Capitol Briefs: The battle over card rooms goes to the governor

Lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom hundreds of bills to be acted on before the end of the month. Here are a few of those measures he must consider.

Casinos v. card rooms: Senate Bill 549, a bill authored by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), that would grant Indian gaming tribes one-time standing to ask the courts to determine the legality of the “player-dealer” system California card rooms use in order to offer certain Las Vegas-style games, such as blackjack.

Tribes point to Proposition 1A, passed by voters in 2000, which they say grants them exclusive rights to offer house-banked games. Card rooms counter that the player-dealer system – which uses third-party companies to act as the bank – does not violate the tenets of the law. Tribes have for years sought to have state regulators prohibit the card room games, but have to date been unsuccessful. The courts have also declined to act, ruling that since the tribes are sovereign governments, they have no standing to sue the card rooms.

The cards are now on the table for Gov. Newsom, who has not offered a tell on what he might be thinking.

AI child exploitation: Assembly Bill 1831, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), would criminalize the creation, distribution and possession of Artificial Intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material. In a press release, Berman said current laws allow “real children’s” photos to be taken from the internet including from social media profiles and school websites and turned into explicit AI- generated material. If signed, the bill will go into effect at the start of 2025.

Animal shelter relief: Senate Bill 1233, authored by Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), would establish a framework for California’s two accredited schools of veterinary medicine, UC Davis and Western University of Health Sciences, to create a first-in-the-nation High-Quality High-Volume Spay/Neuter (HQHVSN) certification program. HQHVSN programs often offer surgeries at a fraction of the usual price, making them more accessible to low-income Californians. The measure seeks to reduce the approximately 100,000 dogs and cats euthanized in California animal shelters each year.

Increased penalties for child sex buyers: Senate Bill 1414, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) has passed in the California Senate and moves to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, the bill increases penalties for people who purchase children for sex. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law. If signed, it will go into effect Jan. 1.

Youth and social media addiction protections: Senate Bill 976, authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), would require social media sites to have default settings for users under 18, including prohibiting overnight notifications, alternative non-addictive feeds, and no notifications during school hours. The bill also requires that minor accounts be set to private.

Public Safety and autonomous vehicles: Assembly Bill 1777, authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), would create a process for law enforcement to give citations to autonomous vehicles and require reporting to the DMV within 72 hours. It also standardizes communication with autonomous vehicle companies by creating a dedicated phone line for first responders, creating a two-way communication system for first responders and opt-in geo-fencing.

Private equity in health care: Assembly Bill 3129, a bill sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta and authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), that would require the AG’s approval before a private equity group could purchase certain types of health care facilities.

Vehicle speed warnings: Senate Bill 961, a first-in-the-nation bill by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would speed warning technology called intelligent speed assistance in all new cars manufactured or sold in California beginning with 2030 model year vehicles.

Capitol Weekly intern Mahrukh Siddiqui contributed to this story.