MONTEREY PARK – Governor Newsom signed legislation recently, authored by Assemblymember Ed Chau (D–Monterey Park) that will become law effective on January 1, 2021.
“While the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic shifted our focus to work that was most urgent and relevant to the current crisis and also resulted in complications to the legislative process, we still managed to accomplish a great deal this year,” said Assemblymember Chau. “Some of my accomplishments include prohibiting the warrantless tracking of individuals by government, resolving conflict-of-interest situations in educational settings, and providing good Samaritans with liability protections when rescuing children trapped in hot cars.”
Privacy and Consumer Protection:
Assembly Bill (AB) 904 – Search warrants: tracking devices – Prohibits government entities from using software that permits the tracking of a person or object without a warrant. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 63, Statutes of 2020)
AB 1281 – California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 – Extends by one year the exemptions in the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 for business-to-business communications and transactions and the collection of certain personal information by employers until January 1, 2022. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 268, Statutes of 2020)
Education:
AB 2234 – School Personnel Commissions Legal Counsel – Provides the personnel commission of a school district, or community college district, the right to retain independent legal counsel when a conflict-of-interest exists between the governing board and the commission. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 48, Statutes of 2020)
Public Safety:
AB 2717 – Motor vehicles: unattended children – Exempts from civil and criminal liability Good Samaritans who rescue children, under the age of six, from a vehicle where there is an immediate danger of suffering harm, if certain conditions are met and the Good Samaritan calls emergency services prior to the rescue. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 352, Statutes of 2020)
Joint-authored and Co-authored Bills:
AB 1974 (Gray) – Horse racing: welfare and safety of racehorses and jockeys – Makes a number of important changes to the Horse Racing Law to further protect and advance the health, safety, welfare, and aftercare of racehorses in California. These changes include increasing the veterinarian monitoring of injured horses, regulating the administration of medication to horses, and establishing a whistleblower program for people to report questionable activity or concerns relating to the health and safety of humans or horses. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 251, Statutes of 2020)
SB 793 (Hill) – Flavored Tobacco Products – prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products in stores, including flavor enhancers. (Chaptered by Secretary of State – Chapter 34, Statutes of 2020)
