State of the States ARIZONA CALIFORNIA
Newsom Inks Radical New Laws
“As goes California, so goes the nation.” Gov. Gavin Newsom, increasingly eyed as a potential
Democrat presidential candidate to replace Joe Biden, signed a host of new laws that took eff ect in January, including sweeping restrictions on carrying firearms. The law prohibits carrying concealed guns in 26 places, including public parks and playgrounds, churches, banks, and zoos, and took eff ect despite a challenge by gun rights activists. It applies regardless of whether the person has a permit to
carry a concealed weapon. The state will also start charging an 11% sales tax on guns and ammunition in July. The California Rifle and Pistol Association has sued to block the law. A district judge agreed, saying it was “sweeping, repugnant to the Second Amendment, and openly defiant of the Supreme Court.” Newsom, who has positioned himself as a national leader on
gun control, has vowed to push for more gun control laws. Other new laws passed by California’s liberal legislature and
rubber-stamped by Newsom include: The minimum wage increased to $16 an hour, and will jump to $20 an hour in April for fast-food workers. Paid sick leave for full- and part-time California workers will
go from three days to a minimum of five for both hourly and salaried employees. Employers must provide five days of leave to an employee who suff ers a reproductive loss such as a failed adoption, miscarriage, stillbirth, unsuccessful embryo transfer, or artificial insemination. Businesses must put signage on single-user restrooms that
indicates the toilet. A retirement fund was set up for mixed martial arts fighters.
Any MMA fighters who have fought in at least 39 rounds in the state will be eligible for retirement benefits starting at age 50. Employers are banned from discriminating against an employee based on the person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. Landlords may only ask for one month’s rent for a security
deposit. Doctors and healthcare practitioners who are based in
California and mail abortion pills or gender-af irming treatment to patients in other states will receive legal protection. Authorities may not cooperate with out-of-state investigations, and bounty hunters are banned from apprehending doctors or pharmacists in California to stand trial in another state. Physician assistants may perform surgical abortions without the direct supervision of a physician. The governor is authorized to seek work permits for unauthorized workers and protect them from deportation.
20 NEWSMAX | FEBRUARY 2024 SOURCE: TCADP
Pace of Executions Slows The application of the death penalty in Texas slowed in 2023,
according to the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. While the state still ranks No. 1 for executions, the pace
has decelerated over the past two decades. In 2000, it put 40 inmates to death. In 2023, eight inmates were executed. Six of the eight had mental health or intellectual impairments. Texas juries sentenced three inmates to death in 2023. Experts believe that in-state juries were more open
to sentencing inmates to life in prison. Meanwhile, Texas Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty questions whether the death penalty aligns with conservative principles and values.
BORDER GUNFIRE CONCERNS Ranchers in southern Arizona
are being warned about cartel gunfire on the border with Mexico. Lori Lindsay, owner of the
Tres Bellotas Ranch located south of Arivaca, said she recently heard shooting and then the U.S. Border Patrol asked to come onto her property to prevent people from entering the country illegally. “They updated me that the
Mexican military was here, and so things ended pretty quickly after that,” she said. Lindsay said there are nine gaps in the border wall “large enough to drive a car through,” and she believes more needs to be done to make the border safe. She would like a policy
that secures the border but also makes room for legal immigration.
TEXAS NOEM A wide majority of registered
voters in South Dakota would like Republican Gov. Kristi Noem to make good on her promise of eliminating the grocery tax. A poll sponsored by South
Dakota News Watch found that 60.6% supported a bill that would end the 4.2% tax on food. Another 28.8% wanted to keep the tax. “Gov. Noem agrees with a
majority of South Dakotans that a grocery tax cut is the best tax relief option for the people of South Dakota,” her spokesper- son said. “The legislature has not indicated that they are willing to pass such a tax cut. Should they change their mind, Gov. Noem would love to work with them to deliver it for the people.”
SOUTH DAKOTA
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