New Laws In 2021

Good Morning, I’m Annica Colbert….it’s Monday, January 4th. New State Laws taking effect this year. We’ll have that next, but first... let’s do the headlines…. San Diego county public health officials reported more than 35-hundred new covid-19 infections on sunday, and no new deaths. Officials also reported 46 new hospitalizations and 9 more people in intensive care. On Friday, a record of more than 44-hundred cases was reported. B-1-1-7 is the name of the new coronavirus variant confirmed in San Diego County and elsewhere. The strain is believed to be more contagious, but evidence suggests that it’s not causing people to have more severe illnesses. The variant could mean public health protocols may have to be even more strict, especially as we await confirmation that current treatments and vaccines are effective against it. On Saturday, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer tweeted support for a statewide effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. In the tweet Faulconer criticized the governor over the job market, homelessness and the state’s fumbled unemployment system. The effort to recall Newsom has received more than 900-thousand signatures. It needs nearly 1.5 million signatures by mid-march to qualify for the ballot. From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need. Today we have a special broadcast from our partners at CapRadio on some of the new laws going into effect in 2021. We start with…criminal justice reform: From here on out, state prosecutors will investigate all police shootings that result in the death of unarmed civilians...taking over that responsibility from local authorities. CapRadio’s Scott Rodd reports. It was one of few law enforcement reform bills that survived the last legislative session. The law requires the California Department of Justice to investigate all police shooting deaths of unarmed civilians....but does not apply to other fatalities at the hands of law enforcement. Assemblymember Kevin McCarty has been pushing this change for years. MCCARTY-1: “Well, I just think there's an inherent conflict-of-interest of police policing themselves with regards to officer involved shootings.” He says that extends to district attorneys as well. MCCARTY-2: “They work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement to get elected to do their job.” Prosecutors under the Attorney General will handle these cases...once Governor Gavin Newsom allocates money for the program in the state budget. It’s expected to cost 26-million-dollars in its first year. Law enforcement groups opposed the legislation. The state sheriffs’ association argued local agencies are best positioned to handle these investigations...adding that the new law creates confusion over where local authority ends, and state responsibility begins. SOC Also going into effect this year is AB 1076 - which mandates that individuals with criminal charges that did not result in a conviction must have criminal records automatically cleared. Also, people who were on probation or in jail and finished their sentence can also have their records cleared after the statute of limitations has passed. Currently people have to make a petition in court to have their record cleared. According to the bill, less than a quarter of people eligible end up doing so. Meanwhile employers, landlords and nearly 60% of colleges screen for criminal records. The new automation process only applies to individuals ​arrested or convicted after Jan. 1, 2021 California now has strict new rules that are meant to protect workers from contracting COVID-19 on the job. CapRadio’s Nicole Nixon reports on A-B 685. If you can’t work remotely and have spent any time *at* work the past couple months, you may have received an email from HR telling you that a colleague tested positive for the coronavirus, or was exposed to someone with it. Starting this year, employers will *have* to do that. The new law requires written notification of potential exposures in the workplace. Labor attorney Caroline Donelan says employers have an ethical duty to keep their workers safe, and many have already been doing this. DONELAN: These processes are probably already in place for most employers. But now in addition to this ethical duty, they now have a legal duty to do. The law also requires companies to report outbreaks — defined as three or more cases at a jobsite — to their local public health department. Donelan says workers who don’t feel they’re getting those protections have a few options. She says it’s a good idea to start by speaking with your employer first. But if that doesn’t change anything, head to Cal/OSHA’s website. DONELAN: They have a hotline to call if employees have questions on things like paid sick leave, retaliation protections. And if they feel like they’ve gotten to the point where they want to file a complaint, that can be done completely online as well. The last thing AB 685 does is give Cal/OSHA the authority to shut down work sites that aren’t following these new coronavirus rules. But Donelan says the agency is already overwhelmed, so how much it actually uses that power remains to be seen. Also going into effect in 2021 is a new law - which authorizes the California Department of General Services to contract exclusively with drug manufacturers. Meaning Californians will get access to cheaper versions of some prescription medications, including at least one form of insulin. 2020 was a tough year for musicians who rely on live performances for their livelihood. But a new law could help many of these performers and other self-employed professionals once venues reopen. CapRadio’s Chris Nichols reports. Even before the pandemic, jazz musician Tony Guerrero was struggling to deal with AB 5. That’s the controversial state law that required music venues and many other businesses to treat independent contractors as employees. 