This post has been updated.
Unless there’s an emergency, the work of lawmaking in Sacramento is done for the year. Gov. Jerry Brown last week signed a huge slate of bills into law, marking the unofficial end of the 2013-2014 legislative cycle.
San Diego’s legislators had 91 bills signed into law. Not surprisingly, given San Diego’s military population, a substantial number of them dealt with veterans and service members, although some lawmakers stuck to other themes as well. Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, for example, had several bills dealing with transgender issues. Assemblyman Brian Maienschein had the most bills signed into law — 22.
Here’s a tally of the bills written by San Diego state lawmakers that were signed into law over the two-year legislative session. One note: The summaries of the bills are very brief, but legislation is often very complex. Click on the links if you want a more thorough understanding of what’s in each one.
And remember: Lawmakers do more than write bills, so the raw number of bills someone passed tells us something – but not everything – about his or her tenure.
♦♦♦
Sen. Joel Anderson (R)
Bills signed into law: 4
Name change: SB 545 clarifies that victims of domestic violence are protected from having to publish in the newspaper their intent to change their name.
Impersonating a police officer: SB 702 raises the maximum misdemeanor fine for impersonating a police officer from $1,000 to $2,000.
Veterans buildings and memorials: SB 725 prevents cities from revoking the dedication of a veterans building or memorial.
State employment: SB 1240 requires that state employment applicants disclose whether they’ve ever entered into an agreement that would prohibit them from seeking state employment. The bill was sparked by case in which a state employee was dismissed from his job, appealed, and subsequently entered into a settlement in which he agreed to leave his job and promise not to apply for another state position.
♦♦♦
Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D)
Bills signed into law: 16
Elder care: AB 1523 requires all residential care facilities for the elderly to have liability insurance.
Gender identity: AB 1577 requires that death certificates reflect the deceased’s gender identity.
Justice: AB 1623 authorizes cities and counties to establish family justice centers to provide services to victims of domestic abuse or human trafficking.
Crime: AB 1837 establishes a grant program to provide counties with money to use “pay-for-success” contracts to reduce recidivism. These contracts rely on private investors partnering with government to achieve a measurable social goal. But government funding under these plans isn’t triggered until the private parties involved achieve pre-arranged outcomes.
Post-redevelopment: AB 1963 extends by one year the date for which the state Department of Finance must approve plans submitted by successor agencies to city redevelopment agencies.
Contract: AB 2149 exempts the counties of San Diego and Imperial from contracting law as it applies to a contract for a Regional Communications System.
Abortion: AB 154 authorizes nurses, midwives and physicians assistants to perform abortions using “aspiration” or vacuum suction techniques.
Military thrift: AB 163 Extends for 10 years the sales and use tax exemption on goods sold by thrift stores located at military installations.
School police: AB 226 authorizes school districts to establish a 3/12 workweek (12-hour-per-day, 80-hour-per-two-week) schedule for school police departments.
Paints: AB 425 requires the Department of Pesticide Regulation to determine the leach rate for cooper-based paints used on boats.
Infrastructure: AB 471 permits parts of old redevelopment districts to be included in infrastructure financing districts.
Culture: AB 482 moves the California Cultural and Historical Endowment from the California State Library to the Natural Resources Agency,
Housing: AB 637 authorizes funding from the Residential Development Loan Program for housing units of five or more.
Tax credits: AB 952 makes a variety of technical changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.
Horse racing: AB 1074 extends for one more year the life of an organization that markets fair horse racing.
Gender identity: AB 1121 Establishes administrative procedures for transgender people to request a new birth certificate.
♦♦♦
Sen. Marty Block (D)
Bills signed into law: 11
Restitution: SB 419 establishes, for defendants with restitution orders outstanding after county jail terms, restitution collection procedures.
University of California: SB 502 increases, from $100,000 to $640,000, the threshold for which the University of California may use streamlined bidding for construction projects.
Community colleges: SB 850 permits California community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees.
Elder care: SB 911 raises the educational requirements for employees at residential care facilities for the elderly.
Human trafficking: SB 939 permits the consolidation of human trafficking charges in separate counties into a single case.
Voting rights: SB 1063 requires juvenile detention facilities to identify juveniles who are eligible to vote and help them register.
Courts: SB 1222 permits a judge to say orally why a case is being dismissed, or to enter the reason in the minutes if requested by one of the parties.
