SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) authored ten bills that will go into effect on January 1, 2018. The legislation is related to a variety of issues, including the environment, education, food security, elections, court efficiency, and victims’ rights.
Environment
Assembly Bill 184 extends the use of the Planning for Sea-Level Rise Database, a critical tool needed by local and state governments to coordinate and respond effectively to rising sea levels.
Assembly Bill 669 allows the Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol to continue testing Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control technologies, including Driver Assistive Truck Platooning. These green-trucking technologies improve road safety and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Assembly Bill 733 permits local governments to fund climate change adaptation projects using Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts. Providing communities with a financing tool is imperative as drought, flooding, sea-level rise, and wildfires threaten communities across the state.
Assembly Bill 1294 reaffirms California’s commitment to post-consumer recycled plastic by preserving a truth-in-marketing law for plastic food containers. Accurate labeling on plastic food containers is important to both consumers who choose to buy and manufacturers who invest in recycled plastic.
Education
Assembly Bill 868 promotes vocational training opportunities to enhance California’s workforce by eliminating duplicative regulations for community-based nonprofit organizations.
Food Security
Assembly Bill 323 allows County Human Services Agencies to connect families to emergency food resources using a 2-1-1 telephone referral service. Permitting counties to employ this technology ensures that those in need have timely access to reliable information about emergency food providers.
Elections
Assembly Bill 606 modernizes the state voter information guide and directs the Secretary of State to develop a new tool to electronically communicate with voters about upcoming elections – such as important dates and deadlines.
Assembly Bill 1367 strengthens the initiative process by making it a crime for a supervisor or employer to direct or permit a signature gatherer to falsely represent an initiative, referendum, or recall petition. Previously, only signature gatherers could be penalized, even in cases when they mislead or misinform voters as a result of poor training or at the direction of a supervisor or employer.
Court Efficiency
Assembly Bill 644 furthers California’s effort to make legal proceedings more efficient.
Assembly Bill 976 modernizes California’s court electronic-filing and service process.
Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights
Assemblymember Marc Berman also joint-authored Assembly Bill 1312 with Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher. The Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights provides victims with clarity about their rights as a result of stronger notification requirements from law enforcement and health professionals, codifies new rights such as the right to free contraception, and establishes minimum preservation standards for rape kits.
Contact: Kaitlin Curry, (916) 319-2024