As they do every year, the new laws signed by California’s governor in 2021 range from the important to the interesting to the downright strange. And while the COVID-19 pandemic slowed Sacramento somewhat — with the second-fewest number of bills approved since 1967, only after the record low in 2020 — a full 770 pieces of fresh legislation were ratified, most of which went into effect on New Year’s Day. Here are some highlights.
- California was one of only four states without the ability to decertify law enforcement officers who committed serious misconduct, allowing individuals fired from one department to be quietly rehired by another. Now, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training has the power to effectively kick offending officers out of the profession for good.
- Police are now prohibited from firing rubber bullets and tear gas “indiscriminately into a crowd or group of persons” after a number of demonstrators were seriously injured during protests last summer following the murder of George Floyd. They are also not allowed to block journalists from covering demonstrations by intentionally interfering with or obstructing their newsgathering.