Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/621600
TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Here is a look at some of the new laws taking effect on Jan. 1 in California: Equalpay Female workers in Cal- ifornia get new tools to challenge gender-based wage gaps under a law sup- porters say offers the stron- gest equal-pay protection in the nation. The legisla- tion places the burden of proof on an employer to show a man's higher pay for similar work is based on factors other than gen- der. It also prevents em- ployers from retaliating against workers discuss- ing or asking how much their male colleagues are paid, though employers aren't required to provide that information. Minimum wage California's minimum wage rises to $10 an hour from $9 an hour, well above the federal mini- mum of $7.25 an hour. In addition, amid a national debate about income in- equality, several legislative and ballot initiative pro- posals will push for a $15 an hour minimum wage as early as 2020. Two union factions have submitted competing minimum wage ballot initiatives for 2016. Cheerleaders for profes- sional sports teams will be entitled to minimum wage under a new law that re- quires teams to classify them as workers instead of contractors. The law also provides them with sick leave, overtime pay and other labor protections available to team staff. The lawisbelievedtobethefirst of its kind in the nation. Gun control California becomes the first state to allow family members to ask a judge to remove firearms from a relative who appears to pose a threat. Democrats proposed the legislation in response to a deadly 2014 rampage near the Univer- sity of California, Santa Barbara. Victims' rela- tives said the parents of 22-year-old Elliot Rodger were blocked from seeking help for their troubled son before the rampage. A separate new law re- quires that certain airsoft BB guns and pellet guns come with bright mark- ings to distinguish them from real firearms. Another law extends a ban on concealed weap- ons at K-12 schools and community colleges, re- moving an exemption that previously allowed people with concealed weapons permits to carry firearms on school grounds. Abortion Crisis pregnancy centers that discourage women from getting abortions will be required to provide in- formation about the pro- cedure, affordable con- traception and prenatal care. Clinics operated by abortion opponents sued to block imposition of the new law, arguing that it is forced speech, but a federal judge rejected the claim. Search warrants Law enforcement offi- cers will be required to obtain a search warrant before they can obtain emails, text messages, on- line history and other digi- tal data from suspects. Ride-sharing Ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft will have to participate in a California Department of Motor Vehicles program and regularly monitor the records of drivers. The system flags actions of li- cense holders such as DUI arrests. Student privacy California enacts what supporters say is the na- tion's toughest law for pro- tecting student privacy rights by barring com- panies from using their personal information for profit. Companies are re- sponsible for protecting any personal information that they gather from ele- mentary and high school students and the data can only be used for school purposes. Ballot initiatives The fee to file a Califor- nia ballot initiative pro- posal increases from $200 to $2,000, an effort to limit frivolous proposals and re- coup administrative costs. TAKING EFFECT New California laws involve equal pay, gun restrictions By Kevin Freking The Associated Press WASHINGTON Under Presi- dent Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nation prepared for the 50th birthday of the Na- tional Park Service with a spending splurge that refur- bished Independence Hall in Philadelphia and helped complete the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the 469- mile Blue Ridge Parkway. Next year, the world-fa- mous system turns 100 and the celebration will be far more modest. The Obama administra- tion and Republican law- makers have vastly differ- ent ideas about what to do. Both parties agree that the country's national parks and historic sites could use some sprucing up. Their shared goal is to use the centennial to improve trails, visitor centers, camp- grounds and other park fea- tures that need mainte- nance work. The question is how much of a dent Congress will make in a system-wide maintenance backlog with an estimated $11.5 billion price tag. President Barack Obama has recommended spending an additional $1.5 billion on the parks over a three-year period. Republican leaders in Congress have a smaller birthday present in mind. Just the fact they are open to greater investment, though, is being viewed as a promising first step by some Democrats. Areas of agreement in- clude lifting the price of the $10 lifetime park pass for seniors to $80 and enacting a lodging tax for those who stay overnight, though how much and whether it should apply to campers as well as hotel guests, will have to be worked out in the months ahead. The administration and lawmakers are also look- ing to use some of the ad- ditional federal dollars to leverage private-sector do- nations and endowments. Lawmakers go into the debate with different views on why the parks system is failing to keep up with ba- sic maintenance. Republi- cans point to Congress's ap- petite for adding new units to the parks system, dilut- ing the pot of federal dol- lars into ever-smaller slices. "It's fun and sexy to add a new unit to the Park Ser- vice. It's not fun or sexy to talk about fixing a sewer system," said Rep. Rob Bishop, the Republican chairman of the House Nat- ural Resources Committee. Democrats say Congress has simply failed to make the national parks a prior- ity. The budget over the past five years has been largely flat, increasing from $3.16 billion to $3.24 billion, though Congress did just boost spending by more than $200 million in this year's budget. Complaints about the backlog extend decades. For instance, President George W. Bush noted dur- ing a 2001 speech at Ever- glades National Park that "many parks lack the re- sources they need for ba- sic care and maintenance." He promised to restore and renew America's na- tional parks. At the time, the maintenance backlog stood at about $5.5 billion. The September 11 terror at- tacks would soon upend the nation's spending priorities though. Most of the nation's 409 park units have a piece of the backlog. Alcatraz, the former fed- eral prison in California, has crumbling walls and deteriorated windows. "The walls leak, concrete falls off the building, rust jacking is causing the building to move and crack...," the Na- tional Park Service said in a report to Congress this past year detailing its budget re- quests. Mammoth Cave in Ken- tucky needs to have dirt trails replaced for safety reasons. "Without this proj- ect the park may have to se- verely curtail visitor access to Mammoth Cave and eliminate significant visi- tor experiences," the Park Service said. And a historic hotel at Glacier National Park needs a new fire sprinkler system and other work. "Failure to rehabilitate this building will pose serious health and life safety threats to park visitors and park and concession employees," the Park Service wrote. Congress is just begin- ning to take a closer look at the administration's re- quest for more money and the debate will extend well into 2016. In a recent hear- ing, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Com- mittee, called the backlog a travesty, but she said that spending $1.5 billion with- out identifying how most of that money would be raised was troubling. Other Re- publicans agreed. Meanwhile, draft legisla- tion that Bishop is putting together provides too little help, Democratic lawmak- ers said when reviewing it. "Making a dent in the maintenance backlog is go- ing to require a significant investment," said Demo- cratic Rep. Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts. "New reve- nue generated by fees will not solve this problem." Lawmakers from both parties are interested in us- ing federal dollars to gen- erate more private sector investments in the parks. They want to follow the model of a program called the Centennial Challenge in which the federal gov- ernment spent $10 million and other groups and indi- viduals pitched in about $16 million. Obama has upped the ante, calling for federal spending of up to $100 mil- lion over each of the next three years to be matched with private contributions from individuals, founda- tions or businesses. "It's essential the federal government have skin in the game. The first question I get from prospective do- nors: Is the Park Service in- vested?" said Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, a charity that raises money for park improvements. The big-ticket item in Obama's request is $900 million that would ad- dress non-transportation infrastructure. Roads and bridges make up about half of the maintenance back- log, and administration of- ficials will use the recently passed highway bill to di- rect more money there. SPENDING SURGE Obama, lawmakers see centennial birthday as chance to boost parks MATTROURKE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE People walk in view of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. 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