CA AB 1216 Permits Pupil Expulsion for Hate Conduct

When originally introduced in 2013, Assembly member Nora Campos’ bill related to pupil discipline and bullying.  In the first amendments taken on this bill nearly one year later, the Assembly Committee on Education gutted and amended the content of the bill to address a different type of pupil discipline, relating to suspension and expulsion for hate violence.  There are two main elements to AB 148: (1) Existing law prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or recommended for expulsion unless the superintendent of the school district or principal of the school determines that the pupil has committed any of various specified acts. ... Read More >

CA AB 919 Entitles Qualified Itinerant Vendor Veterans to Re-payments

CA Assembly member Das Williams introduced Assembly Bill 919 originally in February of 2013 but nearly one year later, this bill was first amended in the Assembly on January 6, 2014. AB 919 would provide a procedure for a qualified veteran, who is a person who met specified requirements for being a qualified itinerant vendor to submit a claim for qualified repayments, as defined, with the State Board of Equalization, as provided. Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in ... Read More >

Transgender students may participate in sex-segregated school programs

Current California law already protects students from discrimination in education based on sex and gender identity, but many school districts do not understand and are not presently in compliance with their obligations to treat transgender students the same as all other students in the specific areas addressed in  CA AB 1266 of 2013 relating to sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions and use of facilities consistent with his or her gender identity. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco had developed policies relating to transgender and gender variant students in order to create and maintain a ... Read More >

Student social media cyberbullying banned even off campus

Under CA AB 256, public schools may now suspend or expel students for bullying by an electronic act ["cyberbullying"] that originated off school grounds.  Bullying via an "electronic act" means the creation and the transmission of a communication by means of an electronic device to send texts or tweets or photos, that was originated on or off the school site. According to Assembly member Garcia, the purpose of this bill is simply to clarify that when an administrator suspends or recommends expulsion of a student for bullying via an electronic act, the electronic act (the text or social network Internet Web site post, etc.) may not need to ... Read More >

California AB 60 permits undocumented immigrants drivers licenses

California AB 60 of 2013 requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to issue driver's licenses to persons who are ineligible for a Social Security Number (SSN) if additional documentation is provided, such as a valid, unexpired consular identification document issued by a consulate or a valid unexpired passport, or an original birth certificate or other proof of age, or a home utility bill, lease or rental agreement or other proof of state residency, or even a marriage license or divorce certificate, just to name a few. The issue of allowing undocumented immigrants drivers licenses has been considered almost continually by the ... Read More >

Californians’ Habeas Corpus Rights Protected

AB 351  of 2013 enacts a new Penal Code provision to refuse to support the implementation of any federal law authorizing indefinite detention of a Californian under a federal law protecting against terrorist attacks. A petition for a habeas writ is filed by an individual who believes he or she is being wrongly detained.  If the court grants the petition, the court issues a habeas writ directing the detaining official to bring the individual before the court to challenge the validity of the detention.  The U.S. Constitution prohibits the suspension of this privilege "unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may ... Read More >

AB 370 of 2013 stops online sharing

AB 370 is intended to help protect privacy of online users.  In 2003, California enacted the Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), requiring operators of commercial Web sites to post online privacy policies and adhere to their requirements.  Among other things, CalOPPA requires a Web site operator's privacy policy to identify the categories of personally identifiable information collected about individual consumers who use or visit the Web site, as well as to disclose the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom the operator may share that personally identifiable information.  In the ten years that have elapsed since CalOPPA ... Read More >

2013 Compendium of Notable California Legislation

LIS has published its annual Compendium of notable California legislation for 2013 at http://www.legintent.com/legislation/legislation2013.pdf The Compendium is not exhaustive, but it does reflect some of the major bills that were reported on in our California newspapers and were supported or opposed by some of California’s more established stakeholders, such as the League of California Cities, the California Teachers Association, California Manufacturers and Technology, the Consumer Attorneys of California, and the California State Bar. California has been enacting laws since 1850, when it became a state, and at Legislative Intent ... Read More >

Voter Registration Bill Remedies Lack of Place of Birth Now Before Gov. Brown

California Assembly member Das Williams has successfully carried Assembly Bill 131, a voter registration bill, through the state legislature to provide that a person’s failure to identify his or her place of birth on an affidavit of registration would not preclude his or her affidavit from being deemed complete.  AB 131 has been enrolled and presented to the Governor for his consideration. AB 131 addresses the existing state law allows county elections officials to process voter registration applications even when certain information has not been provided by the applicant.  For example, if no middle name or initial is shown on the voter ... Read More >

Under AB 1266 Transgender students may participate in sex-segregated school activities

If signed by Governor Brown, California Assembly Bill 1266 would require a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs, activities, and facilities including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with his or her gender identity, regardless of the gender listed on the pupil's records. AB 1266 was passed by the Assembly Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education.  According to the author, Assembly member Tom Ammiano: "Although current California law already protects students from discrimination in education based on sex and gender identity, many school districts do not understand and are not ... Read More >