Commentary

How CA Legislators Spend Their Time (Hint–NOT on the Budget)

This fun column in the Sacramento Bee lists alphabetically 26 new laws the CA legislature passed this year. Notice how “urgent” they are. Glad to see those guys buckling down and setting priorities, eh?

My favorites:

B is for bicycles. SB 527 allows the operation of bikes without seats on state roads, as long as the bike was built that way on purpose.

H is for honey. AB 1216 changes the definition of the word “honey,” in a bid to thwart deceptive labeling practices. Among other things, it must be no more than 20 percent water.

N is for nitrous oxide. AB 1015 makes it a misdemeanor to sell or give nitrous oxide – aka “laughing gas” to a minor.

R is for raffles. SB 200 allows raffles for charities and other nonprofits to be advertised – but not conducted – via the Internet.

U is for unclaimed property. AB 1291 strengthens the current unclaimed property law by increasing requirements for banks and other institutions to inform customers about dormant accounts and other assets.

Y is for Yerba Buena Island. SB 833, among other things, requires that new buildings on this San Francisco Bay island not block views from public areas.

Hey guys, how about that budget deficit?! How about the pension catastrophe!? How about the state’s road system being the 3rd worst in the nation?! How about the arterial bleeding of jobs in this state?! California has real problems. Focus, people, focus!