As we welcome a new year, we conclude our look at several new laws that take effect January 1. Employers are prohibited from paying women less than male colleagues, based on prior salary. Companies, including Uber and Lyft, can no longer hire drivers who are registered sex offenders, have been convicted of violent felonies or who have had a DUI conviction within the last seven years. The statute of limitations for rape and some other sex crimes has been eliminated. That means if a crime happens after December 31, 2016, the victim can report it at any point in the future and see it prosecuted; previous law generally limited prosecution to within 10 years.
Public schools can now expel students for bullying through video or sexting. Licenses to carry a concealed weapon will no longer vary from county to county. State justice department officials will create a uniform license. Smoking or use of electronic cigarettes within 250 feet of any Little League baseball game or other youth sports event is now illegal.
Every autographed collectible sold in California must come with a certificate that verifies it’s not a forgery. Patients who go to their insurance’s in-network hospital, lab or other health facility will not face a surprise bigger bill if the doctor or health worker who treated them is not in their network.
Women can pick up an entire year’s worth of birth control pills at once, and health plans must cover the cost. To counter a spike in opioid overdose deaths, prescribers must check a state database to see whether their patients also have received drugs from other physicians. Want to save an animal trapped in a car in heat or cold? As long as you call authorities first, you won’t be held legally liable for breaking into the car. Voters can now legally take a selfie with their completed ballot. Voters are permitted to legally hand off their sealed ballot to anyone to mail or deliver in person.