01Tony: “It was dropped on us with no explanation and just a lot of penalties and threats, basically.” (:06) Guerrero says the cost to venues jumped 30 percent overnight forcing many to stop hiring and cancel performances. Even band leaders like Guerrero, who played at dozens of locations across Southern California, had to convert each member of their band into employees. … Even fill-ins. Otherwise, they couldn’t be hired. 02Tony: “2020 has been kind of a banner year for those of us in the creative arts, aside from being nonessential in the pandemic, AB 5 had already wreaked havoc on us.” (:10) Then this fall, freelance musicians, writers, photographers and many other self-employed workers won an exemption with the passage of AB 2257. Guerrero says freelancers didn’t get everything they wanted, but … 03Tony: “I can now go work in a jazz club, hire my bass player, do all that and everything is normal. I can’t do it at the same venue more than once a week, otherwise it becomes a job again.” (:10) Once it's safe to hold live performances again, musicians like Guerrero say this new law should make it a little more feasible to do so. Chris Nichols, CapRadio News. In Sacramento, I’m Chris Nichols. [Music fades] Also going into effect this year is SB 973. It mandates all employers with 100 or more employees to annually file data on pay rates. The new law is intended to combat gender and racial pay gaps by forcing employers to be transparent about how they pay their employees. California’s nurse midwives will soon be able to practice independently. Maternal health groups say the change could reduce deaths among black moms and babies. CapRadio’s Sammy Caiola [kay-OH-luh] reports. Nurse midwives have needed physician approval to provide medication and perform certain procedures on pregnant and birthing patients. Advocates say the new flexibility will help ease the shortage of obstetricians in rural areas.. And Nourbese Flint with the Black Women for Wellness Action Project says birth outcomes tend to be better with nurse midwives. “Back before we were able to go into hospitals, midwives were the folks that all Black families had to help with their births. So in a sense it’s opening up the door to more options people have.” Black mothers in California are nearly four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White mothers. Black babies are more like than white babies to be born with a low birth weight. SOC Publicly held companies headquartered in California will now be mandated to have at least one board director be a person or color or identify as LGBTQ. CapRadio’s Sarah Mizes-Tan reports. The new law mandates all these companies diversify their corporate boards by the end of the year. Right now, California is home to over 650 of these companies, but nearly 37 percent have boards that are all white. Patricia Salas Pineda is chairwoman of the Latino Corporate Directors Association. She says Latinos in particular were the group least represented on boards, making up only 2 percent. PINEDA: Given that California is a state where the Latino population is roughly 40 percent, and we are the fastest growing consumer segment for many of these companies. So it was really alarming. Corporate boards like those of Apple, Alphabet and Tesla would need to add at least one Asian, African American, Latino, Native American or Pacific Islander member by December of this year or risk being fined up to 300 thousand dollars. In Sacramento, I’m Sarah Mizes-Tan From Sacramento, that was Sarah Mizes-Tan. And you can check out more new California laws taking effect this year at Cap-Radio-dot-org-slash-New-Laws. Coming up.... The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health, but it’s especially difficult for veterans with Post traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries. We’ll have that story next, just after this break. Month after month of social distancing and pandemic anxiety has taken a toll on many Americans' mental health. But it's been especially tough on veterans who were already dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries. From Tampa, Stephanie Colombini reports for the American Homefront Project. 38 year-old Army veteran Sergio Alfaro of Chicago used to walk down the street terrified anyone he passed might try to hurt him. The former combat medic has battled PTSD for years since coming home from Iraq. He was in a much better place at the start of this year. But Alfaro says the pandemic has caused some of that progress to unravel. ["now i have that sense of danger creeping back into my life again. I have to worry you know, if the person standing next to me has COVID, you know is that something im gonna catch? Am i also going to be putting my families’ lives at risk as well?] Staying away from people may be the best way to avoid the virus but it's also what's fueled Alfaro's depression. He says things many people take for granted like making small-talk with coworkers in the office or shaking hands with his therapist before an appointment were important to his recovery. ["It just helps me not to feel so alone"] And he's not alone. Alfaro's a member of the Wounded Warrior Project, a service organization for post-9/11 veterans. A recent survey found half the group's members said their mental and physical health had worsened because of COVID-19. Vice President of Program Operations Melanie Mousseau says a deeper analysis of the results found warriors with PTSD were 3 times more likely to struggle. She says it makes sense, with the pandemic causing disruptions in care, financial instability and disconnect from loved ones for many. ["It's a perfect storm as far as really creating that environment that can increase the display of the symptoms, the severity of the symptoms."] For some veterans, the pandemic has been a wake-up call. (fade up golf sounds) Tampa resident Roberto Cruz is golfing for the first time in months. Since recovering from temporary paralysis after getting shot in Iraq, he'd typically hit the links with other vets. These days he usually plays alone. [i mean im not great but just being out there being able to do something by myself