New laws introduced for 2012

Every year on Jan. 1, new laws are announced and enforced among the state of California.

Some of the new bills passed include requirements for colleges to produce public records of the money they use, a new option to vote, a new safety requirement for PG&E, allowing syringes to be sold without prescription and higher safety measures for air bags.

Senate Bill 8 would require all California state schools, universities and community colleges to make what they do with money accessible to the public. This will enable the public to see what schools are doing with their money and, if they donate money, what it is going towards.

"I think the purpose is so people could see what is going on with a lot of money. SSU has tens of millions of dollars. People who donate to foundations will now have a clearer sense of where money is going," said Professor Andy Merrifield.

Not only does this bill allow for more openness with the public and where the money is going but also saves money.

"It outweighs any cost to have people going through records. It shows openness," said Merrifield. If someone wanted to investigate, it would diminish having to hire someone to go through the records it leads to.

"It makes things more open with money, people are more willing to give; they can see where SSU puts money. It is highly beneficial. The whole reason for openness is to give people faith that the institution is doing what it's supposed to do," said Merrifield. This bill allows for more transparency of what schools are doing with the donations they receive.

Senate Bill 397 will now allow voters to vote online, and will check information against voters' DMV information, such as their signature. Currently, when after voting, people's signature are only checked against the signature they used to register.

"Voting electronically may increase voter turnout. However, the potential problems could be having technological issues dealing with security," said Merrifield.

Senate Bill 41 now allows pharmacies to sell sterile syringes to customers without a prescription. There have been many arguments on the positives and negatives of this bill.

"Diseases transmitted through bloodstream may go down, but I think drug usage will go up, which will not help anyone in the end," junior Mary Walker stated. This could help many patients, but may promote more drug use and make it more accessible for many.

When purchasing alcohol, self-checkout will no longer be an option. This law is set to enforce underage drinking laws and a more attentive check of the driver's license. Opponents of the law claimed it was an attempt by the unions to keep workers on the job instead of being let go due to self-checkout.

Tanning beds will now only be accessible to those 18 and over, when previously minors 14 and older could tan if there was parental consent. California joins 30 other states in having laws that restrict tanning bed usage, though Texas has the strictest. Children under 16.5 are not allowed to tan indoors, and those older must have a written consent form.