Private property: SB 1295 extends from six months to 12 months the period for which a property owner may ask law enforcement to arrest a trespasser on private property without the owner being present.
Elder care: SB 1382 raises fees for residential care facilities for the elderly.
Beaches: SB 1395 allows local health officers to use certain federally approved testing procedures to find the level of enterococci bacteria at beaches.
Dentists: SB 1416 increases the fee for a dentist license to $525.
♦♦♦
Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R)
Bills signed into law: 8
Veterans: AB 258 requires that when the state asks whether a person is a veteran, in any capacity and on any form, the state must ask it with this question: “Have you ever served in the United States military?”
Drafting errors: AB 413 fixes technical mistakes in a statute related to foster care.
Hospitals: AB 498 requires that payments for uncompensated care to district hospitals be allocated from a federally funded pool of money.
Veterans board: AB 717 changes the makeup of the California Veterans Board.
Airport: AB 1058 makes several technical changes to the law governing San Diego International Airport.
Bonding: AB 1606 allows community college employees to use up to 30 days of leave to bond with a new child.
Veterans tuition: AB 13 requires the California State University and California Community College systems, and requests that the University of California system, adopt policies for veteran tuition rates that comply with the federal Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014.
Veterans Homes: AB 614 removes the requirement that Veterans Home residents pay the state Aid and Attendance benefits received from the federal government.
♦♦♦
Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D)
Bills signed into law: 8
Immigration: AB 1159 establishes certain obligations for people who offer services to immigrants.
Landscaping: AB 2104 allows residents to incorporate drought-tolerant plants and landscaping around their homes without drawing penalties from a homeowners association.
Lawyers: AB 1024 allows non-citizens to practice law in California.
Life insurance: AB 2347 says specific notices must be on the cover page of life insurance and annuities policies.
Sick days: AB 1522 requires employers to pay part-time employees for sick days.
Special elections: AB 1873 allows San Diego County to fill special election vacancies for Congress and the state Legislature by mail ballot until 2020.
Primary Care: AB 2051 makes it easier for affiliate primary care clinics to enroll into Medi-Cal and Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment.
Sexual harassment: AB 2053 adds instructions on abusive conduct to supervisors’ sexual harassment training.
♦♦♦
Sen. Ben Hueso (D)
Bills signed into law: 4
Pests: SB 1167 mandates that homeowners address conditions that lead to pest infestations, including killing the pests.
Commercial property: SB 1171 extends, to commercial property transactions, disclosure requirements mandated in residential property transactions.
Infrastructure: SB 1228 perpetuates the existence of the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund, which was created by Proposition 1B in 2006, for infrastructure improvements.
Hybrids: SB 1265 says that the Department of General Services must include hybrid vehicles within the state fleet’s minimum fuel economy standard.
♦♦♦
Assemblyman Brian Jones (R)
Bills signed into law: 5
Off-road vehicle dealers: AB 988 makes sellers of ATVs submit to new licensing requirements.
Child custody: AB 1843 allows the licensing entity of a child custody evaluator to receive confidential child custody evaluations.
Appeals: AB 1932 says that an appellate court needs to do more than say whether a judgment has been “affirmed” or “reversed.”
Respiratory care: AB 1972 mandates that an applicant for a respiratory care license pass a nationally registered respiratory therapist exam unless he or she has proof of passing a certified respiratory therapist exam before Jan. 1, 2015, and there’s no discipline against the applicant.
Attorneys fees: AB 2154 says that placing a case on an appeals court calendar shall not stay the awarding of attorney’s fees if the judgment appealed was under the Family Code.
♦♦♦
Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (R)
Bills signed into law: 22
Parole: AB 68 requires for medical parole hearings that the county of commitment and proposed county of release be noticed.
Consumer protection: AB 186 requires certain consumer protection boards to issue, to practitioners licensed in another state who are the spouses or domestic partners of active duty military personnel, a temporary license to practice in California.
Foster youth: AB 216 establishes that if a foster youth transfers to a new school after completing sophomore year, that he or she is exempt from the graduation requirements of the new school that exceed state standards, unless the school finds he or she can complete the requirements by the end of the fourth year in high school.
Youth athletics: AB 230 requires community youth athletic programs to provide written description of its criminal background check policies.
Coaching: AB 465 allows community youth athletic programs to request background checks of coaches.
Wildfires: AB 922 extends the disaster loss treatment for San Diego County losses as a result of May 2014 wildfires.
Physical therapy: AB 1000 gives patients direct access to physical therapy without a physician’s referral for 45 days or 12 visits.
Trusts: AB 1029 clarifies the characterization of principal and interest received by a trust.
Guardians: AB 1339 mandates that wards be notified, in advance, of the fees of their professional guardians and conservators.
Child performers: AB 1680 requires that the advertising for a child performer include the child’s performer service permit number.
Professional licenses: AB 1702 says that if an applicant for a professional license has satisfied the requirements of licensure while incarcerated and applies for a license after being released, that person shall not have the application delayed solely because of the incarceration.
Homelessness: AB 1733 requires the DMV to issue an ID card to anyone who can verify that he or she is homeless.
Prostitution: AB 1791 says that if someone solicits a minor for prostitution, the offense is punishable by a misdemeanor jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of $2,000.
Dogs: AB 1809 says that if someone brings a dog into California for resale, that person must get a health certificate for that dog from a licensed veterinarian.
Animals: AB 1810 allows a veterinarian to give an abandon animal to public animal control instead of euthanizing it.
Flu: AB 2069 mandates that the Department of Public Health post information on its website about the flu and the availability of flu vaccines.
Mental health: AB 2190 says that a person found to be incompetent to stand trial may be placed by a court into a mental health treatment facility.
Veterans: AB 2215 allows the relative or legal representative of a veteran to request that a county record the veteran’s military discharge.
Fines: AB 2236 revises an existing statue that allows the Department of Social Services to issue fines for serious injuries or death.
Debtors: AB 2317 affirms a debtor’s right of redemption.
Home sales: AB 2430 says that a “common interest development association” may charge a home seller a fee for documents.
Caretakers: AB 2632 says that the Department of Social Services cannot provide a criminal record clearance to people applying for caretaker jobs if they have an arrest for certain crimes.
♦♦♦
Assemblywoman Marie Waldron (R)
Bills signed into law: 5
Privacy: AB 2306 says that someone is liable for invasion of privacy if that person captures, in an offensive manner, the image or audio recording of another person engaged in a “familial activity.”
Traffic lights: AB 1447 says that money generated by the sale of greenhouse gas credits may go toward traffic light synchronization.
Computer crimes: AB 1649 says that crimes of unauthorized access to or damage of computers applies to government computers.
Water: AB 2446 says that the San Luis Reys Water District may levy standby assessments or availability charges.
Domestic violence: AB 1850 deems that a minor who witnessed an act of domestic violence suffered harm for the purposes of issuing a protective order.
♦♦♦
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D)
Bills signed into law: 11
Audit: AB 2009 permits a “voluntary managed audit program” for several tax-related laws.
State contracting: AB 2376 mandates the insurance policy for contractors under the Department of General Services master builders’ risk insurance program be specified in the request for bids on a state contracting project.
Elder abuse: AB 2379 says that people in “multidisciplinary teams” trained in the treatment of elder abuse include child welfare service personnel.
Kindergarten: AB 1719 mandates that the superintendent of public instruction evaluate implementation of part-day and full-day kindergarten in California.
Prisoners: AB 2243 mandates at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make public information about the voting rights of prisoners.
Civil rights: AB 2617 limits the waiver of civil rights statutes through contracts.
Carbon monoxide: AB 56 requires the State Fire Marshall to propose new standards for the installation of carbon monoxide devices in schools.
Voting rights: AB 149 requires county probation websites to link to information from the Secretary of State about the voting rights of inmates.
Small businesses: AB 173 streamlines the process for community colleges and the California State University system to award contracts to certified small businesses.
English as a second language: AB 899 aligns California’s Common Core education standards with the English Language Development Standards.
Port police officers: AB 979 requires that police officers who patrol ports on boat be trained in basic maritime operations.
♦♦♦
Sen. Mark Wyland (R)
Bills signed into law: 3
Therapists: SB 578 requires that certain therapists retain patient records for seven years.
Trainees: SB 1012 increases the number of hours a therapist or counselor trainee/intern may count toward their weekly supervision requirement, from five hours to six hours.
Armenian Genocide: SB 1380 asks the Instructional Quality Commission to consider adding the Armenian Genocide into academic content.
Correction: An earlier version of this post omitted AB 2104, written by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez.