ASSEMBLYMEMBER CHAU ANNOUNCES NEW LAWS THAT
TAKE EFFECT IN 2018
MONTEREY PARK – Assemblymember Ed Chau (D–Monterey Park) held a press conference in Monterey Park to discuss bills from his legislative bill package that will become new laws on January 1, 2018.
“I worked on a number of policies this year to provide some protections for Californians in their everyday lives,” said Assemblymember Chau. “Some of the legislation I authored will help cut down on the number of businesses facing frivolous lawsuits, protect school children from being around teachers charged with sex offenses against a minor, require state agencies to purchase zero-emission trucks and buses to benefit the environment and public health, and safeguard the privacy rights of sexual and domestic violence victims when there are public records requests to disclose audio and video files from body-worn cameras documenting those crimes.”
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a total of 9 bills authored by Assemblymember Chau. Some of the bills highlighted in today’s press conference included:
BUSINESSES
Assembly Bill (AB) 1583 – Proposition 65 Enforcement: Frivolous Lawsuits – This bill assists the growing number of businesses facing lawsuits under Proposition 65 by requiring the Attorney General to provide a letter, to both the private enforcer and alleged violator, when it concludes that a lawsuit is meritless, by clarifying that the factual basis for the lawsuit is discoverable, and by educating businesses on compliance with the law. Sponsor: Author. (Chapter 510, Statutes of 2017.)
EDUCATION
AB 872 – School Employment: Sex Offenses – This bill updates the Education Code to reflect sexual offenses, involving a minor, that are listed in the Penal Code, so the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing can automatically suspend an emplo
yee’s teaching credential who has been charged with a sex offense in order to keep them from being around minors until their case is resolved. Sponsor: California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (Chapter 167, Statutes of 2017.)
ENVIRONMENT
AB 739 – Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions: State Vehicle Fleet – This bill requires at least 15% of specified heavy-duty vehicles purchased by state agencies to be zero-emission (ZEV) by 2025 and at least 30% of those vehicles to be ZEV by 2030. Sponsor: Author. (Chapter 639, Statutes of 2017.)
PRIVACY
AB 459 – Body-Worn Cameras and Victim Privacy – This bill requires public agencies to consider the constitutional right to privacy of any victim of sexual violence, domestic violence, or child abuse when receiving requests to disclose audio and video files documenting those crimes, and to further consider redaction as means to protect privacy even in cases where disclosure would serve an important public purpose. This bill also makes it clear that the victim depicted has a right to view and obtain a copy of the recording without putting the record into the public domain. Sponsor: Author. (Chapter 291, Statutes of 2017.)