by Carla Hansen
Tis’ the season for new laws! Here are a noteworthy few authored by Bay Area representatives . By no means is this a full list or explaination. Check out the Governor’s website‐ http://gov.ca.gov/home.php.
- SB 254 by Loni Hancock (D‐Berkeley): Provides consumers with options to help ensure used mattresses are deposited with recyclers, therefore alleviating landfilling and/or illegally disposed mattresses in streets and canyons. SB 254 contributes to the state’s 75% recycling goal by dramatically reducing the number of mattresses disposed in landfills while reducing the number of illegally disposed mattresses.
- AB 484 by Susan Bonilla (D‐Concord): Establishes the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress, commencing with the 2013‐14 school year, as the statewide assessment program, aligned with the common core state standards, and provides for a rational transition from the existing statewide assessment system to the new system. In addition, the bill provides direction on the administration and future expansion of the Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress to ensure a comprehensive assessment system that best meets the needs of teachers, students, and parents.
- AB 123 by Rob Bonta (D‐Alameda): Requires the State Board of Education to ensure that the state curriculum and framework on César Chávez and the history of the farm labor movement in the United States and include information on the role of immigrants, including Filipino Americans, in that movement.
- AB 1092 by Marc B. Levine (D‐San Rafael): Requires the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development to develop standards for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in multi‐family housing and non‐residential developments.
- AB 551 by Philip Y. Ting (D‐San Francisco): Allows cities and counties to establish Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones, to help encourage owners of undeveloped properties to use their land for urban farming, providing communities with urban green space and a local food source.