Capitol Briefs: Roofies, taxes and a touch of oddness

It’s going to be a really busy few days before everyone heads off to summer recess, so here’s a few things to ponder before you go.

Roofie testing law takes effect today: The first time Brandy Smith got roofied she felt like she’d been hit by a truck.

“My personality changed, my speech pattern changed,” she says. “My eyes were rolling back in my head. I was still talking, not actually seizing, but I was definitely really shaking.”

Thinking back on it now, she knows she was very lucky in many ways. For one, she was with a handful of friends, who quickly saw those changes and got her home. They deposited her into the bathtub – at one time a fairly common tactic for dealing with someone who has likely overdosed on a hard drug – and took turns watching her like a hawk until the next day. By then the worst of it was over, but it would take a while before she returned to normal.

“I actually have more trouble remembering the details of that day than I do of what happened that night,” she says.

It was only later that she realized that someone had put something in her drink, most likely gamma hydroxybutyrate, or GHB. Originally developed for use as an anesthetic, it has in recent years become more commonly known as a “date rape” drug for how often is it used by sexual predators, who slip it into their potential victims’ drink, rendering that person incapable of defending themselves.

So common in fact that an entire industry has come into being to provide bars and their patrons with ways to test whether or not a drink has been spiked with GHB or ketamine, the other popular drug of choice for those who commit such heinous crimes. And starting today in California, establishments that sell primarily alcohol and have a 21 and over age limit will be required to offer their customers access to those kits, either for free or for a minimal price.

The law, AB 1013 from Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023.

AB 1013 is just one of a handful of new laws taking effect today. Others include a new law allowing eateries to charge the dreaded surtax as long as they list the fees up front, a statute barring most rental units from coming with a security deposit of more than one month’s rent, and an increase of 1.9 cents per gallon on the state excise tax on gasoline.

Check this out before you go: Assemblywoman Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, is carrying a relatively dull bill in AB 2959, which would simply prevent the California Department of Corrections from price gouging the items in prison vending machines. In a recent analysis, the assemblywoman said the bill “is crucial to reducing the financial burden on families visiting their loved ones in CDCR facilities. The lack of regulation on food prices in these facilities results in significant markups, causing families to pay significantly more than local store prices.”

Nothing earth-shattering there. But what is interesting is the bill’s opposition – the California Council of the Blind. Huh?!

According to that analysis, “Many state prisons are operated by blind vendors working under the state’s Business Enterprise Program.” The council opposes AB 2959 because it argues “that many prisons are surrounded by big box stores and other chain stores that can dramatically undercut any price point that can be met by a blind vendor.”

AB 2959 passed off the Assembly Floor on May 22 on a 60-4 vote and is now sitting in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.