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Lawmakers Hope California's New Social Policies Set The Bar For Other States

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California's legislative season is ending with the state adopting some of the country's most aggressive social policies. Lawmakers hope that sets the bar for other states to do the same.

The new laws include requiring schoolchildren to be vaccinated, granting terminally ill people the right to take life-ending medications and mandating equal pay for women.

The sweeping range of major policies reflects lawmakers' desire to set a national trend on progressive social and environmental issues while sidestepping more thorny economic matters.

Interest groups seeking national influence see the most populous state as the brass ring for setting policies and testing whether they can withstand rigorous challenges.

Analysts say lawmakers in other states will be particularly interested in what lies ahead for California's vaccine bill and its right-to-die and equal pay laws.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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