Brown Signs Recidivism, Livestock And Hazardous Waste Bills

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed another batch of bills on his desk. The 34 new laws take on hazardous waste, criminal profiteering, recidivism and alpacas.

The state can charge hazardous waste polluters more for not paying fines and to recover oversight costs.

Perhaps most high-profile is a bill to reduce the number of repeat criminal offenders. It funds housing and support programs for ex-convicts with mental health or substance abuse problems. Savings from Proposition 47, which reduced some nonviolent crimes to misdemeanors, will pay for the program.

Another bill cracks down on white collar criminals. It categorizes grand theft, money laundering, piracy, and forgery—among other things—as organized crime. Proponents say it’ll help the state seize profits from those criminals.

Critters receive kinder treatment. Goats, llamas and alpacas are now protected animals under the state’s “estray” law. Lost ones must be reported and the state must look for the owner.

Governor Brown also vetoed an expansion of a property tax break that allows the transfer of a home’s valuation to a new property. Brown called the expansion “too broad.”