During a flurry of bill-signing over the past month, Gov. Jerry Brown made it possible for undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, provided more wildlife protections and toughened restrictions on paparazzi, along with dozens of other laws to close out the 2013 legislative session. This year alone, Brown has signed 805 pieces of legislation and vetoed 96 others, several of which may impact Malibu residents or workers.
Undocumented immigrants given green light
On Oct. 3, California became the 10th state to pass a law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, providing they can provide proof of identity and California residency, pass written and road tests, and pay any required fees. The DMV announced it will begin developing regulations required by the new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015.
The new licenses will have markings to indicate the driver lacks legal immigration status, but law enforcement cannot use this information to penalize drivers.
“Millions of immigrant families have been looking forward to this day,” Democratic Assemblyman and bill sponsor Luis Alejo said at a press conference. “It will allow them to go to work, go to school, take their kids to a doctor’s appointment without fear that they are going to have their car taken away from them, or worse, be put into immigration proceedings.”
The law specifically forbids using the licenses for employment, voter registration, public benefits or federal identification.
An unnamed Malibu day-laborer who has ridden the bus out to Trancas from downtown for more than 20 years said he plans on getting his license when the law goes into effect, but still has to learn how to drive.
“I want a car, but I don’t want the police to take it from me,” he said, referring to law enforcement’s ability to impound cars driven by those without licenses. “They took my friend’s car, and he would’ve had to pay $1,500 to get it back. It was cheaper for him to go buy another car.”
“Anti-Paparazzi” law
The so-called “anti-paparazzi law” introduced by state Sen. Kevin de León (D-LA) last February and signed by Brown on Sept. 24 targets paparazzi who photograph children of celebrities.
“Kids shouldn’t be tabloid fodder or the target of ongoing harassment,” Sen. de León told the press. “SB 606 will give children, no matter who their parents are, protection from harassers who go to extremes to turn a buck.”
The bill received national coverage when celebrities Halle Berry and Jennifer Garner testified in Sacramento with personal accounts of their own children being harassed by paparazzi.
The legislation amends an existing law on harassment by increasing the penalties. Currently, any person who intentionally harasses a child under age 16 because of their parent’s employment is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Under the amended law, penalties are up to one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. In addition, parents can now sue for actual and punitive damages, as well as other costs.
The law defines “harassment” as behavior that seriously “alarms, annoys, torments or terrorizes” a child, causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. This includes taking photos without parental consent by following or “lying in wait” for the child.
After its passage, Berry said she hopes “this is the beginning of the end for those overly aggressive paparazzi whose outrageous conduct has caused so much trauma and emotional distress.”
The California Broadcasters Association expressed concern that this law could force a station to defend itself in court.
“It potentially enables newsworthy parents to use children as shields to control the news process,” wrote Joe Berry in Ascertainment.
The issue of paparazzi stalking celebrity children for photos heated up in Malibu from 2006 to 2008. On June 22, 2006, paparazzo Clint Brewer was arrested in Malibu and taken to the Lost Hills Sheriff ’s station after jumping the fence at a daycare center attended by a child of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. On Dec. 3, 2007, Julia Roberts chased down a photographer she saw videotaping children near a Malibu school attended by her then 2-year old twins.