By Samantha Tata
From search warrants seeking blood to teens' texting and driving, these laws are freshly enacted or about to go into effect..
As the New Year approaches, there are several new
laws about to be enacted in California -- from transgender students'
rights and a minimum wage boost, to sharing the road with bicyclists and
changes to tips at restaurants.
Here is a round up of some of the new edicts:
PLASTIC BAG BAN:
Shoppers in the city of Los Angeles will have to bring their own
reusable bags or fork up 10 cents per sack at large retail stores,
starting Jan. 1, 2014. Smaller stores have until July 1, 2014, to phase
out single-use plastic bags.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS:
Students in grades K-12 who identify as transgender will be allowed to
use school bathrooms and play on sport teams “consistent with their
gender identity,” starting Jan. 1, 2014.
MINIMUM WAGE HIKE:
Workers earning minimum wage will net $9 an hour starting July 1, 2014.
The increase is part of a three-year plan that will raise the hourly
minimum wage in California to $10 – one of the highest in the nation –
by 2016. Under another bill, domestic workers will have to be paid time
and a half if they work more than nine hours in a day or more than 45
hours in a week; baby sitters are exempt.
GAY SCOUT BAN: Starting
Jan. 1, 2014, the 116,000-member Boy Scouts of America will lift its
ban on openly gay scouts, though the ban on openly gay leaders is still
in effect.
PAPARAZZI CRACKDOWN:
Backed by actresses including Halley Berry and Jennifer Garner, a new
measure will impose tougher penalties on paparazzi that harass the
children of public figures, including celebrities, police officers and
judges. Starting in January, violators could face up to a year in county
jail and a fine of up to $10,000. Fines would increase for subsequent
convictions.
MORE ROOM FOR BICYCLISTS:
Drivers must give cyclists a 3-foot clearing when passing or, when that
clearance isn’t possible, slow down and only pass when there’s enough
room. Starting Sept. 16, 2014, passing too close to a bicyclist could
result in a fine for the driver, whether there was a crash or not.
AMBER ALERT EXPANSION:
Abductions by custodial parents or guardians, who may cause serious
bodily injury or death to the child, now will require law enforcement to
request the activation of an AMBER Alert.
TEXTING AND DRIVING:
Drivers under the age of 18 are not allowed to use voice recognition
software, like Apple’s “Siri,” to write, send or read a text while
behind the wheel.
ON-CAMPUS SMOKING:
All 10 University of California campuses will be smoke-free starting
Jan. 1, 2014. The ban includes all tobacco products, including
e-cigarettes.
HYBRIDS RIDING HOV:
Low-emission or zero-emission vehicles can continue using
high-occupancy vehicle, or carpool, lanes without meeting occupancy
requirements until Jan. 1, 2019.
FINDING HIT-AND-RUN DRIVERS:
A new bill extends the current three-year statute of limitations for
hit-and-run offenses to six years from the date of a crash that causes
death or permanent, serious injuries.
GROUP GRATITUITY:
Tips automatically added to a restaurant bill (usually when a table
seats 6 or more diners) will now be taxable as regular wages and subject
to payroll tax withholding, which means your server won’t see those
tips until payday instead of taking it home as cash.
SEARCH WARRANTS:
A driver suspected of DUI who refuses to submit to or fails to complete
a blood test can be served a search warrant to draw blood in a
“reasonable, medically approved manner.” This law went into effect Sept.
20.
VICTIM PROTECTION: Employers
are now barred from firing, discriminating or retaliating against a
worker because they are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or
stalking. The new law also requires employers to protect victims from
their abusers, for example, by changing the employee's work number.
