State Sen. Jackson’s Legislation To Become Law on January 1

by Community Contributor • December 28, 2016 • Comments Off

SACRAMENTO – Among the numerous bills authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) this year, the following will take effect on January 1, 2017:

Senate Bill 1435, School Curriculum: Healthy Relationships: Continuing her commitment to addressing youth violence, preventing sexual assault and encouraging healthy relationships, this law requires that the next revision of the health framework for kindergarteners through eighth graders in California’s public schools include age and developmentally appropriate information on resolving disagreements, treating each other with respect, and reducing bullying or harassment.
Senate Bill 1375, Educational Equity: Sex Equity in Education: Continuing her decades-long fight to protect and enhance gender equity in education through awareness and enforcement of Title IX, this law will ensure that students and schools are aware of their rights and responsibilities under Title IX, the landmark federal law that prohibits gender discrimination in education. This law requires all schools that receive federal funding post the name and contact information of their Title IX coordinator on their website, outline students’ rights and schools’ responsibilities under Title IX, and provide information about how to file a complaint under Title IX.
Senate Bill 1189, Postmortem Examinations or Autopsies: Jackson jointly authored SB 1189 with Senator Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) following the discovery in 2015 that a number of autopsies were done at the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office by non-physicians while the then-Medical Examiner was on vacation. SB 1189 aims to restore public trust in autopsies by ensuring they are conducted only by licensed physicians and forensic autopsy reports are accurate and unbiased.
Senate Bill 1180, Public School Employees: Military Veterans: Continuing her work to support veterans, this law will help disabled veterans who are transitioning from military service to civilian life working in California’s public schools. SB 1180 gives disabled veterans who are new school employees additional sick leave in their first year of employment so they can attend medical and VA appointments to treat their disability. It applies to disabled veterans who are teachers as well as other school employees. Full-time, year-round workers who are disabled veterans will receive 12 days of additional sick leave to use in their first year. Disabled veterans who are teachers and work 10 months of the year will receive 10 days of additional sick leave.
Senate Bill 1005, Modernizing California Law to Reflect Marriage Equality: This law updates various code sections in California law mentioning a “husband” and “wife” to the gender-neutral term “spouse” to reflect the fact that same-sex couples can now legally marry in California. It also recognizes the rights of same-sex couples in registered domestic partnerships and includes registered domestic partners in the code changes.
Senate Bill 122, California Environmental Quality Act: Continuing her work on environmental policy, this law streamlines the CEQA process by improving the accessibility of CEQA documents by posting them online and expediting the preparation of administrative records.
Senate Bill 1200, Animal Cruelty: In response to the horrific torture of a puppy in Santa Barbara, this law will require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to include animal cruelty data in its DOJ Data Collection and Reporting Responsibility publication, data that is later forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. With the proven connection between animal abuse and human violence, the goal of SB 1200 is to protect innocent animals and reduce the possibility of further acts of violence against humans.
Senate Bill 1229, Drug Take-Back Programs: To help protect the public from prescription drug abuse and the dumping of unused medication into our water supply, this law encourages pharmacies to participate in prescription drug take-back programs by establishing reasonable standards of care for pharmacists to limit their liability around take-back bins.
Senate Bill 1336, Dependent Children: Investigation: Senate Bill 1336 ensures that reasonable efforts are made to meet the state’s priority of placing dependent children with an appropriate family member.