New year and 760 new state laws

OFF THE WIRE

Written by

Michael Gardner

Consumers: Under Senate Bill 746, people under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth. — Nelvin C. Cepeda

SACRAMENTO — Many Californians make resolutions for the new year. In Sacramento, they make laws — lots of laws.
This legislative handiwork will touch consumers, children, college students and possibly even the Chargers.
A number of those incoming laws have already been met with controversy and challenges.
Those include requiring public schools to teach gay history, a ban on the open display of unloaded handguns and the ability of minors to receive preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental approval.
In all, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a dizzying 760 bills into law in 2011. Here’s a look at some of the more far-reaching:

Consumers

• Police must obtain a search warrant to access reading records from bookstores and online retailers. SB 602.
• People under the age of 18 will be prohibited from using indoor tanning beds. At the iTan tanning salon in
Mission Valley, Janelle Brown spends a few minutes in the UV tanning booth. SB 746.
• Alcohol sales will be banned at self-service checkout lanes. Ralphs customer Jeffrey Woods bags his bottle of wine after scanning it himself last year. AB 183.
• Renters can display political signs in homes and apartments. SB 337.
• Genetic information cannot be used to discriminate in housing, employment, insurance or home loans. SB 559.

Consumers: Under AB 183, alcohol sales will be banned at self-service checkout lanes. Ralphs customer Jeffrey Woods bags his bottle of wine after scanning it himself last year. — Charlie Neuman

• Tattoo parlors must comply with an array of new standards. AB 300.
• Potential voters can register on the Internet once the Secretary of State and DMV implement a process. SB 397.
• Amazon and other Internet-only companies without brick and mortar stores in California must begin collecting sales taxes for online purchases starting Sept. 15, AB 155 and ABX1-28.
• It will cost $5 more for birth and death certificates. AB 1053.

Education

• School curriculum must address gay rights, and disability rights, including notable figures in the history of both communities. SB 48.
• Under the two-bill Dream Act, illegal immigrants attending college starting Jan. 1 can apply for private financial aid. AB 130. Then starting Jan. 1, 2013, those students can apply for public aid, such as scholarships and fee waivers. They could receive Cal Grants starting in the fall of 2013. AB 131.
• Student athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion during a game or practice must be immediately pulled out of action and be cleared by a licensed health care provider. AB 25.
• Trained staff may administer anti-seizure medicine to students with epilepsy. SB 161.
• Children who start kindergarten must be at least 5. The law pushes up the required birthday for admission to kindergarten from Dec. 2 to Sept. 1. The change will be phased in one month at a time over three years starting in fall 2012.

Motorists

• Children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled
into a back-seat booster. SB 929.
• Car buyers will pay $25 more for documentation fees. In return, dealers must post a red warning sign if the vehicle had been totaled, returned under the “lemon law” or suffered some other catastrophic damage. Effective July 1. AB 1215.

Motorists: Under SB 929, children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled into a back-seat booster. — Charlie Neuman

SACRAMENTO — • Tax scofflaws who owe more than $250,000 and have not made plans to pay off their debt to the state will have their license yanked. AB 1424.
• Drunken drivers will lose their license for 10 years upon a third conviction within 10 years. (Passed in 2010, effective 2012.) AB 1601.
• Police cannot impound vehicles after field sobriety checks if the only offense is the driver is unlicensed. AB 353.

Environment

• A two-bill package bans the possession and sale of shark fins (AB 376), but gives restaurants and stores until July 1, 2013 to sell existing stocks (AB 853).
• Homeowner associations could no longer ban electric car recharging stations. SB 209.

San Diego projects

• A two-bill package has the potential of influencing the future of San Diego’s proposed convention center and stadium for the Chargers. Special environmental concessions for a proposed venue in Los Angeles has been granted, which might help the neighbor to the north lure the Chargers (SB 292). Also, projects valued at more than $100 million, such as a convention center or stadium in San Diego, could be fast-tracked if special environmental programs are put in place and those plans are ready by 2015. AB 900.

Health

• Those under 18 will need a prescription to buy over-the-counter cold medicines containing dextromethorphan. It is found in popular medications such as NyQuil. SB 514.
• Minors ages 12-17 can receive preventive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent. AB 499.
• Individual and group health plans must include maternity coverage. AB 210 and SB 222. Both effective July 1.
• Employers must maintain health care coverage for new mothers who take maternity leave of up to four months. SB 299.
• Health insurers must cover behavioral treatment of autism. Effective July 1. SB 946.
• Child care providers have new nutritional guidelines: only serve 1 percent or nonfat milk to children ages 2 or older; only one serving of juice once a day and no beverages allowed that include added sweeteners. (Passed in 2010, but takes effect in 2012.) AB 2084.

Business

• Landlords may ban smoking in rental housing. SB 332.
• Dress codes must provide workers leeway to dress according to gender identity. AB 887.
• Local governments can no longer issue blanket bans on union-friendly “project labor agreements,” but can still contract with nonunion bidders. SB 922.
• Employers in most cases cannot use consumer credit history for employment purposes. AB 22.
• Local governments cannot pass ordinances requiring businesses to use the federal E-verify program to electronically check on immigration status. AB 1236.
• Cities given more authority to regulate marijuana dispensaries. AB 1300.
• No beer with added caffeine can be made or sold. SB 39.

Law enforcement

• Gun enthusiasts can no longer display unloaded handguns in public, often called “open carry.” AB 144.
• Prisoners must notify prosecutors 10 days before filing a clemency appeal with the governor. The impetus was then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s surprise clemency for Esteban Núñez, the son of a political ally and former speaker of the Assembly. Esteban Núñez was involved in a fatal brawl at San Diego State University. AB 648.
• Live pets cannot be sold on any street, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk. SB 917.
• Sales of certain synthetic marijuana compounds known as “spice” or “K2” are prohibited. SB 420.

Future laws

• Baby bottles and “sippy cups” can no longer contain certain levels of Bisphenol, a chemical believed to be damaging to infants and children. Effective July 1, 2013. AB 1319.
• State will track long-gun sales much like it currently does for handguns. Effective Jan. 1, 2014. AB 809.