Senate Bills 627 and 805 were among the most controversial to pass in the final days of this year’s legislative session.
They would ban local, out-of-state and federal law enforcement officers from wearing face coverings, as well as require officers to be readily identifiable, respectively.
Ban plastic glitter: AB 823 would enforce a first-in-the-nation ban on the sale of personal care products that contain plastic glitter or plastic microbeads.
CalMatters events: Join us Sept. 24 in Sacramento for a special event celebrating CalMatters’ 10th anniversary and Dan Walters’ 50th year covering California politics.
But a bill that aims to incentivize more farmers to install solar panels has farmers split, writes CalMatters’ Rachel Becker.
The California Legislature on Thursday approved two bills that aim to require law enforcement officials to reveal their identities, following a summer in which masked federal agents detained immigrants in Los Angeles.
Senate Bills 627 and 805, which were passed in the last days of this year’s legislative session, were two of the most contentious. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials would all be required to be easily identifiable and prohibited from donning face coverings.
State Sen. As we move through this terrible period of mass deportations and a Supreme Court that permits this authoritarian regime to do whatever the hell it wants to do, including outright racial profiling of Latino people, California should take the lead and end the secret police, said Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco and the primary author of SB 627. “.”.
Republicans opposed the measures, which passed along party lines. Additionally, police unions are against the proposed mask ban.
Republican Sen. In a statement, Huntington Beach resident Tony Strickland said: “This is a rash anti-law enforcement proposal that jeopardizes the safety of the men and women who courageously defend our communities and puts law enforcement officers and their families at serious risk. “.”.
To give final votes to some last-minute agreements they made this week, lawmakers are expected to continue working through Saturday, even though today should be the last day of the session. Passengers will go to the governor’s office. Those who don’t reach Gavin Newsom’s desk for his signature or veto are out for the year.
The following other suggestions are pending Newsom’s decision.
Control companion bots: SB 243 would implement stricter guidelines for AI-powered online chatbots to reduce the risks they pose to minors.
The amount that auto dealers can charge to process documents would be increased from $85 to $260 under SB 791.
The minimum wage for incarcerated firefighters fighting active wildfires would be raised to $7.25 per hour under AB 247.
Protections for abortion pills: AB 260 would help shield California clinics, physicians, and pharmacies from fines for prescribing the abortion pill mifepristone to patients from outside the state and removing patient and provider names from prescriptions for abortion drugs.
Kill Mute Swans: Hunters and landowners would find it simpler to eliminate the invasive species if AB 764 were passed.
The sale of personal care products that contain plastic glitter or plastic microbeads would be prohibited for the first time in the country under AB 823.
Save the bees: AB 1042 would establish a managed honey bee health program that would award grants to farmers, beekeepers, and other stakeholders for research and projects that would help the population that is in trouble.
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Other Stories You Should Know.
Behind the scenes, Google is in charge.
Google has spent millions of dollars to influence the state government, making it one of the biggest spenders on lobbying in California last year. However, its role in some proposals isn’t always obvious, highlighting the tech giant’s covert methods of attempting to influence laws, according to Khari Johnson and Yue Stella Yu of CalMatters.
In order to weaken a proposed California regulation, it quietly planned a campaign. It was so covert that lawmakers were unaware of the company’s involvement until CalMatters alerted them.
The business started using email lists to contact small businesses in April, asking them to sign a petition against a bill that would force browsers to provide users with an option to automatically prevent websites from sharing their personal information with outside parties.
However, it appeared that the “Connected Commerce Council,” which Google funds, was the source of this outreach initiative rather than Google itself. Additionally, Google never publicly stated its opinion on the matter.
Despite the fact that Google’s practices are legal, some advocates who oppose the power of big tech are alarmed.
“No one wants to go into a surveillance marketplace every time they use the internet,” said Brandon Forester, an organizer for the nonprofit MediaJustice. The fact that their desired actions to realize their infinite growth model are detrimental to the general public is one of the reasons they must engage in shadow lobbying. “”.
Find out more by reading this.
More solar, less food.
Farmers and ranchers confronted with arid, arid land in parts of the San Joaquin Valley that hardly ever receive enough water to produce food have the chance to produce a new crop: solar energy. However, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports that farmers are divided over a bill that would encourage more farmers to install solar panels.
As long as they continue to farm on their land, farmers can enter into agreements with local governments that lower their property tax payments under the Williamson Act, a law that has been in effect for 60 years. There are significant penalties for terminating the contract before its expiration date.
Although their property tax would still go up, if AB 1156 is approved, farmers who use their land to capture solar energy would be able to suspend contracts and avoid fees. Given that hundreds of thousands of acres are needed to generate solar power, the bill would assist the state in meeting its clean energy targets.
Some farmers say the bill hurts farming areas and erodes the local economies that support the agriculture sector, while others applaud a different use for their depleted land.
Click here to read more.
California Voices.
Dan Walters, columnist for CalMatters: More than a year has passed since California passed legislation raising the minimum wage for workers in the fast food industry, but it’s still unclear how the law has affected the workers and the industry as a whole.
Stephen Routh, a professor of political science at California State University Stanislaus, writes that anti-masking laws for local police create tensions between holding officers responsible for their actions and allowing them sufficient latitude to make tactical choices.
There are other worthwhile things to do.
The Los Angeles Times reports that California is taking action to close an overdose prevention loophole that discourages students from seeking emergency assistance.
A controversial California bill to stop antisemitism in schools is running against the clock in the legislature // KQED.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Forest Service has lifted a ban that had been in place for decades and permitted wildfire firefighters to wear N95 masks.
San Francisco Chronicle: The Trump administration wants to revoke a rule that prioritizes conservation on public lands throughout California and the country.
Many California colleges will be impacted as the Trump administration eliminates grant funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions // EdSource.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, California Forever’s most recent proposal for Solano County calls for a “drone ship” factory along the shore.
San Francisco Chronicle: Trump dismisses another immigration court judge, affecting asylum seekers’ chances.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the city of Los Angeles is considering establishing its own organization to manage homeless housing and services.
According to one Republican lawmaker, Orange County might become a new state // The Orange County Register.
