NEW YEAR, NEW LAWS

700 BILLS SIGNED IN 2021

Bacon price hikes, police reforms are in store

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed more than 700 bills into law, including leaf blower restrictions, election ballots mailouts, police procedures and streamlining end-of-life transitions for terminally ill people. Some of these laws will not go into effect for years, but some of the legislation may begin impacting daily life in California starting Jan. 1.

Here are a few of the most widereaching new California laws:

• Assembly Bill 1276 prohibits dine-in restaurants, drive-throughs and food-delivery platforms from handing out single-use utensils and condiment packets unless the customer asks.

• Assembly Bill 37 requires elections officials to mail every active registered voter in California a ballot for all future elections.

• Assembly Bill 1346 bans the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers and other small off-road engines, starting in 2024 at the earliest. The law would not prohibit the sale of used gaspowered machinery.

• Senate Bill 380 streamlines California’s assisted death process, making it easier for terminally ill patients to obtain a lethal prescription and end their lives on their own terms. This bill would allow for an individual to qualify for aid-in-dying medication by making 2 oral requests a minimum of 48 hours apart.

The bill would eliminate the requirement that an individual who is prescribed and ingests aid-in-dying medication make a final attestation. It does require that the date of all oral and written requests be documented in an individual’s medical record and would require that upon a transfer of care, that record be provided to the qualified individual.

• Proposition 12 seeks to improve living conditions for farm animals in California. The ballot initiative, approved by voters in 2018, bans metal enclosures that restrict pigs from turning around and battery cages that prevent hens from opening their wings. Meat industry experts have estimated that bacon costs could increase by 60 percent. The law is due to take effect Jan. 1, though a group of restaurants and grocery stores have filed a lawsuit to block it, according to news reports.

• Senate Bill 9 creates a streamlined process to split lots, add second units to properties and convert homes into duplexes.

• Assembly Bill 481 requires law enforcement agencies to seek approval from their local governing bodies when buying surplus military equipment, such as armored vehicles and flashbang