There are 725 new laws in california that take effect today, including these:
* AB 119 prevents insurance companies from charging different rates for men and women for identical coverage.
* SB 782 prevents landlords from evicting tenants who are victims of domestic or sexual abuse or stalking.
* AB 1844—informally known as Chelsea's Law and authored by local Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher—will increase penalties, parole provisions and oversight of sex offenders, including a "one-strike, life-without-parole penalty" for some. 
* AB 1871 allows people to lease out their cars when they are not being used—alleviating the need to purchase additional insurance.
* AB 537 will make food stamps an acceptable form of payment at farmers markets through an EBT process.
* SB 1411 makes it a misdemeanor to maliciously impersonate someone via a social media outlet or through e-mails.
* SB 1317 allows the state to slap parents with a $2,000 fine if their K-8 child misses more than 10 percent of the school year without a valid excuse. It also allows the state to punish parents with up to a year in prison for the misdemeanor.
* AB 715 makes a change to the California Green Building Standards code. The change will require new California buildings to be energy efficient.
* SB 1449 makes the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana an infraction with a penalty of a $100 fine.
* AB 12 allows foster youth to acquire state services until the age of 21.
* SB 1399 allows California to medically parole state prison inmates with physical incapacitating conditions and ultimately shifts some of the cost of care to the federal government.
* AB 97 bans the use of trans-fats in food facilities.
http://lamesa.patch.com/articles/there-outta-be-a-law-californians-getting-725-new-ones-in-2011
