Faced with a do or die deadline for legislation today, lawmakers pushed through dozens of measures this week on everything from plastic bags to kindergarten.
Lawmakers tackled all sorts of topics. They advanced bills to ban plastic grocery bags and increase fines for drivers who gab on their cell phones. They passed a measure allowing California farm workers to get overtime pay after a 40-hour week. They pushed through a bill that requires health insurance companies to get approval before hiking rates.
Lawmakers also passed tougher penalties for violent sex offenders and a new ban on openly carrying firearms in public. They also passed a couple of key bills dealing with kids. One requires children to wear helmets while skiing; another raises the minimum age for kindergarten to 5. All of the bills now move to the other house for consideration.
