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Posted on 01/03/2003 12:41:54 PM PST by Mark
California's new laws
The good, bad, ugly and silly
Thursday, January 02, 2003 - California's legislators might have failed to balance the state budget last year, but that doesn't mean they weren't busy.
Although they neglected the state's most pressing concerns, state leaders tackled most every other issue imaginable, with the Legislature passing and Gov. Gray Davis approving 1,168 bills in 2002.
Now that 2003 has arrived, those laws have gone into effect.
First, there's the good news:
Last year, state lawmakers passed new restrictions on junk faxes, e-mail spam and unsolicited pages to personal pagers, thus curbing an ever-increasing annoyance. They also passed a California "Laura's Law," which allows families to request 180 days of court-ordered treatment for relatives with serious mental illnesses.
Then, there's the bad news, which in California means legislation rooted in good intentions, but with the potential for disastrous results:
Topping the list is California's newly expanded family leave law, which imposes a tax on all workers so that some can take as many as 12 weeks off to care for an ill child, spouse, parent or domestic partner. The program is ripe for abuse, and therefore unlikely to remain financially stable. It also imposes one more hardship on state businesses, at a time when they can least afford it.
Next is the state's new policy on greenhouse gases, which threatens to drive up the price of trucks and SUVs, and gets state regulators into what should be a federal issue.
Green motives also made for bad legislation in the form of a new state law requiring that 20 percent of all electricity sold in the state come from "renewable" energy sources by 2017. That sounds nice, but if energy producers aren't able to profitably increase output from renewable sources, they might just meet the quota by scaling back on total output altogether -- a dicey proposition for a state that, only two years ago, lacked the energy to keep its lights on.
Then there's the ugly -- state laws that aren't even well-intentioned, just a sop to special interests:
California ambulance chasers made out nicely in 2002, thanks to a law that extends the statute of limitations on personal-injury cases from one year to two, and reduces the amount of time employers have to prepare their defense in personal-injury lawsuits.
Unions also got a special gift from Sacramento in the form of increased workers' compensation benefits that are scheduled to nearly double by 2005. This, without any effort to reform the busted workers' compensation system, and at a time when California businesses are already struggling just to stay afloat.
And, this being California, there are also some new laws that are just plain silly:
Video arcades must now post signs informing their teenage customers that if they want to see a ratings guide for various games, one is available.
Nuclear terrorists be on alert: Criminals who use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction in the Golden State must submit their DNA to a state database.
That ought to make us all breathe a little easier.
Now that the big stuff is out of the way, how about that budget?
When will Grey Davis be demanding DNA samples from the leaders of China, who have threatened to nuke Kalifornia?
Most free states to move to, anyone?
Well that does it for me. I'm from the MidWest and my back yard is chock full of missile silos and ICBM's....and they are not registered with the ATF. Yup, and they are already preprogramed for the CA blue zones. Step on the wrong trip wire and whoosh KA-BOOM, NO MORE LIBERALS. sheesh !
I live in CA--red, but near blue zone. But sometimes it is neccesary to call the rounds into your own position for the good of your own military/country. So, if it must be done, it must......
calgov2002:
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Watch it buddy...if it weren't for Brussels Sprouts Santa Screws would have to give away pot on the City Hall steps. Oh, they do that now... ;-)
Not knowing what city you live in that is a tough question but the kid thinks the house is worth a Million while mom knows she paid $15,500 for the house back in 68. If you could get to mom you might be able to buy it for below market value and get her to carry the loan. I have done that a couple of times.
I don't live there but my sister does. I never heard if the guy lost the appeal or not . Maybe CO can fill us in.
That's right up there with, All suicide bombers are subject to prosecution.
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