Senate, Assembly Vote On More Bills Before Deadline

Lawmakers in the State Assembly and Senate have until Friday to pass hundreds of laws.

On day two of marathon voting, both chambers passed dozens of bills ranging from health care to criminal justice.

The Senate approved bills that would expand job-protected family leave for new parents and eliminate the statute of limitations in rape cases.

The Senate also passed a law requiring physicians to inform patients they are on probation.

Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) introduced the bill citing numerous experiences of physicians who are on probation, practicing medicine unbeknownst to their patients.

"Physicians are already required to notify and inform the hospitals they are affiliated with. They're also required to inform the medical malpractice insurers of their probation status. But their patients--the most important people in the health care continuum--have to seek out the information for themselves," says Hill.

Patients would be informed of their doctor's probation status on their first visit following the probationary order.

Assembly members passed a bill to limit the number of non-residents from enrolling at University of California schools.

Asm. Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) co-sponsored the bill.

The law would cap enrollment of undergraduate students from out-of-state at 10 percent, which would allow 5,000 more California residents to enroll as undergraduates in the UC system.

"Non-resident students do bring a tremendous amount of revenue to the system, but I will note that even as we've given more state money, they've continued to increase. It was five percent 10 years ago. Now, it's about 20 percent. And so we've said we've had enough," says McCarty.

A hike in tuition and fees for non-residents would fund 50 percent of the changes. The state would contribute 40 percent of the funding and 10 percent would come from UC cost cutting.

Gun Control Bills Pass Sharply Divided Assembly

The California Assembly has approved several gun control bills on sharply partisan votes.

Asm. Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) spoke in support of a proposal that would limit firearms sales to one per person, per month.

“It does not infringe on somebody’s right to own a gun,“ Gonzalez said. “It doesn’t infringe on the right to buy a gun. It is a reasonable restriction.”

But Asm. Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) argued that measure would not keep any guns away from criminals.

“Hampering the rights of law-abiding citizens out of fear – under the guise of public safety – is just nonsense,” Mathis said.

The Assembly also voted Wednesday to outlaw “bullet buttons” that critics say are used to evade California’s ban on assault rifles, and expand the right to seek “gun violence restraining orders” from family members to teachers, employers, co-workers and mental health workers.

Those measures – and a few other gun bills – now move to the state Senate.

-- Ben Adler