CA: Legislative session at a glance

A look at some of the bills that were voted on Tuesday by the California Legislature. Friday is the deadline for bills to pass their house of origin:

- Employers would have to notify employees when they monitor their e-mails and other activities on the Internet under a bill approved by the Senate. The measure, SB1841 by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, was sent to the Assembly by a 23-13 vote.

- Automatic teller machines not owned by banks would have to be registered with an established financial institution, giving consumers more protection from fraudulent ATMs. AB1810, by Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Los Angeles, was approved 68-0 by the Assembly. It moves to the Senate.

- A bill by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, would allow credit unions to cash checks, issue money orders and transmit money for any persons eligible for membership, rather than requiring them to be members. SB1299 passed the Senate 32-4. It moves to the Assembly.

- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Byron Sher, D-Stanford, that would impose audit requirements on charities that receive at least $2 million. A 23-12 vote sent the bill, SB1262, to the Assembly.

- A bill by Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, would require the state Board of Pharmacy to identify Canadian pharmacies that consumers could rely on to follow for safe prescription drugs. It passed the Senate 24-13 and was sent to the Assembly.

- Physicians convicted of sex crimes would be barred from practicing medicine under AB1975 by Assemblyman Rudy Bermudez, D-Norwalk. It was approved 51-20 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.

- The Senate voted 23-13 to send the Assembly SB1585, a bill by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, that would require beef and poultry suppliers to notify state health officials when meat or poultry they sell in California is the subject of a voluntary recall by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

- Charter schools would have to notify local school districts and county offices of education if they expel students so the students can be re-enrolled, and charter schools would have to comply with the Brown Act for notice of public meetings. AB1860, by Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, D-Fresno, was approved 42-21 by the Assembly. It moves to the Senate.

- Starting with the 2009-10 school year, all students would have to receive parenting instruction before graduating from high school under legislation approved by the Senate. The measure, SB1421 by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, was sent to the Assembly by a 23-10 vote.

- A bill by Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Daly City, would require schools to randomly test student athletes use of steroids and banned dietary supplements if nonstate money was available to pay for the program. The measure, SB1630, was approved by the Senate 24-11 and sent to the Assembly.

- Schools wouldn't lose daily attendance money for students who worked in polling places on election day, if the student was doing so to earn credit toward a history, social science or government class. AB1944, by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, was approved 49-21 by the Assembly. It goes to the Senate.

- A bill by Sen. Dede Alpert, D-San Diego, would bar the use of bottom trawling by fishermen in coastal waters controlled by the state. Alpert said the practice was "the equivalent of clear-cutting on the ocean floor." A 24-12 vote sent the bill, SB1459, to the Assembly.

- A bill approved by the Assembly would require warning stickers at the rear of boats alerting boaters to the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning and would outlaw practice of "teak surfing" where people hold onto the swim platform of a slow-moving boat. AB2222 by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, was approved 46-19. It goes to the Senate.

- A bill by Sen. Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, would change the goal in managing state forests from maximum sustainable timber production to a broader range of purposes, including scientific study, timber production, recreation, education, and restoration of forestland resources. The proposal, SB1648, went to the Assembly on a 23-13 vote.

- A bill by Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, would create a 211 information line that would help people navigate state government services. The measure, AB2283, was approved by the Assembly 55-14. It goes to the Senate.

- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, that would require an annual inventory of state-owned property. A 31-1 vote sent the measure, SB1758, to the Assembly.

- Cities and counties would get one-half percent of the state's share of the sales tax and the schools' share of property taxes in exchange of two local government subventions, the vehicle license fee backfill and replacement for the homeowners property tax exemption, under legislation approved by the Senate. A 35-1 vote sent the bill, SB1212 by Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, to the Assembly.

- Cities and counties would have to notify military commanders of local development plans near military bases and below low-altitude aerial training routes. SB1462, by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, passed the Senate 24-10. It moves to the Assembly.

-Counties with oak woodlands would have to develop measures for developers or farmers who want to remove oak trees to make up for the losses, including planting oak trees somewhere else. SB1334, by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, passed the Senate 23-13. It moves to the Assembly.

- Voters in November could decide to steer millions of dollars from Proposition 50 bond funds to ocean protection measures, including buying and retiring fishing boats and setting up pilot projects to restrict fishing on parts of the ocean, under legislation approved by the Senate. The two bills would also create a Cabinet-level group in state government to focus on ocean protection. The measures, SB1318 and SB1319, by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco, were sent to the Assembly by a 24-12 vote.

- A bill by Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Sunol, would require manufacturers and distributors of fluorescent lamps sold in California to pay a recycling fee. A 23-14 vote sent the measure, SB1180, to the Assembly.

- Voters in November would decide whether to make state prison officials analyze each inmate within 90 days of arrival and craft a "comprehensive rehabilitation program" to meet the inmate's needs for schooling, a vocational trade and personal development, under a constitutional amendment by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara. The measure, SCA8, passed the Senate 27-7. It moves to the Assembly.

- A bill by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina del Rey, would bar 16- and 17-year-olds from driving while using a cell phone. A 23-13 vote sent the measure, SB1582, to the Assembly.

- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, that would allow the courts to review the sentences of minors who are given adult sentences and have served at least 10 years or reached 25 years of age. The measure, SB1223, was sent to the Assembly by a 22-11 vote.

- After Jan. 1, 2005 all touch-screen voting machines used in California would have to include a paper printout on which voters could verify how they voted, if a bill passed by the Senate becomes law. The measure, SB1438, by Sens. Ross Johnson, R-Irvine, and Don Perata, D-Oakland, was approved 32-0. It goes to the Assembly.

- The state Water Resources Control Board could approve a long-term water transfer only if it determines the transfer would not cause unreasonable economic or environmental impacts, under a bill approved by the Senate. A 23-10 vote sent the bill, SB1374 by Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, to the Assembly.

- Urban water suppliers, primarily the cities of Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe, would have to phase in the use of water meters by 2025, under AB2572 by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego. It was approved 51-14 by the Assembly and goes to the Senate.

- The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, that would add study time to complete school homework assignments to the list of activities considered work under the state's welfare-to-work program. A 22-13 vote sent the bill, SB1639, to the Assembly.

Agreed.. a part-time legislature looks awful inviting when you see the dems in action.

Starting with the 2009-10 school year, all students would have to receive parenting instruction before graduating from high school under legislation approved by the Senate. The measure, SB1421 by Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara, was sent to the Assembly by a 23-10 vote.

No parenting classes, no diploma? lol .... This is a hoot.

Didn't some school district just give a bunch of kids a pass because they couldn't pass algebra1 or such?

Good ol' soon to be term-limited out Vasconcellos will be pumping out social engineering legislation 'til they boot him off the floor of the senate.

Ya, that one was a hoot. At least the Bill was not about mandatory self esteen classes. But hey, what is one more little deflection and destraction from the mission of schools which was once accepted - to wit, to teach kids to read, write something that has some potential to communicate something in a coherent way, do maths, and acquire some vague semblance of logical reasoning, to the extent it is within reach of their IQ level?

Trawling within three miles of the coast (three miles is the extent of "State" waters) is ALREADY prohibited, more than not...there is the so-called "halibut trawl grounds" defined in a confusing fashion, as being from Point Arguello, to Pt. Dume, in waters greater than one mile offshore, and less than twenty-five fathoms depth, (as long as one has cod-end mesh measuring at least 7 1/2 inches stretch measure, and the cod-end having at least 47 meshes in circumference)
then there is a somewhat smaller area adjacent to San Francisco, running south to (?) Pidgeon Point, or there-bouts, if memory serves correct, in which one can trawl inside of the three mile limit, with the same cod-end restrictions(?).
The remainder of the State waters are CLOSED, to all trawling, and have been for at least the last twenty five
years (that I know of for a certainty), and probably something like double that amount of time...

NOW----a few boats have fished those waters that were "allowed",
FOR YEARS!
UH, and they still catch plenty (at times).
It is not the equivilent of clear-cutting.
If so, it would have been over, before I was even born.
Fish spawn, replenish their numbers, much much faster, than
"big trees" re-seed, propogate themslves, and grow into "big ones" again. For fish, it's closer to the time it takes to grow a Douglas Fir into a CHRISTMAS TREE instead of the very long time it takes to grow into being big timber, prised for building materials!
It's not a fair comparison, in the least.
It more like outright slander.
But since when does "reason" enter into fishery legislation, at least when it's written up by some Assembly member?
The real winners if (when?) this goes through???
The "commercial" sports fishing interests of Southern Cal, that's who! They charge folks plenty, to take them fishing.
(for years they have dreamed of having it all to themselves---so they could be the ones to sell access)
It was them who lobbied to remove the gillnets, years ago.
Slander, was the preferred methodology, then, as now.
And of course folks whom really didn't know much of a THING about it (just thought they did) did the "deciding".
The entire electorate, in that case!!!
I've been so maligned, for so long---I might as well go get a job with the oil companies! At least the abuse heaped towards me, would be simply much, the same 'ol, some 'ol...

The Senate approved a bill by Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, that would add study time to complete school homework assignments to the list of activities considered work under the state's welfare-to-work program.

Ah, the RATs are now doing their best to dismantle welfare reform.

Every week or so one of the local papers will have an article about some poor welfare recipient who is having an "emergency" because her five years is running out in a week or two and she either has to get a job or go to school.

But, there are no jobs to be had on short notice and the schools are in mid-term so she can't get in right away.

Of course the fact that benefits would terminate is something this person has known for the past five years and has chosen to do nothing about it until the very last week.

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