Legal statutes are products of their time and people, but as time marches on and people grow, some certain legal statutes start to seen rather... odd. Here are a few laws that at some point in time made sense, but now may need to be scratched off their respective books. Regarding Our Animal Friends In Alaska, it's illegal to push a live moose out of an airplane. Such a law seems to imply that at one point in time, Alaskans were really suffering from an absurd number of moose falling from the skies. In Illinois, there's a legal statute forbidding people from giving their dogs whiskey, which seems to imply a similar story. In Minnesota, a ... Read More >
Apr 16
California to hold special legislative session for “rainy day fund” amendment
Governor Jerry Brown called a special session of the state Legislature to replace the "Rainy Day Fund" on the November, 2014 ballot with a dedicated reserve to allow the state to pay down its debts and unfunded liabilities. In Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 ["ACA 4"], the 2010 Legislature approved the proposal for the November 2014 ballot to go before the general electorate. In calling for this special session, Governor Brown observed that the proposal did not address the volatility of capital gains revenue, did not provide a reserve for schools to help cushion future downturns, and constrained the state's ability to pay down long-term ... Read More >
Mar 19
Massachusetts High Court Ruling Shocks Public
What is legislative intent? Legislative intent, or the interpretation of legislation based on legal precedence and what is -- and isn't -- written in current laws, can make all the difference, especially in unique cases. The State of Massachusetts, for example, recently considered legislative intent to arrive at a controversial ruling. Massachusetts' Shocking Decision Massachusetts' high courts ruled on Wednesday, March 5th that a relatively new phenomenon, known as upskirt photography, is perfectly legal. Although the decision outraged many, the court upheld the ruling -- insisting that current legislation did not explicitly or ... Read More >
Sep 10
IT’S BACK TO SCHOOL TIME
Mid-August signals the return of many American students to public school classes. Over the next few years, states will be implementing a new standard for public school education. The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) was created in 2009 to identify and develop a common set of core knowledge and skills master in two topics, mathematics and English language arts, that every American high school graduate should master to succeed in college or a career. With teachers, parents and community leaders weighing in, the CCSSI is intended to develop academic standards that would be: Common: the standards would be the same across ... Read More >
Jul 31
CA SENATE BILL 520 SUPPORTS ONLINE COURSES FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
California Senate pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg is carrying CA Senate Bill 520 through the Legislature to amend Education Code provisions relating to student instruction to create an incentive grant program to assist faculty and individual campuses of the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC), to provide increased opportunities for students to take online courses. In a statement posted at his website, Senator Steinberg offered the following rationale for the proposals in SB 520: “The need for this online lifeline for students is critical,” said Steinberg. Last ... Read More >
Jul 31
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 >
Jul 31
CA SB 131 To Extend Statute of Limitations for Claims of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Senators Jim Beall and Ricardo Lara are lead authors of California Senate Bill 131 to amend California Code of Civil Procedure § 340.1 relating to childhood sexual abuse, statute of limitations and damages. SB 131 proposes to extend the statute of limitations in limited instances for civil actions involving childhood sexual abuse, as follows: Would retroactively apply the current statute of limitations for the commencement of civil actions against third parties regarding recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse, which is eight years after the plaintiff reaches majority (i.e., 26 years of age) or within three ... Read More >
Jul 17
Limousines Catching Fire Targeted by CA Senate Bill 338
Senator Jerry Hill introduced California Senate Bill 338 to require owners of limousines offered for hire in California to equip their limousines with two fire extinguishers, one in the drivers' compartment and one in the passenger cabin. Senator Hill carried SB 338 after an incident that occurred on May 5, 2013, in which a limousine caught fire while traveling on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge over the San Francisco Bay. That limousine was carrying nine passengers. The driver escaped unharmed and four of the passengers escaped through the driver's partition. The five other passengers died in the blaze. Senator Hill asserted that the ... Read More >
Jul 17
California Considering Fracking bill – Senate Bill 4
Senator Fran Pavley, representing portions of Ventura County that include Simi Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills, and Westlake Village, has introduced Senate Bill 4 to establish a comprehensive regulatory program for oil and gas well stimulation treatments (e.g., hydraulic fracturing), which includes, among other things, a study, the development of regulations, a permitting process, and public notification and disclosure. The SB 4 analysis of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources explained that hydraulic fracturing (a.k.a. fracking) is a form of well stimulation used to obtain oil and natural gas in areas where those ... Read More >
Jul 17
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 >