still is an amazing feeling it makes me feel like im fine] Cruz says for more than a decade he brushed off suggestions from his veteran friends and family members that he address the invisible wounds of war, pointing to the scars on his arm where the bullet hit as proof of his only injury. But then Cruz got sick with COVID-19 in July and spent weeks in isolation fearing for his life once again. ["It was the worst, worst time of my life, and when you're there by yourself your mind starts going to different places it hasn't been in forever. it made me realize and understand that i was mentally ill too and now i took that huge step that i was never willing to take and accept but I accepted that i need help "] Cruz recovered from the virus and entered a PTSD treatment program. He admits it's a tough time to start therapy -- all of his appointments so far have been virtual. Both he and Sergio Alfaro say it's just not the same to get care on video chat or over the phone. Still, they say having any sort of connection is what's helping them get through this pandemic. Cruz says he's already made great strides in just a few months. [i feel like it's a new reborn, new me. I feel very positive now about my life, about my future, I'm more calm, I'm more peaceful, I'm finding the peace that I've been searching for.] As the pandemic surges, Sergio Alfaro and Roberto Cruz say they're focused on spending time with family and keeping up with treatment. Alfaro's also volunteering to help other struggling vets. And Cruz is working on his golf swing, both to maintain his game and his mental health. That was Stephanie Colombini reporting from Tampa.This story was produced by the American Homefront Project, a public media collaboration that reports on American military life and veterans. Funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting On the arts front today...… Wonder Woman 1984 and Mulan were films designed to showcase strong women. But KPBS film critic Beth Accomando says these big budget, heavily promoted studio pictures proved disappointing. So she suggests checking out an indie gem called swallow, available on streaming platforms, that offers a quiet and unexpected tale of female empowerment. Hunter is like a porcelain doll kept on the shelf by her husband and his wealthy family. She’s something to trot out for display but god forbid she try to express herself.CLIP It was like this religious calling… Oh Richie before I forget…As she’s interrupted by her father-in-law. Hunter is suddenly drawn to the ice cubes in her glass and decides to noisily chew and swallow them.CLIP Sorry this ice is totally awesome.So begins Hunter’s strange obsession with swallowing objects. After the ice she turns to marbles, thumbtacks, and more. The disorder is known as pica and for Hunter it becomes the only thing she can control.The feature debut of writer-director Carlos Mirabella-Davis plays out like a Hitchcock thriller with Haley Bennett’s Hunter recalling Joan Fontaine’s delicate performances in Rebecca and Suspicion. Mirabella-Davis says the story was inspired by his grandmother who used OCD rituals as a way to create order in a life she felt increasingly powerless in. The film feels deeply personal as it keeps everything from Hunter’s point of view. The film acknowledges that these are first world problems yet it also recognizes that Hunter is in desperate need of relief. Her quiet rebellion is inspiring and her journey is rendered in exquisite perfection by Mirabella-Davis. I find this small indie film so much more satisfying than the CGI inflated Wonder Woman 1984 and Mulan, and ironically it feels much more driven by its female character. Beth Accomando, KPBS News. San Diego Opera is no stranger to challenges. So when COVID-19 hit and forced arts organizations to shut down, it was in many ways ready to meet the challenge. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando speaks with the Opera’s general director David Bennett for this pandemic profile. Back in March, San Diego Opera was the first opera company in the United States to have to postpone or cancel performances because of the pandemic, says general director David Bennett. DAVID BENNETT: [00:14:17.586] So we hit us very early in March and then we had to postpone the rest of our season. And so since then, all we have done is think about being nimble and pivoting and trying to find ways and explore ways to produce opera that can guarantee safety. And the company did. San Diego Opera was one of the first to return to live performances with its innovative drive-in production of La Boheme in October.It built an outdoor stage in the Sports Arena parking lot and safely gave each singer 120 square feet of social distancing on stage while audience members watched safely in their cars. Bennett says that kind of adaptability came in part from the opera facing closure five years ago. DAVID BENNETT: [00:07:00.950] We've learned to be adaptive and nimble, that actually it's one of our core values that the company created that says through nimble adaptation to the changing marketplace, we preserve the future of San Diego Opera. And that was written as a response to the near closure and I think in terms was really thought about financial changing marketplace. But boy, are those words never more true than they are right now. And so we have to learn to be nimble. That nimbleness has allowed them to remain open and keep their core staff on payroll. But the productions they have presented are a fraction of what they would normally do in a season. So the question is how long can an opera company that's not producing operas stay in business? It’s a challenge that Bennett is ready to meet in 2021 in order to preserve San Diego Opera. Beth Accomando, KPBS News. ….That’s it for the podcast today. Be sure to catch KPBS Midday Edition At Noon on KPBS radio, or watch KPBS Evening Edition at 5 O’clock on KPBS Television. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Annica Colbert. Thanks for listening and have a great day.