SACRAMENTO— California’s legislative session ended on September 1, but the intense lobbying surrounding some of the most high-profile and controversial bills is far from over.
That’s because Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the hundreds of bills sent to him by the state Legislature, and you better believe interest groups are going to continue making their case to him for the next month.
The session’s frenzied final moments, which in recent years have seen everything from angry protesters throwing menstrual blood on lawmakers to legislators running out of time to vote on key bills, ended on September 1, lawmakers have yet to determine the fate of many contentious proposals, including a bill to strengthen California’s concealed carry weapon law and another to allow youth 15 and older to get vaccinated without parental consent and another to allow legislative staff to unionize.
Here’s a look at what some of the noteworthy bills lawmakers approved during marathon floor sessions would do:
- Criminal justice: Restrict the use of solitary confinement in jails, prisons and private immigration detention facilities; permit state medical regulators to discipline doctors for spreading “misinformation or disinformation” related to COVID-19; prevent women from being held criminally or civilly liable for their pregnancy outcomes.
Tech: Significantly expand online privacy protections for children under 18; force social media companies to be more transparent about their terms of service.
Education: Mandate kindergarten for California children; allow higher school board salaries in Los Angeles Unified School District. - Water: One proposal would create a first-in-the-nation program to help low-income Californians pay their water and sewage bills, though the state has yet to allocate any money for the effort, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports. Another bill would offer universal basic income to farmworkers who can’t work due to drought.
- Equity: Require companies to post salary ranges on all job listings and force companies with more than 100 employees to reveal median gender and racial pay gaps; block companies from charging different prices for similar products based solely on the gender to which they’re marketed; prevent companies from firing employees who use cannabis when they aren’t at work.
- And then, as a category unto itself, human composting: After two failed attempts in 2020 and 2021, a bill to legalize human composting as an after-death option made a comeback. As CalMatters political reporter Sameea Kamal notes, the bill would go into effect in 2027, establish licensing and regulation processes and require the state public health department to regulate the relevant facilities to prevent the spread of disease.
Here are some of the interesting and consequential bills that we are tracking:
Kids’ privacy online
By Grace Gedye
WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO
If AB 2273 is signed into law, businesses that provide online services or products likely to be accessed by kids under 18 would have to provide greater privacy protections by default starting in 2024. For example, the bill would generally prohibit companies from collecting, selling, sharing, or keeping kids’ personal information other than to provide the service that the kid is actively interacting with. It was co-introduced by a bipartisan group of Assemblymembers: Democrats Buffy Wicks from Oakland and Cottie Petrie-Norris from Costa Mesa and Republican Jordan Cunningham from San Luis Obispo. The state attorney general could bring civil lawsuits to enforce the measure.
WHO SUPPORTS IT
A long list of consumer, tech, and children advocacy groups who argue technology is harming kids, and say a similar law has already spurred positive changes in the United Kingdom. The bill was sponsored by Common Sense media, a non-profit that reviews entertainment and technology for families and schools, and 5Rights Foundation, a UK non-profit whose founder led the charge on a similar law now in place in the UK. It’s also backed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the former head of monetization at Facebook.
WHO IS OPPOSED
Trade groups for businesses and tech companies, including California Chamber of Commerce, and TechNet, which counts among its members Google, Airbnb, Meta (formerly known as Facebook), Snap, and other major tech companies. They say the bill is overly broad, and that setting privacy regulations state-by-state could create confusion for businesses.
WHY IT MATTERS
It would be a first-in-the-nation law requiring broad privacy protections online for children under 18, and would represent yet another step California has taken to lead privacy regulation.
Setbacks for oil and gas wells
By Julie Cart
WHAT THE BILL WOULD DO
Senate Bill 1137 would prohibit new oil and gas wells or extensive retrofitting of existing operations within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes and hospitals. Carried by Democrats Lena A. Gonzalez of Long Beach and Monique Limon of Santa Barbara, the bill also would require operators to take certain steps at the thousands of existing wells within that buffer zone. Included is a plan to monitor toxic leaks and emissions, and install alarm systems. In addition, new requirements would include limits on noise, light, dust and vapors.
WHO SUPPORTS IT
The governor threw his support behind the bill by including it in his package of legislation to combat climate change, joining health groups and environmental organizations representing the fenceline communities where many oil and gas facilities are sited.
WHO IS OPPOSED
The legislation was vigorously opposed by the oil and gas industry, refiners and drilling specialists. It also was labeled a “job killer” by the state Chamber of Commerce, a criticism that has been taken up by trade unions. Some oil industry groups suggest that the setback rules would increase importation of oil from countries that don’t have robust environmental regulations.
WHY IT MATTERS
Nearly 3 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an active or idle oil or gas well, mostly in Kern and Los Angeles counties. Scientific and medical analysis indicates that people living near wells are at higher risk of asthma, respiratory illness and some cancers. Many people living near the wells are low-income people of color, creating an environmental justice imbalance.
