Governors Briefs: California’s New Legislation, Abortion Protections, Animal Welfare and Voting Made Easier, Safer

New Protections for People Who Need Abortion Care and Birth Control

SACRAMENTO — California continues to lead the nation’s fight for reproductive health care access and privacy. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 27, signed additional bills into law to further protect people from legal retaliation and prohibit law enforcement and corporations from cooperating with out-of-state entities regarding lawful abortions in California, while also expanding access to contraception and abortion providers in California.

 The package includes:

PROTECTIONS FROM CRIMINAL & CIVIL LIABILITIES: AB 2223 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) helps to ensure that pregnancy loss is not criminalized, prohibiting a person from being criminally or civilly liable for miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, or perinatal death due to causes that occurred in utero.  

KEEPS MEDICAL RECORDS PRIVATE: AB 2091 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) prohibits a health care provider from releasing medical information on an individual seeking abortion care in response to a subpoena or request from out-of-state.

PROHIBITS COOPERATION WITH OUT-OF-STATE ENTITIES: AB 1242 by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) prohibits law enforcement and California corporations from cooperating with out-of-state entities regarding a lawful abortion in California. It also prohibits law enforcement from knowingly arresting a person for aiding in a lawful abortion in California.

EXPANDS BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS: SB 523 by Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino) expands birth control access – regardless of gender or insurance coverage status – by requiring health plans to cover certain over-the-counter birth control without cost sharing. It also prohibits employment-related discrimination based on reproductive health decisions.

MORE HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS: SB 1375 by Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) expands training options for Nurse Practitioners and Certified Nurse-Midwives for purposes of performing abortion care by aspiration techniques.

Voting in California Made Easier

SACRAMENTO — California is expanding and protecting voting access. Every active registered voter will receive a ballot in the mail and Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed new legislation to make it even easier and safer to participate in our democracy.

The Signed Bills Will:

• Increase vote-by-mail ballot drop box locations at UC and CSU campuses.
• Protect election officials and poll workers from doxing and harassment by giving them the option to keep their home address confidential.
• Increase multilingual resources and access to polling places.

Details: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

Governor Newsom Signs Legislation to Protect Animal Welfare

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 26 signed several measures to advance animal welfare in California, including SB 879 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), which ends unnecessary toxicological testing on dogs and cats.

SB 879, the PET or Prohibiting Extraneous Testing Act prohibits toxicity testing on dogs and cats for pesticides, chemical substances and other products, which often does not advance scientific research on toxicity in humans. The bill includes exemptions for tests related to products intended for use in dogs or cats, including medical treatments. SB 879 does not impact federally required testing.

Gov. Newsom also signed AB 1648 by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego), which requires kennel owners to create a natural disaster evacuation plan as one of the conditions for obtaining a kennel license or permit. AB 1290 by Assemblymember Alex Lee (D-San Jose) clarifies that stealing or taking someone else’s companion animal is theft.

In addition, the Governor signed SB 774 by Senator Robert Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) to facilitate the emotional support dog certification process for homeless individuals and AB 2723 by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) which expands microchip registration requirements for dogs and cats to support the return of lost pets to their owners and deter theft.

Details: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov