Liberty and Justice Under Law
A look at legislation sponsored by the California Department of Justice
Each year, my office sponsors legislation to help better the lives of everyday Californians. From education to healthcare, gun reform to data privacy, our DOJ-sponsored legislation tackles some of the most pressing issues of our time. Here are just a few of the bills we sponsored that recently became law.
Thank you to all of our bill authors, advocates, the California Legislature, and Governor Newsom for working with us to pass these much-needed bills.
AB 824, authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood, combats illegal, secretive deals between pharmaceutical companies in which one drug company pays its competitor to delay the competitor’s research, production, or sale of a competing version of its drug. These collusive agreements, known as “pay-for-delay” agreements, stifle competition and hike the prices patients pay for prescription medicines. AB 824 makes California the first state in the nation with a law to tackle pay-for-delay agreements.
“Intentionally restraining competition to inflate drug profits is illegal. Doing so when the life or well-being of our loved ones may lie in the balance is immoral.”
— Attorney General Becerra.
The new law, set to go into effect on January 1, 2020, would presume these agreements are anti-competitive and delay the entry of the generic drug into the marketplace. It would also limit the ability of drug companies to use attorney-client and common-interest legal privileges to withhold relevant evidence regarding these collusive agreements. AB 824 establishes a stronger platform to investigate and prosecute these illegal and harmful drug pricing practices.
AB 1296, authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, combats the illicit underground economy by permanently establishing the Tax Recovery in the Underground Economy program (TRUE) Task Force with multiagency investigative teams throughout California. AB 1296 ensures that there will be multi-agency collaboration among key governmental entities, including the Department of Justice, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the Franchise Tax Board, and the Employment Development Department to investigate and prosecute black market crimes. Together these agencies combat wage theft, human trafficking, tax evasion, counterfeiting and other crimes in the underground economy.
Since the beginning of the modest pilot program, investigative teams have identified $482 million in unreported gross receipts and $60 million in associated tax loss to the state. Additionally, through its criminal enforcement actions, the pilot program has recovered over $25 million in lost tax revenue, victim restitution, and investigation costs.
AB 1130, authored by Assemblymember Marc Levine, protects consumers by strengthening California’s data security laws. Effective January 1, 2020, AB 1130 will update the state’s existing data breach notification law to include tax identification numbers, passport numbers, military identification numbers, A-numbers, or other unique identification numbers issued on a government document commonly used to verify the identity of a specific individual. Because these numbers are unique, static identifiers of a person, they are valuable to criminals seeking to create or build fake profiles and commit sophisticated identity theft and fraud. AB 1130 also updates the statute to include protection for a person’s unique biometric information, such as a fingerprint, or image of a retina or iris.
SB 376, authored by Senator Anthony Portantino, prevents individuals from selling large numbers of firearms without a license by capping the number of annual sales allowed at five transactions or 50 firearms. It also caps the number of firearms an individual can manufacture each year at 50. Additionally, it will close a loophole that allows firearms to be auctioned or raffled off without a background check.
AB 1669, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta, ensures that all vendors who participate in California gun shows are required to obtain the same licenses and receive the same treatment under the law.
AB 1313, authored by Assemblymember Luz Rivas, prohibits postsecondary schools from withholding transcripts from students who owe a debt and ensures students are not hamstrung in pursuing educational and career opportunities by the practices of certain schools and colleges.
AB 1313 was introduced to address educational policy that allowed schools to withhold transcripts to collect debt. California has taken steps to move away from this practice. Last year, California passed AB 1974, which prohibits K-12 public and charter schools from withholding grades or transcripts from students because they owe a debt. AB 1313 addresses the same issue at postsecondary schools and colleges by prohibiting them from conditioning the provision of a transcript on the payment of a debt. Postsecondary schools would also be prohibited from charging a higher fee or providing a less favorable treatment of a request for a transcript simply because the student owes a debt.
SB 647, authored by Senator Holly Mitchell, protects consumers by updating California’s metal-containing jewelry laws to better reflect current science and international standards on the toxicity of lead and cadmium in jewelry. Lead and cadmium are toxic metals that can cause severe and chronic health effects including neurological impairments, kidney damage, seizures, comas, and death. Young children are especially susceptible to these adverse health effects, because their bodies and brains are still developing.
