750 Manifold New State Laws Are Now in Effect

• 14 Bills Were Sponsored by Pavley

BY BILL KOENEKER

The state legislature approved 750 laws that, for the most part, went into effect this week on Jan. 1, 2012.

State Senator Fran Pavley had 14 bills she authored take effect on the first of this year.

Pavley’s Senate Bill 61, sponsored by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office, is a wiretap extension, a law that ensures the continuation of the state’s wiretap program, which includes both telephonic and electronic technology, to Jan. 2015.

Her other laws deal with rent equity on private recreation piers constructed on state lands. It requires the State Lands Commission to charge appropriate and fair rents for all private recreational piers built over state land.

SB 381 deals with inter-district school transfers, a law which ensures that California students continue to be allowed to attend school in the district where a parent or guardian is employed, rather than where the student resides.

SB 179 ensures that sex offenders identified as sexually violent predators serve their court-ordered parole after their release from state hospitals. It corrects a previous glitch in the law, according to Pavley’s office.

Her other bills address domestic violence prevention, medical exams for juvenile offenders, energy conservation projects and air pollution options.

Some of the other laws impacting Californians include higher health standards for tattoo parlors and requiring school districts to enact formal plans for bullying. The schools have until July 1, 2012 to comply.

AB 0090 requires higher penalties for the human trafficking of minors.

A new law will prohibit purchasing alcoholic beverages from a self-service check out stand.

Another new law will make it illegal to openly carry an unloaded handgun. Concealed weapons with a permit will still be allowed.