• A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. SB48 also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.
• Booster car seats will now be required for children up to age eight, or four feet nine inches tall. SB 929 will require some kids who have been out of a car seat for a while to be sent to sit right back in them.The current law was based on age and weight instead of height and required children to be strapped in to a booster seat until age six or 60 pounds.
• Californians will soon be allowed to register to vote in elections via the Internet as a result of SB 397. The county will be able to match the voter’s signature at the polling place with records at the Department of Motor Vehicles.Currently, the signature that is collected at the polling place is only compared to the paper registration signature, with potentially allows for greater voter fraud.
• PG&E is going to be required to install automatic and remote shut-off valves for California’s pipelines. SB 216 was brought about largely because of the San Bruno explosion in September 2010.The pipelines in San Bruno had manual shut-offs which required a technician to be in the area to come turn them off. This resulted in the San Bruno fire to continue for hours, killing a number of people and detroying many homes.
• SB 746 will no longer allow children under age 18 to use ultraviolet tanning beds to get that golden glow.The current law prohibits those under 14 years of age from using tanning beds and requires children ages 14 to 18 to have specified consent from a parent or legal guardian.
• Stores will be banned from selling infant formula or over-the-counter drugs that have lost their nutritional or pharmaceutical value. AB 688 details that any retailer who violates this may be assessed monetary and administrative penalties by an enforcement agency or the State Department of Public Health.The current law punishes such crimes as a misdemeanor.
• The state school curriculum is now required to align with Common Core State Standards, which is mandated to be adopted by the State Board of Education, as stated in AB 250.The curriculum framework would be designed in a way that would increase student creativity, innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, and other essential life skills in the four core areas of English, math, science, and history.
• School districts that have athletic programs are going to be required to withdraw an athlete for the rest of the day who is believed to have a concussion or head injury. Under AB 25, the athlete is obligated to have a written release by a licensed physician to be able to return back to his or her sport.Every year, the parents or legal guardians of all athletes will also have to sign a concussion and head injury information sheet before the athlete participates in an athletic activity. This law does not require the same regulations for physical education.
• Anyone who received three or more DUI’s is going to be subject to having their driver’s license revoked for up to 10 years because of AB 1601. The courts will be authorized to take away an offender’s driver’s license. However, the offender may apply to receive their driver’s license back after five years, if certain conditions are met.Currently, the law only allows the court to invalidate a driver’s license for three years.
• A new law, known as AB 144 will make it a misdemeanor to openly carry an unloaded handgun in a public place, with the exception of authorized security guards and retired peace officers. The law also details that it is a misdemeanor to expose a handgun inside of a motor vehicle in certain public areas.The existing law makes it illegal to carry a concealed handgun, even those that are carried openly in belt holsters.

Source:  KCRA.COM/AP

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