San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)

5 new state laws inspired by the Bay Area

- By Dustin Gardiner Dustin Gardiner (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@ sfchronicl­e.com Twitter: @dustingard­iner

Capping fines for drivers who don’t pay bridge tolls. Faster permit reviews for new transporta­tion projects. Banning police from using rape victim DNA in unrelated investigat­ions.

Those bills, among the hundreds of new laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last week, were inspired largely by an issue or problem in the Bay Area. Newsom inked the measures in the final hours before a Friday deadline to sign or veto bills.

Here are five new laws that have a strong Bay Area bent. Unless noted otherwise, the new laws take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Limiting fines for unpaid tolls

AB2594 by Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, offers relief for drivers struggling to pay toll fees for bridges, roads and expressway­s. The bill would cap fines and late fees, starting in July 2024, and require agencies to offer motorists a cash payment option. Toll agencies must also establish payment plans for fees and penalties. The bill came in response to a surge in toll evasion penalties owed to the Bay Area Toll Authority, which spiked when toll collectors were removed from the region’s eight bridges as a health precaution at the start of the pandemic. The bill also creates a one-time program for low-income drivers to have late fees and penalties from tolls waived.

“We shouldn’t be saddling California­ns with unrelentin­g debt just for driving to work,” Ting said in a statement. “By switching to electronic payments, we’ve shut out an unbanked individual’s ability to pay their tolls simply because they don’t have debit or credit cards.”

New Lunar New Year holiday

AB2596 by Assembly Member Evan Low, D-San Jose, establishe­s Lunar New Year as a state holiday and allows any state employees to take a day off to observe the holiday. Lunar New Year, a major celebratio­n in many Asian cultures, is typically observed at the end of January or the beginning of February, when the first new moon of the year starts. A host of San Franciscoa­nd Oakland-based groups urged the governor to sign the law.

“The Lunar New Year celebrates a chance to leave behind the troubles of the past year and invite prosperity and good luck moving forward,” Newsom wrote in a signing message.

Speeding up transporta­tion projects

SB922 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, expands a law that exempts some climatefri­endly transporta­tion projects from lengthy environmen­tal reviews that can delay constructi­on. It expands a 2020 law, which was set to expire this year, until 2030, so cities can expedite bike, pedestrian, light rail and rapid bus projects. The bill exempts certain environmen­tally sustainabl­e projects from review under the California Environmen­tal Quality Act, or CEQA, which critics say has been abused to kill projects.

“Increasing sustainabl­e transporta­tion options — like biking, walking, and public transit — is incredibly important when it comes to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change,” Wiener said in a statement.

Targeting feral pigs

SB856 by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would ease hunting restrictio­ns to help control the state’s rapidly growing feral pig population. The bill, which takes effect in 2024, allows hunters with a permit or license to kill year round, and in unlimited numbers. Wild boars, also known as feral pigs, are a nonnative species introduced by Europeans in the past few centuries. The animals have wreaked havoc on vineyards, farm fields and suburban neighborho­ods.

“By increasing opportunit­ies to hunt them, we can reduce the threat to our state,” Dodd said in a statement.

Protecting rape survivor DNA

SB1228 by Wiener prohibits police department­s from using sexual assault survivors’ DNA in investigat­ions of unrelated crimes. The bill bans law enforcemen­t from using victim DNA profiles, including rape kits, for any purpose other than identifyin­g their assailant. Wiener proposed the bill after The Chronicle revealed that the San Francisco Police Department was using DNA from rape kits to identify suspects in unrelated crimes, prompting a national outcry. The Board of Supervisor­s also approved a local ordinance to ban the practice.

“Sexual assault exams are key to law enforcemen­t finding perpetrato­rs. It is critical that we protect the integrity of that process and ensure that survivors’ DNA is kept private,” Wiener said in a statement.

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