California New State Laws Go Into Effect

New California New State Laws go into effect for 2010

The New Year will begin with hundreds of new state laws governing how Californians live and do business.

Starting today restaurants will face strict limits on cooking with trans fats; paparazzi will pay more if they break the law to get celebrity photos; people wanting plastic surgery must get a physical first; dairy farmers are barred from cutting cows' tails; and tougher laws on mortgage fraud.

New laws include:

Air safety: Airports will be allowed to kill birds that pose a danger to aircraft without violating state fish and game laws.

Blueberries: California Blueberry Commission, to be funded by an industry fee of up to $0.025 per pound of berries sold.

Burial fees: State owned cemeteries to waive the fees for interment of the spouses and children of honorably discharged veterans if they determine the families cannot pay the costs.

Charter schools: Allows schools access to about $900 million in voter approved bond money for construction, A separate law gives district more incentive to approve them by cutting red tape.

College violence: Universities to obtain restraining orders on behalf of students against a person who has threatened them with violence.

Cow tails: Bans the dairy industry from the practice of shortening cows' tails unless necessary to protect the health of the animals.

Delta restoration: Creates a new Sacramento, San Joaqiuin Delta Conservancy to oversee restoration of the failing delta ecosystem. Sets goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring and enhancing the delta ecosystem.

Dog fights: Raises the maximum penalties against those convicted of being spectators at dogfights, subjecting them to as much as a year in jail and a $5000 fine.

Drunk driving:Judges can require that first time drunk driving offenders install a breath testing device on every vehicle they own and pass a test on it before the vehicle will start.

Education: Schools and students performance data to be used to judge the quality of instruction. The change will allow California to complete for federal Race to the Top education grants.

Fat in food: Requires restaurants to use oild, margarine and shortening with less than half a gram of trans fat per serving of regular foods. the standard will apply to deep fried bakery goods next year. Trans fats have been linked to heart disease.

Football stadium: Exempts a professional football stadium proposed in the City of Industry from state environmental laws. so it can proceed despite a lawsuit filed by opponents.

Fire prevention: Government officials to improve guidelines for protecting property from wildfires, including larger brush clearance zones and better access roads in regions vulnerable to such fires.

Fire safety: In response to evacuation problems during the 2008 wildfire that destroyed dozens of mobile homes in the San Fernando Valley, a new law will require owners of mobile home parks to adopt and post notice of an emergency preparedness plan.

Gangs: Tougher penalties, including a fine of up to $1000 and up to a year in jail, for gang members who return to school campuses within 72 hours of being asked to leave.

Gasoline: Increases the underground storage fee paid by gas retailers to help fund grants and loans to those who need to meet tank cleanup rules and install devices that capture more vapor from gas nozzles.

Gay marriage: Recognizes same sex marriages performed in other states before California voters banned gay marriage in 2008 by approving Proposition 8.

Hanging nooses: Makes it a misdemeanor to hang a noose, "knowing it to be a symbol representing a threat to life," in order to terrorize a person who lives, works or attends school at the property where the noose is hung. The law is in response to a series of incidents at California colleges.

Harvey Milk: Proclaims gay rights activist Harvey Milk's may 22 birthday as a day of recognition and encourages schools to consider commemorating his life.

High speed rail: Requires the state's High Speed Rail Authority to prepare, publish and adopt a business plan by Jan 1, 2012, and every two years thereafter, so the public knows how its money is being spent.

Hospital fee: Imposes a new fee on hospitals to make them eligible for $2 billion in federal funds. The funds are subsidies for Medi-Cal the state's health insurance program for the poor.

Human trafficking: Quadruples the fine, to $20,000 for those convicted of human trafficking crimes and allows law enforcement officiers to seize traffickersr' assets.

Inhalants: Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to sell or furnish products containing nitrous oxide to a minor.

Jail guards: Allows jail guards and custodial assistants to have the blood of people taken into custody tested for specified communicable diseases when exposed to the suspects bodily fluids.

Liquor ads: Waives rules prohibiting indoor alcohol advertisements in one club that sells the features products: Club Nokia, a downtown Los Angele's venue owned by billionaire Philip Anschutz.

mammogram safety: Requires facilities that operate mammogram machines to post any notices of "serious violations" they may receive in an area visible to patients.  Serious violations are those posing a significant threat to public health.

Mortgage crimes: Create a new offense, "mortgage fraud," punishable by up to a year in prison. Such crimes are defined as those in which someone makes "any misstatement, misrepresentation or omission during the mortgage lending process with the intention that it be relied on by a mortgage lender, borrower, or any other party to the mortgage lending process."

Office bets: Changes the penalty for participation in a non commercial or office "sports betting Pool" from a misdemeanor, punishable by fines up to $100, to an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $250.

Paparazzi penalties: Allows celebrities and others to sue up to $50,000 when someone takes and sells their pictures without permission while they are engaging in personal or familial activity, such as taking their children to school.

Plastic surgery: Enacts the Donda West law, named after the deceased mother of rapper Kanye West, that prohibits elective cosmetic surgery unless the patient is first cleared by a physical examination.

Political spouses: Prohibits political candidates from paying their spouses or domestive partners to work on their campaigns to enrich their own households.

Prostitution arrests: Allows local government agencies to impound vehicles used in the commission of prostitution related crimes.

Rental cars: Allows car rental companies to recover from customers an increase made last year in the vehicle license fee from 0.65% to 1.15%.

School books: Expand the use of digital textbook in public schools by allowing districts to use textbook money to buy electronic viewing devices.

School buses: Extends to school buses the $300 penalty already applicable to commercial vehicles that idle too long. Existing clean air regulations prohibit school buses from idling for more than five minutes within 100 feet of a school, but the fine has been $100.

School safety: Makes it a misdemeanor to possess a razor blade or box cutter on school grounds.

Talent agents: Prohibits talent representatives from charging advance fees.

Teen voting: Permits a California resident who is 17 to pre-register to vote.

Snake food: Requires pet stores to use specific, "humane" methods for killing rodents before they are used as food for another animal.

Toll roads: Allows toll road operators to use license plate reading technology to bill motorists who use theri road.

Used car sales: Bars car dealers from selling a used vehicle until action is taken to cover any previous loan or lease obligations held by a previous owner. Also boosts by $25 fee for dealers' state business licenses.

Vietnam veterans: Estableishes an annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day on March 30.

Water management: To better manage California's water supplies, creates a statewide monitoring program to track groundwater levels.

Water softeners: Allows local governments to ban residential water softeners if regulators find that salts discharged into municipal sewer lines pose a pollution problem