Governor signs bill expanding chief justice's emergency power

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 23 bills late Friday, including closely watched measures on judicial emergencies and sex crimes.

AB 3366 addresses a bind encountered by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye when as she sought to limit court operations during the coronavirus pandemic. She could issue emergency orders affecting only one county at a time, at the request of the county's presiding justice.

The new law, which went into effect immediately, allows her to issue multi-county or statewide orders in emergencies.

SB 145 addresses a discrepancy in how gay and straight people were treated under the state's sex offense registry. Current law exempts adults from having to register as a sex offender if they have consensual sex with a minor older than 14 and if the perpetrator is less than a decade older. The new law extends those exemptions to acts of for oral and anal sex. Newsom also signed SB 898. It protects mony in a student college saving account established under the state's Golden State ScholarShare Trust Act from being seized by creditors. It was carried by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, an attorney active on debtors issues who is viewed as a possible new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year.

-- Malcolm Maclachlan