(FOX40.COM) — It’s a long-established tradition in California government; the state Legislature, comprised of the Assembly and Senate, works on bills up until the final minutes of the midnight deadline when these have to pass both chambers in order to be sent to the governor to await his signature.
This year is the first of a two-year legislative session, which gives lawmakers the ability to work right past the Thursday midnight deadline and continue into early Friday morning.
The governor, who has already signed and vetoed a handful of bills, has until October 14 to sign or veto bills or let them become law without his signature.
Of the more than 2,500 bills introduced at the start of the legislative session, here are some of the significant ones.
SB 447: End the travel ban to anti-LGBTQ states
It has been seven years since California passed a law to prohibit travel to a handful of states that enacted laws against people who are transgender or LGBTQ.
This new law, named the BRIDGE Act, removes the ban and creates a program to promote LGBTQ inclusion in other states.
Newsom signed the bill into law on Sept. 13.
AB 421: Clearer instructions on ballots
This law seeks to reduce the confusion for voters when having to vote YES or NO on a ballot when that answer would mean the removal of a law or statute.
This law requires that the question posed to voters be “Keep the law” or “Overturn the law,” and it would also require every measure’s top funders to be listed.
The law also allows campaigns to pull their initiative off of a ballot after it has qualified.
Newsom signed the law on Sept. 8.
AB 418: Ban certain chemicals in foods
Originally known as the “Skittles bill,” this bill was later amended to remove from the proposed ban an ingredient found in Skittles.
The bill as passed in the Legislature would still prohibit certain food chemicals found in candies, foods and beverages.
SB 2: Concealed-carry weapons permits
This bill would strengthen the rules for requests for a concealed-carry weapons permit, including requiring firearms training, and limits the areas where these concealed weapons can be carried.
SB 4: Facilitate affordable housing on religious properties
This bill would make it easier for religious institutions, such as churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship, as well as nonprofit colleges, to build affordable housing on their properties.
SB 14: Make child sex trafficking a serious felony
This bill would classify child sex trafficking as a serious felony, making the crime eligible as a strike under California’s “three strikes law.”
The bill gained a lot of attention after the Assembly Public Safety Committee rejected the bill, setting off a backlash from legislators and the governor.
SB 541: Makes free condoms available at high schools
This bill would mandate public schools, including charter schools, to make condoms available at all campuses that serve grades 9 – 12, as well as at public health events in schools that serve grades as low as 7th grade.
AB 12: Limits rent security deposits
This bill would limit the amount a landlord can require as a security deposit to one month’s worth of rent.
SB 799: Unemployment pay for striking workers
Passed by the Legislature in the final hours, this bill would allow employees on strike for more than two weeks to qualify for state-funded unemployment insurance benefits.
SB 616: More sick days
This bill would raise the minimum amount of sick days available to all California workers from three to five.
The bill was considered in part because of the time required to recover from COVID-19, which could reach beyond the existing mandated minimum.
AB 374: Allow “cannabis cafés”
This bill would allow cannabis businesses in cities and counties that allow it to sell food and non-alcoholic beverages to customers, while also allowing them to consume cannabis and these products on site.
SB 58: Decriminalize some psychedelics
California could become the third state to decriminalize certain psychedelics if Newsom signs this bill into law.
The bill would allow the possession and cultivation of limited quantities for the personal use of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), mescaline (but not peyote), psilocybin and psilocin, which are found in some mushrooms.
AB 1078: Ban book bans
This bill would penalize school boards that enact bans on books and other educational materials based on the materials’ inclusion of historical facts related to Asian, Black, Latino, Native American and LGBTQ groups.
The bill would also update the state’s education code to require teaching about the experiences of diverse communities.
AB 957: Consider child’s gender identity in custody cases
This bill would require family court judges to consider whether a parent recognized their child’s gender identity when making custody decisions, but it would not order that the child be placed with that parent.
