shipped to California nor can it be sold in California.
Also you cannot buy halogen light bulbs in California anymore.
California passed a law to ban halogen light bulbs and incandescent light bulbs as well.
Some types of LED bulbs can be bought and shipped to California but not all.
The LED bulbs that can be bought and shipped to California must meet certain standards for energy efficiency.
The reason some LED Light Bulbs cannot be shipped to California is because of a law California has in place.
The law in California is for energy efficiency and when the LED light bulbs do not meat the energy efficiency ratings and requirements they cannot be sold or shipped to California.
You could however ship some LED bulbs to someone in California by putting them in a plain box and shipping the LED bulbs through UPS or USPS.
I did that for a friend who wanted some LED bulbs that he could not get in California.
He paid me and I bought them and shipped them to him.
I find California and their laws and regulations stupid and I used to live in California myself for about 10 years before I moved out of California a few years ago.
A lot more people are also moving away from California as well and I'm glad they are leaving that awful state.