The Western Electrical Contractors Association, a trade group, raised concern that the measure could increase energy costs, reduce competition in the energy market and discriminate against otherwise qualified contractors. State Sen. Brian Dahle, a Republican who is running against Newsom for governor, said the bill would set an arbitrary goal that could drive up rates and contribute to the states high cost of living. For example, the bill would generally prohibit companies from collecting, selling, sharing, or keeping kids personal information other than to provide the service that the kid is actively interacting with. More than half of Californias farmworkers are undocumented, and they often live on their employers land. The plant is currently scheduled to shut down in 2025. Carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, exacerbating severe weather events and causing global changes in temperature and precipitation. At least 140 organizations and more than 400 individuals registered their opposition to the bill because they say it sets up a system of coerced, involuntary outpatient civil commitment that deprives people with mental health disabilities of the right to make self-determined decisions about their own lives. Instead of building up the critical housing and mental health infrastructure people need, the costly new court process will simply re-traumatize people struggling with mental illness, they say. Those reports must include, among other findings, data indicating the number of parolees who are experiencing homelessness, and the number of those parolees experiencing homelessness who have previously been identified as having serious mental health needs, according to the text of the law. Passed in late September 2021, the new law would allow prosecutors to determine whether an employer could be charged with a misdemeanor or felony for intentionally committing theft of wages, benefits, tips or other compensation: More than $950 for one employee and more than $2,350 for two or more . He was sentenced to life in prison. Investor-owned utilities represented by the California Water Association, such as California Water Service, also support it; the largest already offer rate assistance programs of their own. GOVERNORS CALL Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 28, after reaching agreement with the United Farm Workers and California Labor Federation on clarifying language to be passed by the Legislature next year to address his concerns on implementation and voter integrity. Faculty unions, associations and the academic senate, plus Mt. On Jan. 1, the minimum wage in California will increase to $15.50 an hour. The Governor signed nearly every substantial employment law related bill placed on his desk. SB 846, authored by Republican Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham of San Luis Obispo and Democratic state Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa, would keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open until 2030 and give its operator, Pacific Gas & Electric, a $1.4 billion loan to do so. Understanding the prison-to-streets problem. AB 2147, The Freedom to Walk Act, would allow law enforcement officers to stop a pedestrian for jaywalking only when a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision. The Legislature passed, but Newsom vetoed, a similar bill last year that would have repealed the states jaywalking laws and prohibited fines until Jan. 1, 2029. Environmental justice advocates supported the bill, including bill sponsor Community Water Center, a safe drinking water advocacy group. Hundreds of new laws were passed by the State Assembly and signed by Gov. So far the states investments in solar and wind have lagged behind its goals. It also allows for housing on that land, and exempts such projects from local approval processes and the California Environmental Quality Act. The bill is an effort to ease the path toward collective bargaining and potentially higher wages for the 400,000-member California agricultural workforce. In November, California voters approved Prop. The legislation was vigorously opposed by the oil and gas industry, refiners and drilling specialists. We think 50 cents helps working people in an inflationary economy to at least keep up. AB 215 by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) Planning and Zoning Law: housing element: violations. We need to start implementing some things that work so that all students in California can be successful in having very strong academic foundations instead of taking a child and disciplining them and kicking them out of their learning environment either temporarily or permanently, she said. SB 352 by Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) The military: sexual harassment. Stacked on top of those protections are enhanced safeguards for medical records. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters. The current law already requires 100% of retail electricity to be fueled by renewables such as wind and solar by 2045. Supporters of the bill say if each Californian opted to be composted after death, the carbon saved would be enough to power 225,000 homes for a year. One group was told they were from a country song, the other was told they were from rap. SB 905: Environmental justice groups are opposed, saying carbon capture, use and storage technology is unproven. But now, the law could be put on hold. US Congress House Bill 1667: Mental health for health care providers. California has struggled for years to keep up with the very real and visible issue of increasing numbers of seriously mentally ill people living on the street. Im proud to sign this legislation on Labor Day when we pay tribute to the workers who keep our state running as we build a stronger, more inclusive economy for all Californians.. SB 107 would protect from prosecution patients who travel to California for what supporters call gender-affirming care and doctors who provide that care. They say the state could develop targets based on technologies that are not accessible for most farmers and drive small farms out of business. It aims to make water more affordable before Californians are in crisis. Gavin Newsom proposed in mid-August. Since then, the California Department of Parks and Recreation has amended the property deed, removing