Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 2, 2016

6

NEW CALIFORNIA LAWS IN 2016

NEW CALIFORNIA LAWS EFFECIVE JANUARY 1, 2016

VACCINES

One of 2015’s fiercest fights was over SB 277, which was introduced in the wake of a measles 
outbreak at Disneyland and requires full vaccination for most children to enroll in school. 
Schools will begin vetting students to ensure they have their shots in July, before the 2016-
2017 school year begins.

SEARCH WARRANTS

Arguing our privacy laws lag behind our technology, lawmakers passed SB 178 to require 
search warrants before law enforcement can obtain your emails, text messages, Internet 
search history and other digital data.

BALLOT FEES

Thinking of filing a ballot initiative? You’ll need more cash. AB 1100 hikes the cost of 
submitting a proposal from $200 to $2,000, which supporters called a needed screen to 
discourage frivolous or potentially unconstitutional proposals.

GROCERY JOBS

When grocery stores get new owners, AB 359 requires the stores to retain employees for at 
least 90 days and consider keeping them on after that period ends. While workers can still 
be dismissed in that window for performance-related reasons, the labor-backed bill seeks to 
protect workers from losing their jobs to buyouts or mergers.

REPRODUCTIVE SERVICES

AB 775 requires any licensed facility offering pregnancy-related services to post a sign 
advertising the availability of public family planning programs, including abortions. It is 
aimed at so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which pro-abortion rights critics assail for 
pressuring women into carrying their pregnancies to term.

CHEERLEADERS

Cheerleaders who root on professional athletes will be treated as employees under California 
law, with the accompanying wage and hour protections, under AB 202. Assemblywoman 
Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, who carried the bill, was a Stanford cheerleader.

TESTING

High school seniors will no longer need to take a long-standing exit exam to graduate, 
thanks to SB 172. The bill lifts the requirement through the 2017-2018 school year and also 
applies retroactively to 2004, meaning students who have completed all the other graduation 
requirements since then can apply for diplomas.

GUNS ON CAMPUS

Concealed firearms are barred from college campuses and K-12 school grounds under SB 707, 
which the California College and University Police Chiefs Association sponsored as a public 
safety corrective.

EQUAL PAY

SB 358 seeks to close the stubborn gap between men and women’s wages by saying they must 
be paid the same for “substantially similar work,” an upgrade over the current standard, and 
allowing women to talk about their own pay and inquire about the pay of others without 
facing discipline. While California already requires equal pay for equal work, women still 
consistently make less.

SEX ED

Student participation in sexual education courses is currently voluntary. AB 329 would make 
the courses mandatory unless parents specifically seek an opt-out and would update curricula 
to include, for example, more information about HIV and the spectrum of gender identity.

YES MEANS YES

As long as their school districts require health classes to graduate, SB 695 will ensure high 
school students learn about the “yes means yes” standard of consent to sexual acts. In other 
words, students will learn they should be getting explicit approval from partners.

TOY GUNS

Realistic-looking airsoft guns will need to have more features that distinguish them as 
toys, like a fluorescent trigger guards, thanks to SB 199. Advocates said it would help law 
enforcement avoid tragic mistakes when making split-second decisions, pointing to the 2013 
case of a Santa Rosa boy fatally shot by Sonoma County deputies who mistook his toy gun for 
the real thing.

GUN RESTRAINING ORDERS

Passed last year in response to a troubled young man shooting and killing multiple people in 
Isla Vista, AB 1014 allows family members to obtain a restraining order temporarily barring 
gun ownership for a relative they believe to be at risk of committing an act of violence.

RAPE KITS

AB 1517 prods law enforcement to more quickly process so-called “rape kits,” the forensic 
evidence collected from sexual assault crime scenes. While the bill doesn’t mandate anything, 
it encourages law enforcement agencies to send evidence to crime labs sooner and urges 
crime labs to analyze the data and upload it into a DNA database in a shorter time frame.

BREW BIKES

People rolling around midtown Sacramento on beer bikes could get a little tipsier under SB 
530. The measure allows alcohol to be consumed on board the multi-person vehicles, which 
currently travel between different bars but don’t allow imbibing in between, as long as the city 
authorizes it. The city of Sacramento is working on updating its pedicab ordinance to reflect 
the new law.

CHARITY RAFFLES

Professional sports fans could bring home big prizes thanks to SB 549, which authorizes 
in-game charity raffles allowing the winner to take home 50 percent of ticket sales. That’s 
a change from the current system, which permits charity raffles only if 90 percent of the 
proceeds go to the cause.

PEDESTRIAN COSTS

AB 40 ensures pedestrians and cyclists won’t have to pay tolls on Bay Area bridges like the 
Golden Gate. While no such tolls yet exist, lawmakers were responding to a proposal to raise 
money with a Golden Gate Bridge fee.

BACK WAGES

If an employee doesn’t get paid what they are owed, SB 588 allows the California Labor 
Commissioner to slap a lien on the boss’s property to try and recoup the value of the unpaid 
wages. This was a slimmed-down version of a prior, unsuccessful bill that was pushed by 
organized labor but repudiated by business interests – the key difference being that the 
commissioner, not workers, files the liens.

FRANCHISES

Another bill whose earlier labor-backed, business-opposed version was softened in the name 
of compromise, AB 525 modifies the relationships between individual franchise business 
owners and the larger parent company by changing the rules for when the parent company 
can terminate or refuse to renew a franchise agreement and how the franchise owner can sell 
or transfer the store.

TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES

The steady drip of new regulations on companies like Uber and Lyft continued with AB 1422, 
which requires such businesses to give the California Department of Motor Vehicles access to 
driver records by participating in the agency’s pull notice program.

