With a flurry of new laws ready to take effect, the Pajaronian took a look at a handful of the more notable ones, which take on several aspects of criminal justice, health services and firearms.
WALKING A FINE LINE
Before Assembly Bill 2147 was signed into law in September, pedestrians with the audacity to cross the street where no crosswalk existed had the full force of the law come down upon them in the form of a moving violation and a roughly $250 fine. But after Jan. 1, that heinous act will be decriminalized, thanks to the so-called Freedom to Walk act.
With jaywalkers now free to terrorize society at large, crossing wherever they see fit, what’s next? Dogs and cats living together?
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
On a more serious note, Senate Bill 357 decriminalizes loitering for the purposes of prostitution, a charge that has historically come down harder on Black women in urban areas. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Black adults make up 50% of the arrests for this crime in Los Angeles, despite being just under 9% of the City’s population.
The new law also allows those convicted of the offense to clear it from their record.
Assembly Bill 1740 tightens the screws on recyclers that purchase catalytic converters by requiring them to record the year, make, model of the vehicle from whence the devices come.
It would also prohibit the recyclers from receiving catalytic converters from anyone that is not a commercial enterprise, or the vehicle’s owner.
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