restrictions, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to accept the amended property deed, officially allowing the transfer of the property to the Bruce Family. Over time research chipped away at that logic: Students with high school grades who enrolled directly into transfer-level math and English courses were likelier to pass the courses in a year than if they took a remedial class first. It has been this way for almost 100 years. New Laws Taking Effect Next Year and Why They Matter Published: Dec 12, 2022 SACRAMENTO - This year, the California Legislature passed and Governor Gavin Newsom signed historic measures to fight climate change, protect women's right to choose, support small businesses, pay equity and more. CARE Court is a proposal put forth by Gov. Residents of the Golden . In October 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom temporarily waived the California law requiring senior drivers to renew their licenses at a DMV field office and signed AB 174 in September 2021 to allow online or by mail renewals through the end of 2022. A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has systematically violated the due process rights of inmates, and continues to ignore a 2015 settlement between the state and two Pelican Bay State Prison inmates held in solitary confinement for decades based on their perceived gang affiliations. The bill by Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles would require judges to balance the value of the evidence with the undue prejudice and racial bias possible when that evidence is presented to a jury. AB 257 creates a state-run council to set labor standards across the fast food sector, including on wages, safety and other workplace conditions. Gov. In addition, all state agencies must source their energy from 100% renewable sources by 2035, ten years sooner than the current law requires. The people operating prisons and the Security Housing Units within them. The law, authored by Democratic Assembly member Dr. Akilah Weber, is an effort to disrupt the so-called school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to the disproportionate and increased likelihood of students of color particularly Black students being disciplined in school via suspension or police to end up incarcerated as adults. The bill also prohibits cities from requiring bicycle licenses. Assembly Bill 89 would require all community colleges in California to create a universal policing curriculum, and it would raise the minimum age for new officers from 18 to 21. The Steinberg Institute and The Kennedy Forum, co-sponsors of the bill, point to a rise in mental health needs, which has been further aggravated by the pandemic. According to a survey by The Trevor Project, affirming gender identity among transgender and nonbinary youth is consistently associated with lower rates of attempted suicide. The report recommended the district utilize restorative justice as a suspension alternative, to build communities and restore relationships between all affected parties after an incident has occurred.. Eleni Kounalakis, various think tanks and a few individual community colleges. Restorative justice practices focus on mediation and community-building, asking students to take responsibility for harm theyve caused. Please contact CalMatters with any commentary questions: commentary@calmatters.org. Business groups say Californias labor laws already are onerous, and new regulations would raise costs at a time of record inflation and threaten a business model that has allowed many minority entrepreneurs to advance. AB 1757, authored by Democratic Assemblymembers Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens and Robert Rivas of Salinas, would require the state to set targets for removing planet-warming carbon from the atmosphere with nature-based methods, such as planting trees, restoring wetlands and scaling up public landscaping and urban forestry projects. RELATED: California's minimum wage. Gavin Newsom pushed legislators in mid-August to help meet the states carbon-neutral goals. New California laws 2022 taking effect on July 1 include new requirements for bars, crack down on ghost guns and later school start times. During 2022 just under 1,000 laws were approved in California and are set to start impacting the lives of state residents across a wide variety of topics. Prop 12: The "Bacon" Law. The two centerpiece bills of the Future of Abortion Councils package SB 1142 and AB 2134 were guaranteed $60 million in the June budget, but legislators were left to hash out how that money would be spent. The Affordable Housing and High Road Jobs Act identifies areas zoned for parking, retail or office buildings where land could be used for housing. In a last-minute amendment, lawmakers also snuck in protections for medical records related to gender-affirming health care. The Sheriffs' Association and Georgia Police Chiefs talked in favor of the legislation. Though the state is responsible for less than 1% of greenhouse gases emitted globally, it has the fifth largest economy and helps drive global policy changes. It applies to a much wider swath of land and doesnt cap rents, but developers must use at least some union labor on every project. After calling housing affordability the original sin of California, Newsom said that these housing bills would be different. AB 1405 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) Debt settlement practices. Hopefully this will increase the use of bikes and make it safer for folks on the road.. Senate Bill 1137 would prohibit new oil and gas wells or extensive retrofitting of existing operations within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes and hospitals. My husband called and Sarah gave him numerous excuses to not help him. California lawmakers approved SB 222 by state Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat from Napa, which offers state assistance to low income residents who struggle to pay for drinking water and sewage. Advocates on both sides of the bill have for years called for reform of the licensing system. Senate Bill 846 facilitates the actions necessary to keep the option of (Diablo Canyon) as a statewide reliability asset beyond the current 2024-2025 retirement dates of the plants two units.. On November 3, 2022, the PA legislature passed Act 122 of 2022, amending the reporting requirement for businesses registered in the state. Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? It also protects someone who has knowledge of an abortion from disclosing the identity of the person who got the abortion. He said housing discrimination against former inmates is rampant throughout our state and pushes many to the streets. Climate change is causing unprecedented stress on Californias energy system and I appreciate the Legislatures action to maintain energy reliability as the State accelerates the transition to clean energy, he said in a signing statement. Weber, a physician, said implementing restorative justice practices in schools is a manner of focusing on social determinants of health. He says that Newsom and state agencies have the power to keep protections in place, regardless. They also argue that access to this care lowers suicide rates among transgender youth. But just after the bill was signed into law in September, a referendum effort fueled by oil and gas companies was launched to undo it. The Department of Finance certified in July that a 7.9% year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index would require the minimum wage to increase to $15.50 in 2023 for small and large businesses. More immediately, without this bill the current amount of benefits is set to expire and would return to 55% of a workers wages in January. AB 1003 by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) Wage theft: grand theft. Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 30, the last day to act. In a veto message, he said that lowering costs and making sure that Californians have access to safe and affordable drinking water is a top priority, but said that there is no sustainable, ongoing funding identified.. Its also labors foothold toward bargaining power for a low-wage workforce that has been difficult to unionize because of widespread franchise ownership. Its also backed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the former head of monetization at Facebook. Hundreds of new laws are going into effect in 2022, from requiring ethnic studies to graduate, to cracking down on illegal street racing, and allowing restaurants to continue selling to-go. AB 245 by Assembymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) Educational equity: student records: name and gender changes. As a father of four, Im familiar with the real issues our children are experiencing online, he said in a statement, thanking the bills sponsors and the tech industry for pushing these protections and putting the wellbeing of our kids first.. If AB 2273 is signed into law, businesses that provide online services or products likely to be accessed by kids under 18 would have to provide greater privacy protections by default starting in 2024. Equity groups who originally pushed for higher affordability requirements in both bills had to settle for less, while developers worry the labor and affordability standards will be too high to meet. If the answer is no, they then do not get paroled, Martin explained. Californians have been struggling to pay their water bills statewide, and it reached a boiling point during the pandemic. This is a big moment as we begin to take responsibility, he said at a press conference in San Francisco. SB 552 by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) Drought planning: small water suppliers: nontransient noncommunity water systems. CNN/Adobe Stock. They also say the bill delays pipelines needed to transport carbon to where it can be injected and sequestered permanently underground. It also bans California from complying with out-of-state subpoenas seeking medical information related to gender-affirming care. No longer will there be a lack of incentive for workers to join the construction workforce. While larger companies hit the $15 per hour minimum wage in January 2022, smaller businesses had an extra year to meet the requirement. Garcia said the state needs more environmentally friendly burial options, since traditional methods put chemicals into the ground, or release carbon into the atmosphere. Newsom signed the bill into law Sept. 18. He said the change improves upon the existing 3-foot law when passing a biker. This new law expands to all consumer products sold in California and enacts penalties of up to $2500 per violation. Other workers also would get a boost, receiving 70% instead of 60% of their wages. Cremating one corpse can release almost 600 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The state Capitol in Sacramento on July 6, 2022. That office will likely conclude their review of the submitted signatures sometime in January. Democratic Assemblymembers Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of Orinda, Mia Bonta of Oakland and Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens inserted an amendment into AB 1242 preventing California-based tech companies from disclosing user information to out-of-state law enforcement agencies seeking to prosecute someone for obtaining or providing an abortion. Urban Footprints analysis estimates that 108,000 acres of land would be newly open for home construction, with the potential for between 1.5 and 2.5 million homes, 200,000 to 300,000 of which would not require a government subsidy. Senate Bill 903 authored by now-retired Senator Bob Hertzberg attempts to measure this prison-to-streets pipeline. Protect your nonprofit, nonpartisan state news. Your regular monthly contribution supports JPR's local journalism and all our music and cultural programming. The contentious measure mirrors draft legislation Newsom proposed on Aug. 12, with a few key differences: Newsom wanted to extend the life of the plant for ten years, which received widespread opposition from legislators. Nearly 650,000 residential and 46,000 business accounts owed more than $315 million in unpaid water and wastewater bills by September 2021. SEIU, the states largest union, says the restaurant coalitions signature-gathering effort was purposely misleading to voters and says it has video to prove it, which the LA Times reviewed. Assembly Bill 2282, which takes effect on the first of the year, increases penalties for people who use hateful symbols as part of hate crimes swastikas, nooses, desecrated crosses and expands restricted locations to include K-12 schools and colleges. 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