New laws take effect
by Chris Wilson

For every "There oughta be a law," there might very well be. At least the new year - and its many new laws - has brought that day closer.
California Gov. Gray Davis signed nearly 1,000 bills in 2001, and most of them have gone into effect.
Included in the laundry list of new legislation are laws to protect consumers from unwanted telephone solicitation, tougher gun restrictions aimed to cap accidental shootings, and laws to protect young children from being left unattended in cars.
Low-income and senior citizen residents will benefit from a new law that sets restrictions on home equity and mortgage-loan refinancing offered to people with poor credit. This new law will sets limit on the interest rate that can be charged to low-income and senior residents.
A statewide "do not call" list will make it more difficult for telemarketers to disrupt consumers' privacy. Under the anti-telemarketing legislation, Californians can put their name on a list and companies that violate their privacy can be fined.
In an effort to stem accidental shootings, all guns made or sold in the state, with certain exceptions, must come with a state-approved trigger lock.
Lawmakers decided that motorists must pay more attention to their driving and less to distractions, one law states. Law enforcement officers are now required to report when driver-distraction from, for example, cell phones, radios, smoking, eating, personal hygeine or children contributed to an automobile accident. The California Highway Patrol will conduct a study and report their findings to the state legislature regarding the new law.
Don't leave your young child unnattended for more than one minute in a car. If you do and your child is under age six, and determined to be in danger, you could be fined up to $100. The money generated will be partially used to develop programs intended to educate the motorists about the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.
In Ojai, Sheriff's deputy Tom Triplett says he hasn't seen a lot of people leaving children unattended in their vehicles, but does have a no-tolerance stance on children not strapped into safety seats or seat belts.
"Kids looks to their parents for safety," Triplett said. "There are lots of things I can give warnings on, but if I see a child bouncing around in a car, I pull those people over and write them a ticket."
Though Ojai doesn't use red light cameras to enforce drivers who push the yellow-light limits, other local governments will be required not to set yellow-light time intervals too short in order to generate revenue. Yellow light time limits will be set for safety now, rather than to generate traffic.
In 2001 the state budget surplus allowed sales taxes to be cut by $.025. It is no longer be in effect. The sales tax is once again $.725 per dollar of sale.
If you're planning on getting married and are asked to sign a prenuptial agreement, you will benefit from a new law. Courts will not be allowed to uphold a premarital agreement unless the affected party was represented by a lawyer or waived their right to representation in writing. In addition, the spouse will have seven days to think about what they are giving up before signing.
And there's good new for long-distance gamblers. Betting on horse races will now be allowed by telephone and on the Internet.
Finally, pharmacists will now be allowed to sell morning-after contraceptives over the counter. They were previously only allowed by prescription.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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