An estimated 40,000 new laws, regulations and resolutions were approved by legislators nationwide in 2013, including 800 in California.
New rules run the gamut and many will impact South County residents. Whether you’re a midwife or teenage driver; a plumber or domestic worker; in the market to purchase a new rifle or moving out of your apartment and trying to dispose of an old mattress; here’s a gaggle of the new, relevant and interesting going into effect throughout this year.
Cyberbullying off campus
• AB 256 updates current anti-bullying statutes to include the offense of cyberbullying, where students use smartphones, computers and social media to perpetuate harassing and threatening behavior away from campus.
Previously, students in grades 4-12 who engaged in bullying could be disciplined only if the bullying occurred while traveling to and from school, on campus during school hours, or as part of a school sponsored activity.
“AB 256 closes a large loophole in anti-bullying law to match the reality we live in today by updating laws written before the explosive growth of electronic devices and instant communication,” said Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) who authored the law.
In an ongoing incident in early 2013, Morgan Hill Unified School District relied on local police to mitigate a case of cyberbullying by a 14-year-old Britton Middle School student against two classmates. The suspect allegedly used text messages and social media postings to continually harass two 13-year-old victims, and bullied them at a Morgan Hill apartment complex where all three lived, police said. He was cited for numerous criminal violations and was disciplined by school officials for on-campus bullying.
The dangers of technology and social networking among teenagers also touched Gilroy in 2013, when a Christopher High School transfer student was arrested on campus April 11 in connection with the alleged sexual assault and cyberbullying of a Saratoga High School student, Audrie Pott, who committed suicide.
Not technically doctors
• California SB 628 deemed it “unprofessional” for an acupuncturist to use the title “Doctor” or the abbreviation “Dr.” in connection with the practice of acupuncture, but licensed acupuncturist Daniel Melton of Morgan Hill doesn’t expect the change will be bad for business.
“It doesn’t affect me. I don’t use the term,” he said.
Melton is neutral about the law, but points out he’s completed a bachelor’s of science at San Diego University and went through a four-year masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and took a state test before becoming the licensed acupuncturist.
Recycling wash water
• California AB 2230 requires in-car or conveyor-driven car washes to recycle at least 60 percent of their wash or rinse water. Employees at several Morgan Hill carwashes say it’s about time.
“It should have been done a long time ago,” said General Manager Jags Sing of the Chevron gas station off Cochrane Road in Morgan Hill. The business has been using water recycling equipment to clean wash water for at least 10 years, Sing noted.
“We always recycled,” he said.
Almost all of the car wash water is reused, meaning that with each car, less than 10 percent of the water is new, Sing explained.
The Chevron carwash is not the only one that has been environmentally friendly for some time. At the Morgan Hill Car Wash & Gift Shop, water has been recycled for years and at least 60 percent of their water has been recycled to date, according to cashier Susan Shannon.
Buy a rifle and ‘they’ know it
• Passed in 2011 and going into effect this year, AB 809 allows the Department of Justice to retain data about rifle and shotgun purchases. Until now, the agency has only been able to retain information related to handgun transactions. The law is intended to let police know what they’ll be up against and to bolster a program that confiscates guns from people barred from owning them, such as the dangerously mentally ill and convicted criminals.
Off the phone, teen driver
• SB 194 prohibits a person under 18 from using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text–based communication while driving, even if it is equipped with a hands–free device, according to the DMV.
Wide berth for cyclists
• AB 1371, known as the “Three Feet for Safety Act,” will require a driver passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction to pass with no less than 3 feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or driver, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. When 3 feet is not possible, the vehicle must slow to “a reasonable and prudent speed and only pass when no danger is present to the bicyclist,” the DMV states. Failing to do so can incur a fine, regardless of a collision. The law will take effect Sept. 16, 2014.
Workplace protection
• SB 400 focuses on protecting the employment rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. It prevents employers from firing or otherwise discriminating against an employee because of their known status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, according to author, Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). It also requires employers to provide reasonable safety accommodations to victims and prohibits discrimination or retaliation against an employee for requesting an accommodation.
Domestic worker protection
• Known as the “Domestic Workers Bill of Rights,” AB 241 provides certain labor protections for domestic workers, according to a statement from sponsor, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of the 17th District.
The law defines domestic workers as those who perform “services related to the care of persons in private households or maintenance of private households or their premises, which would include childcare providers, caregivers of people with disabilities, sick, convalescing, or elderly persons, house cleaners, housekeepers, maids, and other household occupations.”
Rights offered to domestic workers as of Jan. 1 are regulated hours per week and the assurance of overtime compensation.
Food stamps for more
• In order to maximize low-income families’ usage of CalFresh, (the state’s food stamp program), SB 672 – known as the Working Families Anti-Hunger Act – will help more working families in California enroll in the state’s food stamp program by streamlining the paperwork process.
Licenses for illegal immigrants
• AB 60 allows driver’s licenses for immigrants who are in the country illegally. The California Department of Motor Vehicles will spend this year designing the licenses, which will become available by Jan. 1, 2015.
Raising the minimum wage
• AB 10, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville) who represents Gilroy, will raise the minimum wage from $8 to $9 an hour on July 1, 2014, increasing to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016.
Abortion access
• AB 154 allows for first trimester abortions to be performed by nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants who receive the necessary training. Previously, only physicians and surgeons could perform the procedure.
Urban farming tax break
• AB 551 sanctions tax breaks for landowners who choose to raise livestock or grow crops on vacant properties in an urban area with at least 250,000 people.
Midwives can supervise a birth
• AB 1308 removes a requirement, long decried by midwives, that a physician must be present to supervise a birth.
Tossing the old mattress
• Trying to figure out how to dispose of that old mattress? SB 254 creates a mattress recycling program, funded by a fee on buying mattresses (one Republican opponent dubbed it a “sleep tax”). The program will be in place by July 1, 2015.
No water-gulping toilets
• Going into effect a few years after it was passed, 2009’s SB 407 requires homeowners doing renovations to homes built before 1994 to install water-efficient toilets and faucets.
