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New year brings new laws |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 |
 Caltrans was giving drivers any early warning Tuesday that texting while driving is prohibited as of Jan. 1, with penalties of $20 for first offenders and $50 for each offense thereafter. It is one of the many new laws taking effect today in California. Photo by Mike Bodine
By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
1-1-2008
With the new year comes a plethora of new laws for California and as of today this means no more texting while driving or selling hallucinogenic Salvia to minors.
Students who bully other students in the real, or virtual, world can now face possible suspension, and California chefs can buy produce directly from a farmer. Litter-bugs, meanwhile, could be in for a surprise now that illegal-dumping enforcement officers can now carry batons.
Some of the laws are very specific, while some of them will likely affect a wide cross-section of Californians, such as traffic safety.
“The overall safety of the motoring public is our primary concern,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Not only will these new laws enhance a motorist’s safety, many of them are a step toward ridding the roadways of drunk drivers and the tragedy they cause.”
Below are the major changes to driving regulations and vehicle equipment, as well as a handful of the hundreds of new laws taking effect.
Transportation
• SB 28 – Makes it an infraction to write, send or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communications device, such as a cell phone, while driving a motor vehicle. Previously this was only illegal for individuals under 18 years of age, but now has been expanded to all drivers.
• AB 1165 – Prohibits a convicted DUI offender from operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .01 percent or greater while on probation for DUI. The law requires the driver to submit to a Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) test, a portable breath test to determine the presence of alcohol. If the driver refuses, or if the driver submits and has a BAC of .01 or greater, a citation will be issued, the driver’s license will be taken and driving privileges will be suspended. In addition, the vehicle will be impounded.
• SB 1190 – Reduces the BAC from .20 percent to .15 percent or more at the time of arrest to trigger a requirement for the court to give heightened consideration for the installation of an ignition interlock device (IID) for a first-time offender convicted of DUI of an alcoholic beverage.
• SB 1388 – Effective July 2009, this new law transfers authority for the administration of mandatory IID programs from the state courts to the Department of Motor Vehicles. This law also authorizes the DMV to require any driver convicted of driving with a suspended license due to a prior conviction for DUI to install an IID in any vehicle that the offender owns or operates.
• AB 2802 – Requires the court to order a person convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving to participate in a licensed DUI program for at least nine months, if that person has a prior conviction for alcohol-related reckless driving or DUI within ten years. Additionally, the court is required to revoke the person’s probation if they fail to enroll in, participate in, or complete a licensed DUI program.
• SB 1567 – Allows a portable GPS device to be mounted in a seven-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle, or in a five-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the driver’s side. These are the only two locations on a windshield where a GPS device can be mounted. The GPS device can only be used for navigational purposes while the motor vehicle is being operated, and it is required to be mounted outside of an airbag deployment zone.
• AB 2272 – Changes the definition of a motorcycle by deleting the weight limitation and deleting the separate definition for electrically powered motorcycles. The law will now allow fully enclosed, three-wheeled vehicles to have access to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes regardless of occupancy.
• SB 1720 – Makes it an infraction for anyone who forges, counterfeits, falsifies, passes or attempts to pass, acquire, possess, sell or offer for sale a genuine or counterfeit “Clean Air Sticker.”
• AB 190 – This new law, if approved by local authorities, allows veterans whose vehicles display plates honoring Pearl Harbor Survivors, Legion of Valor recipients, former American Prisoners of War, Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, or Purple Heart recipients to park their vehicles that weigh not more than 6,000 pounds gross weight, without charge, in any metered parking space.
• AB 2714 – Eases restrictions on cargo loads of straw or hay to allow individual pieces that do not pose a threat to life or property, to escape from bales of straw or hay that are being transported by a vehicle upon a highway, so long as those bales are loaded and secured according to federal regulations.
• SB 1509 – Provides an increased penalty for assault and battery crimes committed against Caltrans highway workers who are engaged in the performance of their duties.
Environmental
• AB 1493 – This is the first law in the country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for cars and light trucks built in 2009 or after. The bill was first approved in 2002, but the requirements become effective in 2009.
Building
• SB 1473 – Levies a surcharge on all types of building permits. Cities and counties will be required to collect a fee assessment of $4 per $100,000 in valuation. Fees will be submitted quarterly to the California Building Standards Commission. A new revolving fund in the State Treasury has been created for these moneys.
• The 2008 California Green Building Standards Code is designed to encourage the use of building concepts with a positive environmental impact. Sustainable construction practices include planning and design, energy efficiency, water efficiency and conservation as well as material conservation, resource efficiency and environmental air quality.
Health and Safety
• AB 259 – Prohibits the selling of the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum to minors.
• AB 2917 – Requires emergency medical technicians to undergo mandatory criminal background checks.
• SB 107 – Requires children under four feet tall to wear a life vest in a wave pool, and kids under 3 1/2 feet tall to by accompanied by an adult.
• AB 1894 – Requires health insurance companies to cover the cost of HIV testing regardless of whether the test is related to the patient’s diagnosis.
• AB 2724 – Requires a healthcare provider who makes a diagnosis of a terminal illness to provide patient with information regarding legal end-of-life options and counseling.
Consumer protection
• SB 220 – Requires bottled water companies in California to make water quality and water source information available on the label.
• SB 1371 – Prohibits auto insurance companies from “capping” or limiting reimbursements for paint and materials used in repairs.
Education
• AB 86 – Expands the definition of bullying to include cyberbullying and gives administration grounds for suspending students for bullying others.
Agriculture
• AB 2168 – Allows chefs to buy restaurant fare directly from farmers and allows farmers to sell products created from their produce, such as jam, at their farm stands.
Waste management
• AB 1846 – Exempts transporters of inedible kitchen grease who use the grease for personal use from the 75 percent of the $300 transporter fee.
• AB 2245 – Allows illegal-dumping enforcement officers to carry batons if the individual has completed an instruction course.
Miscellaneous
• AB 1245 – Allows beer manufacturers to give away promotional items worth up to $3.
• SB 1399 – Eliminates criminal prosecution in disputes between neighbors over trees blocking solar panels and protects not only those planted before the affected solar panels were installed, but any replacements for those planted before installation.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 25 April 2009 )
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