This is a continuation of my previous post with my opinions regarding the new California laws that go into effect for 2009.

Mobile homes: Requires, at time of sale, all mobile homes and manufactured housing to have smoke detectors in all rooms designed for sleeping and to have seismic braces on gas-fired water heaters.
I have smoke detectors in my home, but that was by my choice. Hmm, I don’t have any Radon detectors and I certainly hope I’m not forced to get some.

National guard: Authorizes a state employee who is a member of the National Guard or reserves to receive government benefits for four additional years, if they were ordered to serve on or after Sept. 11, 2001, as a result of the war on terrorism.
It’s a nice gesture, but again, who is paying for this? This could be potentially very costly for the state of California.

Oil drilling: Permits development of additional oil reserves beneath submerged lands of the Wilmington oil field.
I don’t know enough about the details, but offhand, I would like to have more American oil sources and rely less on OPEC.

Pets: Provides for enforcement of “pet trusts” set up by animal owners to pay for continuing care of their pets after the human owners die.
I’m all for this. People should have a right to show love for their pets. Personally, mine are not getting a penny from me.

Phone cards: Requires refund within 60 days to any holder of a card if the provider’s services fail to operate in a commercially reasonable manner. Also mandates that phone-card firms maintain a toll-free customer service telephone number.
It’s odd that there should be a specific law to state this. I thought this was a given. Any business should be held to a standard that if they don’t deliver the services they promise, then the consumer has the option of a refund.

Press freedom: Prohibits discipline of high school and college journalism advisors for the content in a student newspaper.
The way I read this, it’s giving freedom to school journalism advisers when they themselves give freedom to their students who are doing the writing. So I support this.

Privacy: Makes it a misdemeanor to use radio waves, without consent, to remotely read another person’s identifying information. The measure is in response to the practice of having personal identification information included on government-issued identification cards that can be read with radio-frequency identification devices.
This blow for personal privacy is very important, but will be difficult to enforce.

Real estate: Allows the state Department of Real Estate to suspend or bar a person who has committed a violation of real estate laws.
What’s the point of having a supervisory board if they don’t have the power to discipline someone who violates the law anyway? This should have been another given and not requiring a separate law to state the obvious.

Schools: Allows Los Angeles Unified School District and other districts to continue tapping state funds even as they withdraw from a program to fund multitrack, year-round schools.
I honestly don’t know what this is all about. Can somebody explain it to me, please?

Senior homes: Assisted-living homes are required to show potential customers their history of rate hikes, tell local prosecutors about suspected abuse and plan for emergencies such as blackouts.
If this is a move towards more transparency, I agree with it. Consumers choosing a home for their loved ones should be armed with adequate information on which to base their decisions.

Smoking: Allows the state director of the Department of Mental Health to prohibit the possession or use of tobacco products on the grounds of state mental hospitals.
Remembering what I learned in medical school about the high prevalence of smoking among psych patients, this could well cause a few riots.

Spousal abuse: Prohibits jailing of alleged victims of domestic violence for refusing to testify against their abusers.
I realize many domestic violence victims call for help when they are imminently threatened, but then are caught in a quandary about leaving their abuser, so they refuse to testify. I don’t profess to know the answer to this complex problem. I would be open to hearing the views of those who work in this field whether jailing of the victims is or is not helpful to the overall situation.

Tax breaks: Allows taxpayers to exclude forgiven mortgage debt from their incomes for state income tax purposes.
I don’t know too much about this and this would be of no personal benefit, but you know me. I’m generally in favor of lower taxation for everyone.

Taxis: Allows local agencies to disconnect the telephone service of a taxicab operator that fails to obtain proper permits and insurance if other enforcement remedies have failed.
The role of the government is enforcement when people violate the rights of others. So if a taxi operator failing to obtain permits and insurance constitutes a violate of other people’s rights, then giving more ammo for enforcement agencies to do their job is a good thing.

Teacher crimes: Includes “no contest” pleas in the definition of convictions when the Commission on Teacher Credentialing decides whether to suspend or revoke teaching credentials.
If I read this correctly, prior to this law, teachers accused of violations could opt to plead “no contest” and then not be held accountable for those incidences when decisions are made to revoke their credentials. This law closes that loophole. Good.

Toll roads: Allows local transit agencies to create carpool lanes that can be used by lone motorists willing to pay a toll on stretches of the 15 Freeway in Riverside County and portions of the 10 and 110 freeways in Los Angeles County.
If this end up easing traffic, then I’m all for it. People should have more choices.

Used cars: Allows police officers to impound vehicles of anyone cited for acting as a car dealer without a license.
I don’t know what it entails to obtain a car dealer license.

Veterans: Requires the state Department of Veterans Affairs to develop plans to reach out to National Guard members or veterans returning to California from combat, and assist them in obtaining a screening for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Another law authorizes, after local approval, veterans whose vehicles display one of a number of special-recognition license plates to park free in metered spaces.
I profess to having limited knowledge regarding the prevalence of PTSD among National Guard veterans. My reading is that this law goes beyond just rendering the standard care to veterans, but instead pushes the limit towards hand-holding grown men and women and assisting them in just getting screening. It is already controversial whether or not the label of PTSD is overused as a way to tap into money from the government.

Wave pools: Requires operators of wave pools at amusement parks to increase safety steps, including assignment of lifeguards, provision of life vests and restrictions on children shorter than 42 inches.
All operators of public venues should take responsibility for the reasonable safety of participants. Whether or not these arbitrary guidelines constituted a good balance of safety and individual choice remains to be seen.

Overall, my personal views are founded on a healthy respect for other people’s freedoms and rights. In general if we were to ask if our lives today would be made better by more government control and less individual freedom or less government control and more individual freedom, I think it’s pretty clear where I stand. The balance needs to shift back towards the middle, or our standard living will stop growing or even go backwards, while the standard of living in China and India continue to improve for their people.