SACRAMENTO >> Many hundreds of proposals on everything from bail reform to gender identity will likely be called up for a vote this week in the California Assembly and Senate — as lawmakers scramble to meet a Friday deadline to pass each bill out of its house of origin.
The authors of proposals to overhaul the bail system — Assembly Bill 42, by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, and Senate Bill 10 by Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys — expect both bills to be voted on in their respective houses this week.
Another closely watched bill that could have a floor vote this week is Senate Bill 562 by Sens. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego — which would replace private health insurance with a single, government plan that would include everyone living in the state.
Bills that pass will move to the other house. Those that don’t get a vote — or that fail — might surface again next year, the second of a two-year session, or be given a second chance.
Some of the many proposals likely to get a vote this week:
Nonbinary gender markers: Senate Bill 179, by Atkins and Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, which would make California the first in the nation to allow people to mark their gender as “nonbinary” on drivers licenses and other official documents, rather than “male” or “female.”
Ending tax breaks for bad behavior: Senate Bill 66, by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, would block companies from reaping tax benefits on court-ordered punitive damages they are forced to pay for misdeeds, such as a drug company not notifying customers about side-effects or an auto manufacturer hiding a dangerous defect that results in death. This would require a two-thirds vote, as it relates to the tax code.
Daylight Saving Time: Senate Bill 807, by San Jose Democrat Kansen Chu, calls for a statewide ballot measure aimed at repealing the Daylight Saving Time Act.
Cannabis sanctuary: Assembly Bill 1578, by Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, an attempt to protect California’s budding marijuana industry from federal intervention. It was modeled after Senate Leader Kevin de León’s Senate Bill 54, which aims to prevent local law enforcement agents from enforcing federal immigration law.
Uber tips: Assembly Bill 1099, by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, would require companies such as Uber that accept credit card payments to allow credit-card tips.
Some bills are exempt from Friday’s deadline, such as those that need a two-thirds vote. Such bills include various proposals for revamping California’s landmark cap-and-trade program for regulating climate-warming greenhouse gases and extending it past 2020, when it is set to expire.
Senate Bill 775, by Wieckowski, which would make major changes to the cap-and-trade program, still needs committee approval and cannot be voted on this week. The Assembly’s proposal, AB 378, by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia — which attempts to curb local air pollution as well as greenhouse gases — could be called up for a vote by Friday, though the timing was uncertain on Tuesday.
