The number of bills introduced by members of the California Senate by the deadline was the lowest number in the first year of a biennial session going back to 1989.
Senators introduced 793 bills, compared with 813 filed in 2013. The Assembly had 1,504 bills filed, an increase from the 1,430 introduced in the lower house in 2013.
Capitol insiders are citing a few possible explanations for the decline in the Senate, including the fact that there are currently three vacancies caused when members were elected to Congress.
In addition, voters in 2012 changed the term limits law to allow new lawmakers to serve longer in one house, up to 12 years, so legislators may not feel the same urgency to push through all their priorities as quickly. Previously, senators could serve eight years and Assembly members six. Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D- Los Angeles) has called on colleagues in the upper house to devote more time this year to oversight on the effectiveness of existing laws, which could take up time previously spent pushing through new laws.
Some themes have emerged. Four bills have been introduced on the subject of legalizing Internet poker in California, a possible sign that this is the year something will happen.
Lawmakers are also writing many bills to help the poor. Among them is a measure by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) that would eliminate the state sales tax on diapers, which she estimated would save families as much as $100 annually. Privacy in the world of expanding technology is also an emerging theme.
Among this year’s stampede of California bills reside a few singular creatures. The deadline to file legislation has passed, yielding 1,504 Assembly bills that cover every imaginable topic. Some seek ambitious, far-reaching policy changes; some solve obscure district-specific issues or tweak new laws with “cleanup” language; many will spark special interest clashes.
Sift through the Assembly’s list and you’ll find proposals that, worthiness aside, address some narrow, specific issues. Among them are bills:
1. Offering tax credits to get high-speed Internet access to the deaf. (Assembly Bill 924)
2. Requiring new public places like theaters and convention centers to have changing stations for disabled adults. (Assembly Bill 662)
3. Regulating tour guides via a new California Tour Guide Council. (Assembly Bill 836)
4. Repealing a $100 limit on how much alcohol enforcement authorities can seize. (Assembly Bill 776)
5. Giving a tax break for medical marijuana sold to terminally ill patients. (Assembly Bill 821)
6. Bolstering penalties for attacking police animals supervised by volunteers. (Assembly Bill 794)
7. Increasing fines on people who sell contact lenses without proper registration. (Assembly Bill 789)
8. Exempting from food safety rules small snack bars run by nonprofits. (Assembly Bill 1076)
9. Allowing barber shops and beauty salons to offer alcohol without a liquor license. (Assembly Bill 1322)
10. Ensuring the state can’t be reimbursed for the utility bills of rest stop vending machines operated by firms participating in the state’s Business Enterprises Program for the Blind. (Assembly Bill 1353)
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