California Considers Mandatory Student Vaccines and More Bills

You may have noticed a flurry of news articles in recent weeks about laws being proposed in California that would address everything from weed convictions to the hunting of feral pigs.

The state legislative session kicked off on Jan. 3 and legislators have until Feb. 18 to introduce everything they hope to get passed this year. That means we are right in the middle of the Season of New Bills.

Dozens have been introduced already, and they tackle issues around gun violence, income inequality, Covid-19 vaccines, catalytic converter thefts and more.

At the moment, all these bills are essentially just ideas and have a long way to go before becoming laws, if they ever make it that far. Each would need approval from the Assembly, the Senate and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Still, many of these proposals will undoubtedly lead to discussion over the next several months as lawmakers consider whether to push them forward.

Today and tomorrow I’ll be walking you through some of the new bills currently being weighed in the Legislature.

S.B. 878: Free transportation for students

Unlike some other states, California does not require that school districts provide students bus transportation to school. Some financially struggling districts have even cut their fleets of yellow buses altogether and encouraged children to take city buses to campus.

This bill would provide state funding for daily transportation for all of California’s six million K-12 students starting in 2023. All public and noncharter schools would be required to offer students free transportation to and from school, which supporters say will reduce absenteeism and improve graduation rates.

Read more from The Los Angeles Times.

S.B. 846: Getting cocktails delivered

This bill would allow bars and restaurants to deliver alcoholic drinks. Under the proposal, both the customer and the delivery driver must be at least 21.

Read more from KCRA 3.

A.B. 1636: Tightening restrictions on sex-offending doctors

Currently, California physicians who lose their licenses for sexual misconduct can later have them reinstated. This bill would permanently ban these doctors from practicing medicine.

The proposal came after a Los Angeles Times investigation found that the Medical Board of California had reinstated 10 physicians since 2013 who lost their licenses for sexual misconduct. They included two doctors who abused teenage girls and one who beat two female patients when they reported him for sexually exploiting them, the newspaper reported.

S.B. 871: Mandatory Covid vaccinations for students

In October, Newsom made California the first state to require Covid-19 vaccines for all schoolchildren, pending full approval by the Food and Drug Administration of the shots for those age groups.

But Newsom’s order allows parents to opt out of vaccinating their children by saying it goes against their personal or religious beliefs. This proposal would limit vaccine exemptions to only medical reasons, as is already the case in California for other mandatory childhood vaccines.

Read more from Politico.

S.B. 866: Vaccinations for teenagers without parental consent

For the most part, minors ages 12 to 17 cannot be vaccinated in California without permission from their parents or guardians.

But under this proposal, the parental requirement for that age group would be lifted for any vaccine that has been approved by the F.D.A. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This includes immunizations against the coronavirus as well as other contagious diseases.

Read more from The Associated Press.

S.B. 915: No more gun shows on state property

This proposal would ban the sale of firearms or ammunition on state property, effectively barring gun shows from being held at any of the state’s 73 state fairgrounds.

“California should not be profiting off the sale of guns — it’s blood money,” Dave Min, a state senator from Irvine who introduced the bill, said at a news conference.

A.B. 1709: $500 for donating blood

The United States, and California specifically, has a severe shortage of blood that has led to hospital closures and delays in urgent medical treatments.

This bill would incentivize Californians to give blood by providing a $500 tax credit to people who donate at least four times in a year.

Read more from KTLA.

For more:

• In Congress, a California lawmaker has proposed a four-day workweek, SFGate reports.

• A bill aimed at preventing accidental shootings by the police is moving through the Legislature, The Associated Press reports.

• Leondra Kruger, a State Supreme Court justice who is on President Biden’s short list of potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court, could be a mediating force in Washington.

If you read one story, make it this

A Silicon Valley town called itself a big cat habitat to block housing. Then it reversed course.

The rest of the news

• Oscar nominations: How to watch the nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards this morning.

• Mask mandates: As coronavirus cases fall, California plans to lift its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people next week. There are a few exceptions.

• Sick leave: The State Legislature passed a bill on Monday requiring many companies to give workers up to two weeks of paid time off if they get sick from the coronavirus, The Associated Press reports.

• Business: Why this could be a critical year for electric cars.

• Gusto Bread: Tejal Rao, a New York Times restaurant critic, writes about a panadería in Long Beach that is challenging the idea of Eurocentric authority in the pastry world.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Weather warning: An excessive heat watch will be in effect from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon in Los Angeles County.

• African American museum: The New York Times profiled Cameron Shaw, the new director of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, who stepped into the role in a tumultuous moment.

• Factory strike: More than 150 cake-makers at the Jon Donaire Desserts plant in Santa Fe Springs have been on strike since November over wages and working conditions, The Guardian reports.

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

• Mike Karbassi: The Fresno council member is leaning toward running for the 27th Assembly District, The Fresno Bee reports.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Future quake: The Cascadia fault off the Pacific Northwest coast is due for a massive earthquake, which would most likely put parts of Northern California under 10 feet or more of water.

What you get

For $2.2 million in California.

What we’re eating

Crisp and chewy on the outside, gooey on the inside, the popular Korean street food hotteok is making a resurgence.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s travel tip comes from Coleen Hefley, who lives in Santa Ynez. Coleen recommends Ferndale in Humboldt County:

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to [email protected]. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re asking about love: not who you love, but what you love about your corner of California.

Email us a love letter to your California city, neighborhood or region — or to the Golden State as a whole — and we may share it in an upcoming newsletter. You can reach the team at [email protected].

And before you go, some good news

A wildfire in 2020 ripped through the densest Joshua tree forest in the world — “an outright disaster” given that the trees are found only in the southwestern United States, The Guardian reports.

But following the destruction, a group of volunteers is working with the National Park Service to replant these trees.

A Guardian reporter recently visited the site of the fire — Cima Dome in San Bernardino — as 18 volunteers embarked on a plan to plant 1,500 seedlings.

Joshua trees typically have a life span of 150 years. So if all goes according to plan, these saplings will become a fixture of the preserve for a long, long time.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Eel, on a sushi menu (5 letters).

Mariel Wamsley and Jonah Candelario contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].

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