New Year, New Laws

SACRAMENTO – In 2022 Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) authored nine new laws underscoring his continued commitment to transparent and accessible elections, his years of advocacy for students, and his determination to improve the quality of life for all Californians. Unless otherwise stated, all laws go into effect on January 1st, 2023:

Elections

Assembly Bill 2584 reforms the flawed local recall process. While recalls can be an important tool to hold elected officials accountable, this new law ensures that the process to initiate a recall is rigorous enough to demonstrate that it is a serious effort, rather than weaponizing the recall process for the sole purpose of impeding government from working. In addition, this bill will make sure that voters are provided accurate and truthful information, and that we do not waste limited public resources.

Assembly Bill 775 bans political candidates or committees from pre-checking the recurring donation box on their websites, and requires them to obtain affirmative consent before enrolling campaign donors in recurring contributions. California is one of only three states to pass legislation to ban this deceptive tactic ensuring that Californians are no longer tricked into making repeated and unintended donations. Automatically enroll donors in recurring payments at the time of an initial donation–often unbeknownst to the donor—had become increasingly popular in California and around the country.

Assembly Bill 972 extends until January 1, 2027, California’s current prohibition on distributing deepfakes and manipulated media of political candidates within 60 days of an election, unless labeled as manipulated. Assemblymember Berman authored the 2019 law to crack down on this use of deceptive deepfakes, requiring the creator disclose that the video has been manipulated if it pertains to a candidate or an election.

Higher Education

Assembly Bill 2881 grants priority registration for student parents, establishes a student parent webpage for each campus, and provides greater awareness to the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The new law removes barriers that inhibit academic success and degree attainment for student parents at the community colleges, California State University campuses, and University of California campuses.

Assembly Bill 2815 requires California State University (CSU) campuses and requests University of California (UC) campuses to have one vote by mail ballot drop box location on each campus. The change will help ensure each CSU and UC student has access to a ballot drop box on campus. Voters between the ages of 18 to 24 are the most underrepresented among California’s voting electorate. Placing ballot drop boxes on college campuses is a simple but meaningful change that will elevate student voices and strengthen our democracy.

Projecting Consumers

Assembly Bill 2912 strengthens consumer warranty protections for Californians by requiring that warranties start on the date of delivery rather than the date of purchase. An express warranty guarantees a certain expectation of quality or functionality for a specific period of time. Yet, warranties have been wasted on backlogs and delayed deliveries as consumers regularly wait weeks or months for appliances to be delivered. This new law ensures that consumers receive the full benefit and duration of these warranties regardless of the type of product. This law goes into effect on July 1, 2023.

Supporting California’s Businesses

Assembly Bill 2307 eases caps on tasting rooms for California’s craft brewers. The new law increases the statutory limit of beer manufacturer duplicate and retail licenses in order to enable California’s award-winning craft breweries to better compete in a global marketplace for consumer awareness and popularity.

Budget Accomplishments:

Assemblymember Berman successfully championed nearly $20 million for infrastructure and affordable housing projects in his district in the 2022-23 Budget. These critical civic investments include a new community plaza in Pescadero, 136 homes for very low-income families in East Palo Alto, rebuilding an outdated fire station in Palo Alto, making needed improvements to recreational facilities in North Fair Oaks, and technological upgrades to the Caltrain corridor to reduce gate down times that block traffic. The investments highlight the enduring, successful partnership between local jurisdictions and the state.

Assemblymember Berman also secured funding and language in the 2022-23 Budget to create the Cybersecurity Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships Pilot Program through the California State University (CSU) to address the immediate cybersecurity workforce gap. The $4 million appropriation will increase the pipeline of students pursuing well-paying, high demand cybersecurity careers and develop the cybersecurity workforce to meet industry needs within local or regional economies.

Finally, Assemblymember Berman secured $5 million to better serve foster youth with substance use disorders. According to data from the National Youth in Transition Database, youth that have been in the foster care system are five times more likely to abuse drugs than their peers. The Administration for Children and Families reports that 27% of foster youth aged 17 have been referred for substance abuse treatment. This funding will establish a grant program to fund the development and implementation of evidence-based models and promising practices to better serve these foster youth in family-based settings, to prevent the need for congregate-level of care. Substance use can lead to foster youth being removed from their foster family and placed in a group home. Going from a stable-family setting to a congregate care setting can make positive outcomes harder to achieve for the youth.

Contact: Bermanpress@asm.ca.gov