Hide the Guns and Churn the Butter: New Year, New Laws for California

2019 new laws going into effect today include AB5, the anti rideshare amendment. The bill attempts to create stricter rules around independent contractors.

The intent is for Uber and Lyft drivers to pay their drivers as employees. The rideshare companies say their drivers are still independent contractors, and they intend to spend $100 million or so to put the issue before voters in November.

Several other new statutes will make it more safe and complex to drive. AB 1810 removes motorized scooters from the list of vehicles requiring a Class M2 drivers license or permit, thus allowing a person with a valid drivers license or permit of any class to operate a motorized scooter.

But don't smoke will you drive: Assembly Bill 1810 forbids passengers from hotboxing a bus or a cab. A natural snap back to regulation, now that weed is legal and ubiquitous.

Other statutes:

AB 1810: Vehicle Passengers Prohibited from Consuming Cannabis

Prohibits the consumption of cannabis by passengers in a bus, taxicab, pedicab, limousine, housecar, or camper.

AB 1266: Cyclists in Turn Lanes

Cyclists will now be permitted to travel straight through a right- or left-hand turn lane while at an intersection, if an official control device indicates the movement is allowed. The law also requires the California Department of Transportation to develop the standards required to implement the provision.

AB 2115: Rules for Passing Waste Service Vehicles

Requires a driver approaching or passing a stopped waste service vehicle to make a lane change into an available lane adjacent to the waste service vehicle and pass at a safe distance, with due regard for safety and traffic conditions, except as specified.

AB 164: Firearms - Prohibited Persons

Anyone prohibited from buying a firearm in another state will not be allowed to purchase a firearm in California.

SB 172: Firearm Storage

Anyone who owns a firearm that is taken out of the home by a child or "prohibited person" can be charged with a crime and be banned from owning a gun for 10 years.

Assembly Bill 5, Independent Contractors

The law codifies the ABC test, which was first established by the State of Massachusetts Legislature on July 19, 2004. The test includes a three-prong assessment to determine if a worker was misclassified: (A) that "the individual is free from direction and control," applicable both "under his contract for the performance of service and in fact," (B) that "the service is performed outside the usual course of business of the employer," and (C) that the "individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed."