Major Legislative Bills Await Action by Davis

The state Legislature acted on hundreds of bills in the final days before adjournment early Sunday.

In addition to issues that received extensive debate--proposals to give farm workers arbitration rights, for instance, or bills imposing new rules regarding the privacy of certain consumer information--scores of others sailed through with little public notice.

Among the bills that were acted upon in the session’s closing hours and that await action by Gov. Gray Davis are:

FINES--SB 807 by Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) would increase by $200 the fines for many traffic violations, including reckless driving and driving under the influence. The revenue would be distributed to county doctors, trauma centers and hospitals.

DEATH--AB 1421 by Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D-Berkeley) implements a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that mentally retarded criminals cannot be put to death but can be sentenced to life behind bars without parole. The bill creates a new defense, under which prosecutors must prove that a defendant is not mentally retarded.

INSURANCE--SB 1427 by Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Whittier) would extend until 2007 an experimental car insurance program in Los Angeles and San Francisco under which low-income drivers can obtain minimum coverage policies at cheap rates. The bill would reduce the annual costs for such a policy in Los Angeles from $450 to $347 and from $410 to $314 in San Francisco.

SEGWAY--SB 1918 by Sen. Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) would legalize the use on sidewalks of a two-wheeled electric vehicle called the Segway Human Transporter, made by a New Hampshire company and capable of speeds up to 20 mph.

WAL-MART--AB 551 by Assemblyman Lou Papan (D-Millbrae) would prohibit Wal-Mart from acquiring a small industrial bank in Orange County, an acquisition that, if allowed, would enable the giant retailer to process customer credit and debit card payments instead of using the systems of other banks. Federal law prohibits retailers from operating banks, but sponsors of the bill claim a loophole in state law would allow Wal-Mart to buy the bank.

WATER--SB 482 by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), would help clear the way for the transfer of water conserved by Imperial Valley farmers to San Diego. The bill changes the legal protection of several bird and fish species along the Colorado River to ease the transfer, which is a key element of California’s plan to satisfy a federal order that it use less Colorado River water.

HELMETS--SB 1924 by Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) would require children younger than 18 to wear a helmet when riding scooters, skateboards and in-line or roller skates. The parents of violators would be liable for a $25 fine.

JUNK FAXES--AB 2944 by Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) deletes a state law that allows companies to send unsolicited faxes so long as they include a phone number or address by which receivers can request a halt to the faxes. The bill allows a tougher federal law, which bans companies from sending unsolicited advertising by fax without permission, to take effect.