Every year, the California Legislature passes hundreds of bills, ranging from technical clarifications to funding proposals that keep the state running.
Elections
Get ready for a new era of voting in California: Senate Bill 450, which passed in 2016, does away with neighborhood polling places and replaces them with elections conducted primarily by mail. It represents another effort to boost sagging voter participation. Under the system, which Sacramento is among the first counties to adopt, every registered voter will receive a mail ballot. Drop-off locations will be available up to four weeks before election day, and temporary regional “vote centers” will open 10 days ahead of time to register voters and accept ballots.
Voters in five counties will begin the first phase of a shift to the use of “vote centers” across California. The 2018 rollout begins with Sacramento, San Mateo, Madera, Napa and Nevada counties.
Vehicle registration fee increase
As part of SB 1, drivers will pay between $25 and $175 more for vehicle registration at DMV. The fee, which goes into effect Jan. 1, is based on the vehicle’s current value, as follows:
Vehicles worth between $0 and $4,999: $25 fee increase
Vehicles worth between $5,000 and $24,999: $50 fee increase
Vehicles worth between $25,000 and $34,999: $100 fee increase
Vehicles worth between $35,000 and $59,999: $150 fee increase
Vehicles worth $60,000 and higher: $175 fee increase
Recreational marijuana use
The sale and cultivation of recreational-use marijuana will be legal in California on Jan. 1. By the new year, the state will have to have regulations and processes in place to issue permits for adult-use marijuana businesses. The deadline does not apply to county or city municipalities, as per AB 64.
Effective Jan. 1, drivers will be prohibited from smoking or ingesting marijuana or marijuana products while driving or riding as a passenger in a vehicle, as part of SB 65.
Minimum wage
California’s lowest earners are in for a raise: The minimum wage increases by 50 cents, to $11 per hour for workers at companies with at least 26 employees, and to $10.50 for those at smaller firms. It is part of an agreement reached nearly two years ago, Senate Bill 3, that will continue to hike the hourly wage annually until it reaches $15 in 2022 for large companies, and in 2023 for all workers.
Sanctuary state of California
SB 54 restricts the ability of state and local police in California to cooperate with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents. Beginning Jan. 1, law enforcement officers won’t be allowed to ask about someone’s immigration status or hold them for ICE agents, unless that person has been convicted of a crime. In addition, AB 291 prohibits landlords from reporting renters who are in the country illegally.
Hiring
A prospective employer will no longer be able to decide how much money to offer you by asking what you made at your last job. Under Assembly Bill 168, the salary history of job applicants can only be disclosed voluntarily. Supporters say the law could help women close the persistent gender pay gap.
Sexual identity on driver’s licenses
SB 179 removes the requirement that people have to choose either male or female on their identification documents. Transgender people will be able to select “nonbinary” as an option if they do not identify as either male or female. This new choice will be available beginning in 2019.
High school exit exam
High school students can rejoice at not having to suffer through the lengthy high school exit exam, which California did away with in 2015 in an effort to rewrite it. AB 830 permanently eliminates the exam as a condition of graduation.
Free Rides Home When You’re Drunk
Under Assembly Bill 711, alcohol manufacturers and licensed sellers can offer free or discounted rides through ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft, or taxicabs. This is to ensure drinkers are transported home safely.
Codes or vouchers can be given to alcohol sellers or directly to alcohol consumers. However, they cannot be offered as incentives to buy a company’s product.
College tuition
Waives tuition fees for one academic year to first-time students who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units and qualify for aid under a FAFSA or California Dream Act application.
DUI – Passenger for Hire
Beginning July 1, 2018, anyone who gets paid to transport passengers in their personal vehicles (think Uber and Lyft) cannot have blood alcohol level of .04 or more when there is a passenger inside. This means those drivers will need to maintain higher safety standards when transporting people. The DMV will suspend the license of anyone who violates this law, and commercial drivers (think limos and taxis) will be receive a disqualification.
Firearm Relinquishment
Defendants convicted of firearm-prohibiting crimes, such as felonies, or misdemeanors involving violence, domestic abuse, or illegal weapon use, must provide proof that they sold or transferred their firearms within specified time periods after conviction; probation officers and courts must verify that the defendant complied with this requirement before final disposition of the defendant’s case and shall take further enforcement action to recover firearms from offenders who fail to do so.
Gun Dealers
Gun dealers must obtain a DOJ certificate of eligibility from employees who handle ammunition, verifying that they passed a background check.
Ammunition
Individuals who sell more than 500 rounds of ammunition in any month must obtain an ammunition vendor license and conduct ammunition sales only at specified business locations.
Subject to certain exceptions, ammunition sales must be conducted by or processed through licensed vendors. Sales of ammunition by unlicensed individuals must be processed through a licensed ammunition vendor, in a manner similar to private party firearms transactions, and ammunition obtained over the Internet or from out of state must be initially shipped to a licensed ammunition vendor for physical delivery to the purchaser pursuant to a background check.
Non-sale transfers of ammunition must occur either in a face-to-face transaction or through a licensed vendor.
Disabled Person Parking Placards Crackdown
This law cracks down on those applying for a disabled placard or license plate in California. According to the DMV, applicants must provide proof of their full name and birthdate as well as limits the number of replacement placards someone can request without medical certification. There’s also a new renewal process.
State-Wide Ban-the-Box Law
This law applies to employers with five or more employees, and prohibits employers from asking about criminal history on job applications. The law also prohibits inquiring about or considering criminal history at any time before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Once a conditional offer is made, an employer may seek certain criminal history.
Any preliminary decision not to hire because of a conviction history requires written notice to the applicant, who must be given the opportunity to respond. A specific timeline and process must be followed. The employer must consider any information provided by the applicant before making a final decision. If the employer makes a final decision to deny employment in whole or in part because of the criminal conviction, written notice to the applicant is again required. Specific information must be included in the final determination notice.
Sky diving
AB 295 Makes it illegal to sky-dive while intoxicated.
Romick in Oakley 