California lawmakers face dozens of key bills in final month
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers left for summer recess with most of the year’s major bills still on their to-do list.
So far in 2018, they have passed first-in-the-nation data privacy regulations and a ban on new local soda taxes. But when they return in August, they’ll have less than a month to tackle high-profile measures on criminal justice, energy policy and sexual harassment.
Here’s a look at some of the issues waiting for them when they return. They face an Aug. 31 deadline to act. damage as the state braces for more severe blazes in the face of climate change.
Lawmakers passed a data privacy law last month in a rush but plan to fix problems that have already arisen. The law will compel companies to tell customers upon request what personal data they’ve collected and why, and which type of third parties received it. Consumers will also be able to ask companies to delete their information and refrain from selling it. The law doesn’t take effect until 2020 to give lawmakers time to make changes. Some Democrats are also looking to enshrine in state law net neutrality rules — which require an equal playing field on the internet — after the Federal Communications Commission dumped the regulations. The issue led to a bitter fight among Democrats over how aggressive the state should be.
The Legislature is also poised to take up bills to crack down on sexual harassment. They include measures to ban nondisclosure agreements related to sexual misconduct in settlements; to end forced arbitration; and to make harassers personally liable if they retaliate against the victim.
Although the sale of cannabis to adults is legal under state law, most banks won’t accept money from a product that remains illegal under federal law, forcing marijuana businesses to deal in cash. Handling huge amounts of cash can be dangerous, so lawmakers have proposed authorizing a state-backed bank for those businesses to use.