INGA BARKS: Some of these new laws are just absurd
| Friday, Dec 31 2010 03:00 PM
Last Updated Friday, Dec 31 2010 03:00 PM
Despite being called the "Party of No," Republicans (conservatives) aren't opposed to law and governance. Just ridiculous and unnecessary law and governance.
Nobody does ridiculous and unnecessary better than California.
Moral and just laws are good because they create and maintain order. Laws as simple as stopping at a red light also save lives. But how we got from red light laws to one that prohibits landlords from requiring tenants to get their indoor cat declawed as a condition of moving in, I do not know.
That's not a joke. In 2010, the Legislature actually debated, voted on and sent a bill to the governor's desk addressing the all-important issue of landlords and cat claws.
Every year we get new laws that limit freedoms, or cost money, or both.
On Jan. 1, 2011, the state ushers in a slew of laws. Not all are bad. AB1601 allows a judge to revoke the license of a multiple DUI offender for as many as 10 years. The Amber Alert, which alerts the public through the media and on the freeways that a child has been kidnapped will be joined by the Blue Alert, which will tell the public if there's a manhunt on for someone who has killed or attempted to kill a police officer.
Good laws!
But joining those laws are ones that limit your hunting and fishing trips. Sellers of ammunition will be required to record the name and ID of buyers. We can all rest easy knowing that gang members and murderers will all be caught this way, rather than just inconveniencing law abiding hunters and target shooters.
And those of us who buy a fishing license for our loved ones will be able to get no more than a voucher now that it requires ID and a computer check to get the tags ... to FISH
In 2011, Smith's Bakery will have to make its tasty treats without trans fats. More than 40 years of lines out the door and the government has decided you didn't really like the trans fats.
And as of January 2011, incandescent light bulbs won't be sold. And pool pumps, refrigerators and TVs that don't meet the standards of state regulators will no longer be sold in California.
Though I state that most laws limit liberty, there are two new laws in 2011 that actually give freedom to those who wouldn't otherwise have it.
The first involves pot smokers. Though the voters frowned upon legalizing marijuana in November, the state officially holds no grudge when it catches you with an amount of marijuana it previously would have cuffed you for.
Starting in 2011, having up to an ounce of pot will no longer be an arrestable offense. There is still a fine, which shows the motive of the lawmakers. The state makes money and doesn't have to worry about processing and housing the criminal!
Speaking of the cost of housing criminals ... in 2011 the state of California will begin releasing inmates who are "severely ill or dying." After all, how badly can a dying rapist hurt you? He's dying!
This law is in response to the high cost of medical treatment for inmates due to prisoner lawsuits that resulted in the feds taking over our state prison medical system and insisting that we be a bottomless pit of healthcare for rapists, murderers and pedophiles. California lawmakers find themselves in the position of thinking about cost rather than public safety.
Of course, a sick felon will probably find a tough time getting insurance and end up on Medi-Cal or Medicare. Either way, we pick up the tab, only now the financial burden won't be on the state prison system. And neither will the risk.
I hear the Lockerbie bomber who killed 270 people on Pan Am 103 back in the 1980s is alive and resting comfortably in a villa nearly three years after his "medical release" from a Scotland prison.
Now before you get out the pitchforks and start chasing your local legislator, I should tell you in fairness that not all of the regulations are their doing. See, the California Legislature is far too cowardice to do some of the dirty work. That's why it has commissions! Groups of unelected bureaucrats who raise taxes and limit freedoms without a governor's signature or vote of the people.
State legislators have created these boards and commissions and packed them with political appointees, termed out legislators looking for an easy six figures and some commissions are made up of local elected officials who are chosen by their peers to represent their constituents on regulatory committees that allow them to limit your freedoms without your permission.
The no burn days that tell you when you can have a fire, and the new tax on cars registered in the valley -- decided by people you didn't ask to make those decisions.
The Public Utilities Commission called for those popular SmartMeters. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District tacked on an extra fee for vehicle registrations for valley drivers.
The California Energy Commission has gone after your light bulbs, air conditioners, TVs and pool pumps in the new year.
As for the Legislature in the new year, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma wants to pass a law banning "rave parties" because she just discovered that at music concerts, some people do drugs and engage in risky behavior.
I think I'll stick with the "Party of No."
Inga Barks, who hosts a talk show on KMJ AM 580, is one of four community columnists whose work appears here every Saturday. These are the opinions of Barks, not necessarily The Californian. You can e-mail her at ibarks@bakersfield.com. Next week: Ric Llewellyn.
