Capitol Briefs: Admissions, AI and dyes, oh my!

Lawmakers are rapidly filling up Gov. Gavin Newsom’s September dance card, sending him scores of bills before they adjourn on Saturday. Here’s a list of some of those from yesterday that caught our eye.

AI regulation: Lawmakers gave final approval to SB 1047, a measure primarily authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would require developers of the largest artificial intelligence systems to test their models for the ability to cause harm. The measure would also establish a new public cloud computing cluster, CalCompute, to enable startups, researchers, and community groups to participate in development of large-scale AI systems.

PBM regulation: Another Scott Wiener bill also cleared the Legislature – SB 966, a proposal that would dramatically increase oversight of pharmacy benefit managers. PBMs are companies that manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health insurance companies, Medicare drug plans, and large employers, among others. The bill, which passed on a 38-2 vote, would require all PBMs to be licensed and disclose basic information regarding their business practices to the California Department of Insurance.

Legacy college admissions on the line: The Legislature signed off on AB 1780, a bill that would bar private colleges and universities in California from giving preferential treatment to legacy applicants, those potential students whose family are alumni or significant donors to the school. If endorsed by Gov. Newsom, California would join Maryland as the only states which ban legacy admissions at private colleges. Maryland also bars the practice at public universities, as do Colorado and Virginia.

Buh bye food dyes? Newsom will also get to ponder AB 2316, a proposal that would bar California K-12 public schools from serving foods containing six synthetic food dyes that have been linked to developmental and behavioral harms to children.

Buh by plastic bags? Lawmakers approved two bills – SB 1053 and AB 2236 – that collectively would fully ban California grocery stores from providing customers with anything but a paper bag for a fee at checkout lanes.

Two years of free college: Eligible students completing at least one year of service in the California Conservation Corps could receive two years of tuition free college under AB 3034, authored by Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Campbell). The bill would apply to both the CSU and UC systems, with the caveat that it would take effect in the UC system only if and when approved by the system’s regents.

Slow down…or else: Lawmakers endorsed SB 1509, a traffic safety bill that would assign two points for repeat offenses of excessive speeding that occur within three years and create a graduated fine schedule based on the number of violations within a year.

Banning book bans: Under AB 1825, co-authored by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine), public libraries would be barred from “banning books based on partisan or political reasons, viewpoint discrimination, gender, sexual identity, religion, disability, or on the basis that the books contain inclusive and diverse perspectives.” The measure would further declare the intent of the Legislature to develop a process for removing books from libraries.

No license, no problem: Lawmakers approved SB 1100, a bill authored by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) that would prohibit employers from requiring a driver’s license as a condition of employment unless the position requires driving as part of the employee’s duties, or if the employer determines that an employee could not satisfactorily perform the job using alternate transportation.

Prison media access: Journalists, lawmakers and others would have much greater access to California’s state prisons under SB 254, authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). The proposal would, among many things, allow journalists to tour prisons and jails, interview prisoners, and use video cameras and recording devices in those interviews.