California Laws 2013: Birth Control, Driver’s License for the Undocumented, Funeral Picketing & Foreclosure

Below is a sampling of Gov. Jerry Brown 876 bills signed in the 2012 legislative session, most of which take effect January 2nd.

Picketing at funerals

SB 661 makes picketing at funerals a misdemeanor, taking aim at a group that has waved signs at funerals of homosexuals, military members and federal judges. (Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance)

Evaluation of principals

SB 1292 authorizes school districts to evaluate principals annually for the first and second year of employment as a new principal in a district. (Sen. Carol Liu, D-La Cañada-Flintridge)

Digital textbooks

SB 1052 and 1053 set the stage for producing digital textbooks for 50 of the most widely taken lower-division courses at California colleges and universities, when money is available, and creates an open-source library to house such materials. (Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento)

Birth Control Access

AB 2348 expands women’s access to birth control by allowing registered nurses to dispense such drugs or devices in primary care and other clinics. (Assemblywoman Holly J. Mitchell, D-Los Angeles)

Health insurance standards

AB 1453 and SB 951 set minimum standards for medical services – such as emergency treatment, maternity and newborn care – that insurers must meet starting in 2014. (Respectively, then- Assemblyman and now Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, and Sen. Ed Hernández, D-West Covina)

Driver’s licenses

AB 2189 allows an estimated 400,000 undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses – those in the federal Deferred Action program for immigrants who came to the U.S. as youths and have led generally productive lives. (former Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles)

Religious grooming

AB 1964 bans discrimination based on religious dress or grooming, such as Sikhs’ turbans. (Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis)

Carpool lane exceptions

AB 2405 exempts certain hybrid and other clean-fuel vehicles from paying a toll to use HOT carpool lanes accepting single-occupant vehicles. (Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills)

Red-Light Cameras

SB 1303 tightens restrictions on the use of red-light traffic cameras but bolsters their legal underpinnings by stating that evidence from them is not hearsay. (Former Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto)

Hands-free texting

AB 1536 allows drivers to dictate, send or listen to text messages with a hands-free device. (Former Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona)

Homeowner mortgages

SB 900 and AB 278 are cornerstones of a six-bill package to expand homeowner rights against foreclosure. A key provision bars “dual tracking” by which lenders proceed toward foreclosure while discussing possible loan modifications. (Respectively, Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and former Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park)
Vehicle financing

AB 1447 sets basic consumer protections for predatory financing of vehicle sales or leases by dealers, including a minimum 30-day warranty and restrictions on in-person payment requirements and use of electronic devices to track and disable vehicles. (Former Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-Los Angeles)

Online rent payments

SB 1055 bars landlords from requiring online payments. (Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance)

Loan protections

SB 978 strengthens laws meant to protect investors and borrowers of “hard money” – a private, high- interest loan secured by steep collateral requirements and generally offered to people unable to qualify for conventional bank loans. (Sen. and Rep.-elect Juan Vargas, D-San Diego)

Internet phone service

SB 1161 bars the state Public Utilities Commission from regulating the Internet-based voice industry until January 2020. (Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles)

Social media privacy

SB 1349 bans public and private universities from requiring students to disclose user names or passwords for social media, such as Facebook. (Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco)

Employer prohibitions

AB 1844 prohibits employers from demanding a worker’s or an applicant’s user name or password for social media. (Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose)

Homemade food sales

AB 1616 legalizes and sets standards for selling various products made in home kitchens, such as breads, tortillas, cookies, churros and jams. (Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles)

Plastic bag recycling

SB 1219 extends until January 2020 a program ensuring plastic bags are accepted for recycling at supermarkets and large stores that include a pharmacy. (Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis)

Workers’ compensation insurance

SB 863 increases benefits for workers injured on the job by creating savings through changes to the workers’ compensation insurance system designed to reduce lawsuits over treatment and compensation. (Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles)

More information on them is available by searching the bill number under “Bill information” at www.leginfo.ca.gov