CA bills on homework, outdoor drinking and more stay alive

Scheduling note: WhatMatters is taking Memorial Day off and will return to your inboxes on Tuesday.

California lawmakers started this week with more than 900 bills to wade through before today’s deadline for measures to pass their first house. They’re nearly done, advancing the vast majority of bills. 

I wanted to catch up on some that caught my eye and wrote about earlier this legislative session:

• Homework: The Assembly passed a bill Tuesday to require schools to adopt homework policies that consider students’ stress levels and well being. The proposal was inspired by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo’s daughter, and was brought up by the Santa Clarita Valley Democrat during a hearing of the Legislature’s select committee on happiness.

• Daylight saving time: On Thursday, the Senate advanced a proposal originally intended to set standard time year-round and do away with daylight saving time permanently. The bill has been amended to require the state to study the near- and long-term effects of permanent standard time (particularly on energy demands) and submit it to the Legislature by 2027.

• Alcohol outdoors: California cities and counties are one step closer to being able to designate “entertainment zones.” The Senate passed a proposal Thursday that would allow bars and restaurants to serve alcoholic drinks that people can consume on public streets and sidewalks.

• Teen treatment centers: Also Thursday, a measure to bring greater transparency to the treatment of young adults living in state-run facilities heads to the Assembly after passing the Senate. The bill, backed by media personality Paris Hilton, would expand reporting requirements for these residential therapeutic programs, specifically their use of “seclusion rooms” and restraints.

• U.S. Semiquincentennial: And today the Senate is expected to vote on a bill to establish a commission to help California commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding in 2026.

Other bills of note:

• Abortion access: On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law the bill passed this week to allow Arizona doctors to temporarily provide abortions to women traveling to California while a ban is in place in their state.

• Voter identification: About a month after the state filed a lawsuit against Huntington Beach over its voter ID mandate, the Senate passed a bill to bar local governments from implementing voter ID requirements. All Republican senators voted against the bill.

• No-pet rental policies: The Assembly passed a bill that would restrict landlords from banning pets from rental properties “without reasonable justification.” Because of amendments made to the bill, landlords could still limit the number of pets and require a deposit to pay for pet-cleaning expenses.

Elsewhere in the Legislature: This week, leaders of the European Union concluded a years-long initiative by passing the Artificial Intelligence Act, regulating its use in 27 nations. But it’s Europe’s close partnership with California that may also help the state emerge as the U.S.’ leader in AI regulation.

As CalMatters tech reporter Khari Johnson explains, because of California’s unique position as a tech-forward state, it must walk a tightrope. The state must craft legislation that prevents harms caused by the technology — such as bills passed this week to oversee the use of generative AI and stop discrimination against marginalized groups — without stifling a significant and growing industry. 

• Sen. Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat and chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee: “I strongly believe that we can learn from each other’s work and responsibly regulate AI without harming innovation in this dynamic and quickly-changing environment.”

Find out more in Khari’s story.

For their stranglehold on the ticketing and live concert industry, Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster have drawn the ire of not only pop musician Taylor Swift, but also the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

On Thursday the federal Department of Justice announced it is joining 30 state attorneys general, including Bonta, in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that Live Nation has illegally maintained its monopoly over concerts, ticketing and promotions by locking venues into exclusive contracts, threatening retaliation, limiting artists’ access to the venues Live Nation owns and other practices.

• Bonta, in a statement: “While this illegal conduct benefits Live Nation’s bottom line — it hurts artists, their fans, and our economy. This lawsuit sends a clear message: Here in California, we’re committed to protecting consumers, holding industry accountable, enforcing antitrust laws, and ensuring a fair and competitive market.”

In addition to calls for Live Nation to sell off Ticketmaster, the lawsuit seeks financial compensation for California and ticket buyers who were overcharged by Live Nation, according to Bonta.

In its response, Live Nation said it’s not to blame for rising ticket prices, and said the lawsuit ignores the real causes “from rising production costs, to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping.”

The lawsuit’s announcement comes a week after the Assembly appropriations committee held a bill that would have reined in some of Live Nation’s authority over primary ticket sales. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the author of the bill and chairperson of the committee, said in an email to CalMatters that if the lawsuit leads to the breakup of Live Nation’s monopoly, it will “benefit consumers and artists alike.” 

• Wicks, an Oakland Democrat: “Having spent the past six months trying to tackle this issue at the state level, I’m thrilled to see … from both red and blue states to call for an end to these companies’ anticompetitive policies. It’s a seismic step, at a moment that truly calls for it.”

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal:

The current recall effort against Sen. Aisha Wahab — provoked by her contentious 2023 caste discrimination bill — won’t move forward, after proponents say they were unable to submit signatures. 

The deadline was Thursday to turn in 42,802 valid signatures of voters in the district, which includes parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties.

But Ritesh Tandon, one of the recall organizers and a congressional candidate in 2020, 2022 and the primary in March, said a line on the forms that were required to submit signatures was missing. He claimed they had collected more than 30,000 signatures by March. 

The Secretary of State’s office, which cleared the proponents to start collecting signatures in December, confirmed it was notified of the problem, but said it told the proponents on Feb. 20 that the issue was not enough to invalidate the petition.

Tandon, however, said it was impossible to go back to the petition circulators — he said there were 10,000 — to add their signatures.

The organizers say they’ve learned lessons from the process and will try again to recall the Democratic senator from Fremont, whose first term runs until 2026. 

• Wahab, to CalMatters: “It’s disappointing to see that this is their third attempt, based on the fact that I carried a bill about civil rights and they’re not happy with it. It’s disappointing to see the amount of time and energy and money that is going into this effort.”

The recall was originally started last year in response to Wahab’s bill to strengthen protections against caste discrimination in employment and housing. The Legislature passed a version of the bill, which was opposed by groups who alleged the bill unfairly targeted Hindu Californians, but Gov. Newsom vetoed it.

Now, recall organizers say the caste bill is no longer the reason, and instead take issue with Wahab’s work as the new chairperson of the Senate’s Public Safety committee and concerns over crime, including not responding to shooting deaths and vehicle fires in the district, and for introducing a bill that would prohibit asking housing applicants to disclose any criminal history.

College students and faculty members across California joined protests over the Gaza war. A grad students’ union is striking over how they were treated. What were the consequences for other students? Find out from CalMatters’ College Journalism Network. And don’t miss the timeline of all the protests at Cal State and UC campuses.