AIR REGULATIONS

After a sweeping climate bill spurred objections from lawmakers about the clout of the 
unelected California Air Resources Board, AB 1288 offered a concession by creating two new 
spots on the regulator’s board, to be appointed by the Legislature.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/
article51702105.html#storylink=cpy

DMV REMINDS MOTORISTS OF NEW 2016 LAWS

Sacramento - With the New Year just around the corner, the California Department of Motor Vehicles 
(DMV) wants to inform the public of several new laws or changes to existing law that, unless otherwise 
noted, take effect on January 1, 2016. The following are summaries of some transportation-related laws 
coming into effect. 

Driving Under the Influence (SB 61, Hill): This law extends the existing Ignition Interlock Device (IID) 
pilot project to July 1, 2017 for, Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare counties. The IID pilot 
project requires a person convicted of a DUI to install an IID for five months upon a first offense, 12 
months for a second offense, 24 months for a third offense, and 36 months for a fourth or subsequent 
offense. The project was originally set to end on January 1, 2016.

Traffic Amnesty (SB 405, Hertzberg): Among other things, this law amends the criteria for a person to 
be eligible for the traffic citation amnesty program. The traffic amnesty program was approved through 
the 2015/16 Budget Act. A person is eligible for the traffic amnesty program if he or she has not made 
any payments after September 30, 2015, to a collection program for fines or bail already due. The law 
also indicates that payment of bail, fines, penalties, fees, or a civil assessment is not required in order for 
the court to remove the civil assessment of up to $300 against any defendant who fails, after notice and 
without good cause, to appear in court.

Earbuds or Headsets (SB 491, Transportation Committee): This law, among other things, makes it 
unlawful to wear a headset covering, earplugs in, or earphones covering, resting on, or inserted in, both 
ears, while operating a motor vehicle or a bicycle. This prohibition does not apply to persons operating 
authorized emergency vehicles, construction equipment and refuse or waste equipment while wearing a 
headset or safety earplugs. 

Pedal-Powered Vehicles (SB 530, Pan): This law expands the definition of pedicab to include a four-wheeled 
device that is pedal-powered, has a seating capacity for eight or more passengers, cannot travel in excess 
of 15 miles per hour, and is being used for transporting passengers for hire. This law sets requirements 
related to local authorization, operator qualifications and training, financial responsibility, accident 
reporting, safety equipment, and inspections. The law establishes rules and standards for pedicabs that 
allow passengers to consume alcohol on board, if authorized by local ordinance or resolution

Consumer Protection - Starter Interrupt Warning (AB 265, Holden): This law requires a “buy-here-
pay-here” dealer to make certain disclosures and notices to a vehicle buyer when a vehicle is sold with 
tracking and starter interrupt technology installed. This law also requires advance warning be given to 
the purchaser prior to engagement of the starter interrupt technology, if the buyer fails to make timely 
vehicle payments. A “buy-here-pay-here” dealer is defined as a used car dealer that assigns less than 90 
percent of their conditional sales and lease contracts to third party lenders; and therefore provide direct 
financing to car buyers.

Electrically Motorized Skateboards (AB 604, Olsen): This law defines “electrically motorized board,” 
and restricts their operation on public facilities, requires boards to be equipped with safety equipment, 
and authorizes cities and counties to regulate their use. It also makes it a crime to operate an electrically 
motorized board while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In addition, the law limits the board’s 
operation to individuals 16 years or older, requires operators to wear a bicycle helmet, wear safety 
equipment to increase visibility at night, and limits their operation to roads with a speed limit of 35 miles 
per hour or less. A conviction for violating this law is punishable by a fine of up $250. 

Electric Bicycles (AB 1096, Chiu): This law adds an entirely new definition of an electric bicycle to the 
California Vehicle Code. An electric bicycle is defined as a bicycle with fully operable pedals and an 
electric motor of less than 750 watts. The law creates three classes of electric bicycles. Manufacturers will 
also need to certify the electric bicycles comply with specified requirements. Electric bicycle riders will 
be able to use roads similar to other bicycle riders, while providing a measure of local control if safety 
concerns arise on specific paths or public trails.

Transportation Network Companies (AB 1422, Cooper): This new law requires a transportation network 
company (TNC) to participate in the DMV’s Employer Pull Notice (EPN) Program. TNCs provide 
prearranged transportation services for compensation using an online-enabled application or platform, 
to connect drivers using their personal vehicles with passengers. The program will provide each TNC 
with a report showing a driver’s current public record, as recorded by the department, and immediate 
notifications of moving violations, accidents, driver license suspensions, revocations, and other actions 
taken against the driving privilege. The DMV’s EPN program provides employers and regulatory agencies 
with a means of promoting driver safety through the ongoing review of driver records. 

California New Motor Voter Program (AB 1461, Gonzalez): creates an automatic voter registration 
process for qualified individuals who apply for a driver license or identification card, or submit a change 
of address to the DMV. The law will require that DMV implement the New Motor Voter Act no later than 
one year after the Secretary of State certifies all of the following: the state has a statewide voter registration 
database that complies with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
Section 20901 et seq.), the Legislature, has appropriated the funds necessary for the Secretary of State 
and DMV to implement and maintain the program, and the Secretary of State has adopted regulations 
to implement the law.

California Residency Requirement (AB 1465, Gordon): This law will require an applicant for an original 
driver license or identification card to provide proof of California state residency, starting July 1, 2016 
and it will bring DMV into compliance with a federal law requirement. The DMV will need to adopt 
regulations relating to the procedures for verifying that the applicant is a California resident. 

For complete information on chaptered bills enacted in 2015, please refer to the California Legislative 
Counsel website http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com