News

(The Center Square) – Charging more for pink razors, fruit-scented deodorants and other products marketed toward women that are “substantially similar” to products marketed to men would be outlawed in California under a bill sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Assembly Bill 1287 seeks to eliminate the “pink tax” within California – a phenomenon where products marketed toward women are more expensive than the same products marketed to men.

Alameda County – A handful of Tri-Valley Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s bills are now on their way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

One that recently passed the state legislature was Assembly Bill (AB) 2146, which is designed to limit the use of five pesticides that kill bees, birds and butterflies. The Senate voted 30-4 on Aug. 29 to pass AB 2146. The next day, the Assembly concurred 53-18.

If Newsom signs it into law, the action will curb the use of neonicotinoid, or neonic, pesticides in non-agricultural settings, such as home gardens and golf courses.

California is on the verge of making it easier for nurse practitioners to provide abortions, barring coroner investigations following a fetal death and dedicating $20 million to expand access to reproductive care programs in Los Angeles County under bills passed by the state Legislature before the body adjourned Wednesday.

Digital privacy is a huge concern in the post-Roe world, one where women’s bodies, or at least their uteruses, are increasingly considered community property in less enlightened states than California.

Women are being warned to delete their period-tracking apps, turn off our location tracking as if we are Russian spies crawling into Mar-a-Lago closets, and, gasp, pick up the phone rather than text.

California legislators are working on a clever way to help women, though — across the country, not just in our state.

Assembly Bill 2374 by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) passed the Senate and was sent to Governor Gavin Newsom for his consideration. AB 2374 strengthens fines against those caught illegally dumping garbage and waste, provides judges with flexibility to add penalties against the violator, and creates accessible public information for consumers regarding which companies are acting illegally.

A relatively new bill by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), AB 1242, added in June, would prohibit the arrest in California of anyone involved in providing or accessing an abortion. It would prohibit law enforcement in California from cooperating with out-of-state abortion investigations. Bauer-Kahan also authored AB 1666, which protects Californians from civil judgments based on laws in other states that are hostile to abortion rights. That went into immediate effect after the governor signed it in June.

Widely used insecticides that harm bees and songbirds would face far-reaching restrictions in California under regulations proposed by the state’s pesticide agency.

In the future, there will be a number to call for help, much like 911, yet different. It will be like a suicide crisis line, but better. On the other end of the line will be trained and experienced counselors adept at assisting people in the midst of mental health crises. They will be able to field questions and offer resources to families and friends concerned for the well-being of their loved ones.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday signed into law a bill to protect abortion providers and patients from bans, lawsuits and penalties in other states.

Long before the Supreme Court’s bombshell decision Friday overturning Roe v. Wade, transforming reproductive rights for the first time in 50 years, California had laws protecting access to an abortion within its own borders.

Now, with Friday’s ruling, Democratic leaders are rapidly moving to shore up and expand access to abortion during this year’s legislative session, taking steps to protect doctors and secure the state’s “safe harbor” for those seeking abortions.