California bills impacting K-12 graduation requirements, overdraft fees and tortillas roll forward

It’s the second to last week of the legislative session in California, and some bills are getting one step closer to the finish line. 

The state Senate voted on Wednesday to advance bills that would impact graduation requirements, overdraft fees and tortillas. 

One would allow public K-12 school districts to make changes to coursework requirements. State Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) said the bill makes it easier for kids who miss school because of mental or physical illness to advance. 

“Graduation is very important, and we don't want to let illness hold students back,” he said. 

One more bill would prohibit some banks from charging overdraft fees for transactions that are immediately declined because of a lack of funds. It covers banks that are chartered and regulated in California, so it wouldn’t apply to national banks. 

Another would require that much of the wet masa and masa flour made and sold in the state have a minimum percentage of folic acid. The vitamin helps prevent birth defects that occur at a higher rate in Latino newborns.

State Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) supported the bill and called the masa with folic acid an heirloom product, “…which also uses ancestral yet high-quality methods, which is volcanic rock and limestone, to grind the corn.” 

She added that the method has been in use for thousands of years. 

The Centers for Disease Control say that increasing folic acid in masa could help prevent birth defects in the Latino population, but so far, there isn’t conclusive proof that it does.