Hundreds Of Bills Introduced By California Lawmakers
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Friday was the deadline for California state lawmakers to introduce the hundreds of bills that they will consider this year. They have until Sept. 11 to send the measures to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature or veto.
Among the proposals:
-SB3 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would raise California's minimum wage to $11 in 2016 and $13 in 2017, then tie the minimum wage to inflation starting in 2019.
-SB5 by Sen. Andy Vidak, R-Hanford, and AB23 by Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, would exempt transportation fuels from the state's three-year-old cap-and-trade program that combats global warming. They say the program contributed to a recent increase in gasoline prices.
-SB32 by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, would expand on California's main climate change law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
-SB128 by Sens. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, and Bill Monning, D-Carmel, would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients.
-SB140 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would ban e-cigarette use in bars, workplaces and other public areas.
-SB142 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would expand California's trespassing laws to prohibit drones from flying onto private property.
-SB151 by Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-La Puente, would raise the legal age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21.
-SB178 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would require warrants for law enforcement to access digital information in smartphones and email accounts.
-SB185 by Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, would require the state's two major pension funds to divest from coal companies.
-SB227 by Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, would eliminate secret criminal grand jury proceedings in cases of officer-involved shootings.
-SB277 by Sens. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, and Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, would require parents to vaccinate all school children unless a child's health is in danger.
-SB350 by Sen. Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, and Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, calls for a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in cars and trucks, a 50 percent increase in energy efficiency in buildings, and a goal of 50 percent of state utilities' power coming from renewable energy, all by 2030.
-AB31 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, seeks to clarify residency requirements for elected officials after former Sen. Rod Wright and Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon were convicted of perjury and voter fraud for not living in their districts.
-AB67 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, would require employers to offer double pay for employees who work on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
-AB86 by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, would establish a state Department of Justice panel to review deadly law enforcement shootings while local prosecutors retain discretion to file criminal charges.
-AB159 by Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, would allow terminally ill patients to seek drugs without full regulatory approval when other treatment options have been exhausted.
-AB216 by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, would expand the state's ban on selling e-cigarettes to minors to include devices sold without nicotine cartridges.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
