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Hidden fees, gun taxes, date-rape testing kits: New California laws that take effect in July

Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times on

Published in News & Features

Bars and nightclubs in California will be required to offer kits that test for controlled substances slipped into drinks.

The law will require bars and clubs to sell (or offer for free) strips, stickers, straws or other devices that test alcoholic drinks for the presence of common date-rape drugs, including ketamine, GHB and flunitrazepam, which is often sold under the brand name Rohypnol.

AB 1013, introduced by Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), will also require bars and clubs to post "in a prominent and conspicuous location" a notice that reads: "Don't get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details."

Tax on guns and ammunition

The sale of many firearms, ammunition and parts used to build guns will incur an 11% excise tax. The revenue from AB 28 will fund gun violence prevention and gang intervention programs in California. The federal government charges an excise tax on guns, but California's is the first such tax at the state level.

The law, introduced by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), will not apply to sales to active and retired police officers and law enforcement agencies, nor to sales by mom-and-pop vendors who reported less than $5,000 in sales in the quarter when the purchase was made.

State budget analysts estimated that the tax would generate $159 million in revenue in the first year. If the excise tax is passed on by vendors to their customers, analysts said, the bill would generate additional sales and use tax revenue of up to $14 million for state and local governments.

 

Information on how to fix your iPhone

Manufacturers of many electronic devices and appliances will be required to provide the parts, tools and instructions needed to repair their products under a new law aimed at empowering consumers who are interested in fixing their own phones, dishwashers and lawnmowers.

Under SB 244, the Right to Repair Act, manufacturers must make documents, parts and tools available to fix devices that cost $50 to $99 for at least three years after the product was last manufactured. For products that cost more than $100, the time period rises to seven years, regardless of warranty periods.

California is the third U.S. state, after New York and Minnesota, to pass a so-called right-to-repair law.

The law, introduced by state Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), doesn't apply to video game consoles, fire alarms and heavy machinery used in agriculture, forestry and construction.


©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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