MARCOS CHRON
STAFF WRITER
Although the California Dream Act got the most attention when it passed into law on Jan. 1, there were more than 750 other bills that also became law in California this year, and many could affect students at Cal State San Marcos.
AB 130, better known as the Dream Act, has been a hot topic on campus since Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law last year. It allows illegal aliens who’ve attended California public schools for at least three years and graduated from a California high school to apply for state-funded financial aid at UC and CSU campuses as well as community colleges.
Tim Torlakson, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the Dream Act will help many young Californians afford a college education that was previously out of reach.
“Our goal for the new year and every year is to make education accessible and effective for all children,” Torlakson said in a statement. “These new laws will help ensure children are safer, enter kindergarten at the appropriate age, learn what they need to know to succeed in life and careers, and fulfill the dream of a college education.”
Cal State San Marcos spokeswoman Margaret Lutz said some other new laws that also may affect students here are AB 194, which offers priority enrollment to any former foster at any CSU, UC or community college campuses through 2017, and SB813, which grants priority enrollment to former members of the military (within four years of leaving active-duty service).
Other new laws on the California books this year include:
•A ban on the sale of caffeinated beer
•A requirement that schools intervene in cases of bullying of gay students
•A restriction on the sale of cough syrup containing destromethorphan (found in Dimetapp, NyQuil and other over-the-counter products)
•A ban on the sale of shark fins (used as a delicacy in soups by the Chinese)
•Governments or other agencies cannot gather information on people’s online reading habits without a court order
•Mandatory instruction in the public schools on the contributions of gay people
•A ban on allowing employers to check applicants’ credit reports
•Student athletes who sustain a possible concussion cannot play until receiving a doctor’s clearance
•A ban on the use of tanning beds by anyone under the age of 18
•A requirement that children under the age of 8 must be restrained in a booster seat while riding in the car
•A ban on the right of citizens to openly carry handguns
•A requirement that apartment buildings begin recycling program
•Police can no longer impound a vehicle at a sobriety checkpoint if the driver’s only guilty of driving without a licenses