California Senate Passes Gun Microstamping--Governor to Get Prescription Labeling, Police Interrogation, College Textbook Bills--and Measure Gutting Local Campaign Finance Laws

SB 472 (Corbett) Prescripton Drug Labeling. Requires the California Board of Pharmacy to adopt a standardized prescription drug label that will be designed for use on any prescription drug dispensed to a patient in California. It also seeks to ensure that limited English proficient patients are able to receive either the drug label or equivalent information in their primary threshold language. It passed 29 to 9 and goes to the Governor.

SB 472 was sponsored by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Gray Panthers California, and Senior Action Network. They pointed out that although California has placed important requirements on the information included on a prescription drug label, and pharmacies have been strong allies in the fight to eliminate medication errors, many patients who use prescription medications are elderly, suffer from poor vision, and have difficulty reading and understanding instructions on these labels.

AB 1430 (Garrick) Prohibits local governments from adopting campaign finance ordinances that restrict communications between an organization and its members unless state law similarly restricts such communications, or by regulation by the Fair Political Practices Commission. It passed with the bare 27 votes needed with all 15 Republican Senators joining 12 Democratic Senators in support and 9 Democratic Senators opposed. It passed the Assembly 74 to 0 and goes to the Governor.

This bill has the support of both the Democratic and Republican state parties, the California Chamber of Commerce, California Labor Federation and a number of organizations who see it as a First Amendment and free speech issue. It was opposed by California Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, California Clean Money, and CalPIRG who see it as a gutting of local campaign finance laws.

SB 14 (Negrete Mcleod) California National Guard Retirement. Allows members of the California National Guard to qualify for membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and to purchase additional PERS service credit. It passed 30 to 6 and goes to the Governor.

SB 385 (Machado) This bill helps with the subprime mortgage problem. It requires recently-released federal guidance related to "nontraditional mortgage products" be applied to state-regulated mortgage lenders and brokers. It passed 34 to1 and goes to the Governor.

SB 20 (Torlakson) This bill clarifies and strengthens the process by which the State Board of Education authorizes statewide benefit charter schools. The bill makes a one-time appropriation of $18 million for the Charter School Facilities Grant Program. It passed 35-0 and goes to the Governor.

SB 511 (Alquist) Requires that police interrogations recorded in homicide or violent felony cases. It was sponsored by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice with the stated goal of reducing wrongful convictions due to false confessions. According to Senator Alquist, the second most frequent cause of wrongful conviction is the extraction of false confessions during police questioning of suspects. While supported by the National Black Police Association, it was opposed by the California State Sheriff's Association and the California Police Chiefs Association. It passed on a 23 to 14 vote with Democratic Senator Lou Correa joining Senate Republicans in opposition. It goes to the Governor.

SB 880 (Calderon) Repeals, until January 1, 2011, the state prohibition and criminal penalty on the importation or sale of kangaroo parts or products in California. It passed on a 28 to 7 vote with the dissenting votes coming from Democrats. It goes to the Governor.

AB 508 (Swanson) Repeals the lifetime disqualification from food stamps for persons convicted of specified felonies involving controlled substances. It passed with Democratic votes only 21 to 15. It goes to the Governor.

AB 537 (Swanson) Extends the California Family Rights Act to care for an adult child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, parent-in-law, or domestic partner. It passed 24 to 15 on a straight party line vote. It goes to the Governor.

AB 779 (Jones) Security of personal credit card information. Establishes security standards for businesses that store credit card information. It passed 30 to 6 and goes to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments.

AB 1471 (Feuer) Gun Microstamping- Requires semiautomatic pistols to be equipped with microscopic identifying markings which are transferred to each cartridge case when the firearm is fired. The bill's sponsor is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. It passed with the bare minimum 21 votes, all from Democratic Senators to 17 against. All 15 Republican Senators opposed the bill and were joined by 2 Democratic Senators, Lou Correa and Denise Ducheny. The bill heads back to the Assembly where it passed previously by a 44 to 31 vote.

The microstamping bill prompted a lengthy debate with Senator Torlakson, the floor manager of it, stating that it would allow law enforcement to identify an additional 500 murderers and other criminals each year in the state. Republican Senators opposed it because they say it will not work from a technical standpoint from criminals filing off the stamping part of the gun to the wearing down of the part and because they see it as harassment of law abiding citizens' rights to own firearms. Democratic Senator Scott in support retorted that opponents of gun control always say that advances won't work and compared the argument with that of the auto industry resisting safety changes because they would cost more. He saw it as part of the advances of forensics which include DNA and fingerprinting.

AB 1334 (Swanson) Condoms in prison. Requires that the Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation allow any nonprofit or public health care agency to distribute sexual barrier protection devices such as condoms and dental dams to inmates to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Passed 21 to18 on Democratic votes only. It goes to the Governor.

AB 102 (Ma) Name Change. Allows one or both parties to a marriage or registered domestic partnership to change their surname by entering a new surname on either a marriage license application or certificate of registered domestic partnership. It passed on a straight party line vote, 24 to 15. It returns to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments.

AB 881 (Mullin) Requires, beginning on June 30, 2008, children up to eight years of age to ride in a child safety seat. Passed 21 to 17 with only Democratic votes. It returns to the Assembly for concurrence.

AB 1743 (Huffman) Prohibits the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from spending any further funds on construction of the proposed condemned inmate complex at San Quentin without legislative authorization. Passed 25 to 12. It goes to the Assembly for concurrence.

AB 81 (Torrico) Increases the age at which an infant can be anonymously surrendered by a birth parent without criminal liability under the "safe-surrender" statute from 72 hours or younger to 7 days or younger. It passed 36 to 3 and will return to the Assembly for concurrence.

AB 221 (Anderson) Iran Disinvestment. Prohibits PERS or STRS from investing public employee retirement funds in a company with "business operations" in the defense or nuclear sector of Iran or that are involved in the development of Iranian petroleum or natural gas resources and are subject to federal sanctions. It passed 36 to 0 and returns to the Assembly for concurrence.

AB 45 (Swanson) Return of Some Home Rule to Oakland Schools. Establishes a process for the return of rights, duties, and powers to the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District. Passed 27 to12. Returns to the Assembly for concurrence.

AB 423 (Beall) Mental health parity. Requires health plans and health insurers to provide for the diagnosis and medically necessary treatment of mental illness under the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions. It passed 27 to 12 with 3 Republican Senators joining all Senate Democrats in support. It goes back to the Assembly for concurrence in amendments.