California has a host of new laws for the New Year. First and foremost on the list is the DMV’s “No Texting” law. Coinciding with the cell phone law of 2007, this law prohibits text messaging with a cell phone or other text-based communications device while driving a vehicle.
Another law on the DMV’s list is zero tolerance for those on probation who drive under the influence. Called DUI Probation License Suspension, the law creates a new authority for DMV to “administratively suspend the driver’s license for one year under a zero tolerance standard. The new law authorizes law enforcement to issue a notice of suspension and impound the vehicle of a person who is driving with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 percent or greater while on court-ordered post-DUI probation.”
Both laws are important for Sonoma County drivers. “With regards to the new no-texting law, it’s great because it goes hand-in-hand with the no cell phone use law,” said Sergeant Clint Shubel, a 15-year veteran with the Sonoma Police force. “In combination, the two laws work well to help keep everyone on our roads safe.”
One other law the DMV wants motorists to note is its limit on temporary operating permits. This law restricts DMV from issuing such permits to allow more time to obtain a smog certificate as part of the registration renewal process. Under the law, extensions will cost $50 and are only allowed if the vehicle has been tested at a smog station and failed.
Other DMV laws that go into affect include the following:
Unlicensed Car Dealers
Law enforcement officers can impound vehicles being sold by unlicensed dealers.
Counterfeit Clean Air Stickers – It’s now a crime to forge, counterfeit, or falsify a Clean Air Sticker, currently issued by DMV to certain low emission vehicles and permit vehicles with these stickers to be driven in the HOV lane.
New Special Interest License Plate
A new “Gold Star Family” special interest license will be available to family members of individuals killed in the line of duty while serving in the Armed Forces during wartime or military operations.
Motorcycle Definition
A motorcycle can now exceed a weight of 1500 pounds, and drivers of fully-enclosed 3-wheeled motor vehicles to use the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.
Ignition interlock devices
Effective July 2009, this new law transfers authority for the administration of mandatory IID programs from the state courts to the DMV. This law also authorizes the DMV to require any driver convicted of driving with a suspended license due to a prior conviction for DUI to install an IID in any vehicle that the offender owns or operates.
Alcohol-related reckless driving
A person convicted of alcohol-related reckless driving must participate in a licensed DUI program for at least nine months, if that person has a prior conviction for alcohol-related reckless driving or DUI within ten years, and the court is required to revoke the person’s probation for the failure to enroll in, participate in, or complete a licensed DUI program.
Global positioning systems
A portable GPS device can be mounted in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle, or in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the driver’s side. These are the only two locations on a windshield where a GPS device can be mounted.
911 call abuse
Penalties are increased for knowingly using, or allowing the use of, the 911 telephone system for any reason other than an emergency; it is now an infraction, and subject to either a written warning or a fine.
Spilling cargo loads
Restrictions are eased on cargo loads of straw or hay to allow individual pieces that do not pose a threat to life or property, to escape from bales of straw or hay that are being transported by a vehicle upon a highway, so long as those bales are loaded and secured according to federal regulations.
Assault on highway workers
The penalty is increased for assault and battery crimes committed against Caltrans highway workers who are engaged in the performance of their duties.
And two other new laws of note:
California pet stores have also come under scrutiny and a new law aims to set clearer guidelines for pet stores and animal-control officers. The Pet Store Animal Control Care Act sets requirements covering everything from caging, to animal handling, to enrichment in every pet store selling live companion animals, including reptiles and fish. The new law also sets some operating standards. Stores must establish and maintain a documented animal-care program in consultation with a licensed veterinarian, and they must make written animal-husbandry procedures available to all employees. Andrea Heller is the owner/operator of Sonoma Pet Center on West Napa as well as two other pet shops, in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. The new law is news to her ears. “In our shops, we take pride in caring for our animals and as a whole, Sonoma County is very pro-animal. When we become aware of a pet store that isn’t caring for their animals correctly, we see that they don’t stay in business,” says Heller. “With that in mind, we welcome the new law and look forward to other pet shops across California being forced to be in compliance or risk losing their business.”
For military families, the Family and Medical Leave Act is helpful. Families with members active in the military are eligible up to 12 weeks of leave if they meet the “qualifying exigencies: short notice deployment, attendance at official military events or activities, arranging or providing childcare, attending school or daycare meetings, handling financial and legal matters, and rest and recuperation visits when the soldier is on leave.”
