Legislative workers get new law on harassment

SACRAMENTO — A long-stalled effort to extend whistle-blower protections to legislative employees finally reached Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk Monday — and he signed it almost immediately.

The new law took effect upon the governor’s signing. Now, a person who intentionally retaliates against a whistle-blower in the Legislature could be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to a year, and could be sued by the whistle-blower in civil court. The protections in the bill also cover volunteers, interns, fellows and those applying for a job in the Legislature.

Legislation to provide the protections had passed the Assembly in each of the past four years only to be quietly blocked each time in the Senate.

The Senate finally voted on the amended bill, AB403, by Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore (Riverside County), last week, sending it back to the Assembly, which passed it Monday with a 74-0 vote.

The law takes effect amid an uproar over sexual harassment and abuse allegations under

San Francisco voters will decide in June whether to repeal a ban on flavored tobacco, equip police officers with Tasers and provide free legal counsel for all tenants facing eviction.

The three initiatives are among six that submitted signatures by the Monday 5 p.m. deadline. A measure qualifies for the June ballot once 9,485 of those signatures are found to be valid.

So far, three initiatives have been verified:

A referendum to kill last year’s Board of Supervisors ordinance banning sales of flavored tobacco.

A measure that would prevent San Francisco from enticing any sports team to relocate from another city.

An initiative requiring the city to provide a lawyer for any tenant 30 days after that tenant receives an eviction notice.

Another three have turned in signatures and are awaiting verification:

A measure to raise the gross receipts tax on commercial landlords to 3.5 percent, using the money to fund child care scholarships for low- and middle-income families, as well as wage increases for child care workers.

A proposal to supply Tasers for all San Francisco police officers, beginning as soon as August.

A $298 annual parcel tax to boost teacher salaries in San Francisco’s public schools.

Two more initiatives were put on the ballot by four or more San Francisco supervisors:

A duplicate of the gross receipts tax hike to fund child care.

A competing measure to raise the gross receipts tax to 2 percent, using the money to fund affordable housing for moderate-income families, as well as shelters for homeless people.

The supervisors have until Feb. 27 to withdraw support for a ballot measure. And they have until Feb. 23 to submit charter amendments for the ballot. Last Tuesday, the board approved one by Supervisor Aaron Peskin, barring political candidates from sitting on city boards and commissions. Peskin is also backing a measure authorizing the Public Utilities Commission to issue revenue bonds for power facilities.

Notably absent from the June ballot was a charter amendment to set lifetime term limits for the mayor and Board of Supervisors. It was bankrolled by Nick Josefowitz, a candidate for District Two supervisor who sued the city last week to move his district election from November to June.

Also missing: a charter amendment requiring the city to automatically approve residential developments with low- or moderate-income housing, or dwellings for school district employees. It may be put to voters in November.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan