New Years Day means several new laws will go into effect statewide including ones penned by Central Coast representatives in Sacramento.
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson
Many bills authored by Local Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D- Santa Barbara) will become law Friday.
Some of these new laws will address sexual assault, the state's workforce and environmental regulations.
Perhaps Jackson's most notable piece of legislation however, is the 'California Fair Pay Act.' The senator said it will be the strongest equal pay law in the country.
"It is my hope and expectation that it will be a model for the rest of the county," said Jackson. "I had several of the Congress members from California and other states ask me for copies of the bill and just a discussion of how it was that we were able to get such overwhelming bi-partisan support. "
The law requires employers to pay women equally to their male counterparts for "substantially similar work" and ensure women are not retaliated against for asking about or discussing male colleagues' salaries.
Jackson also authored two bills in response to the Refugio Oil Spill in May, when Plains All-American Pipeline 901 ruptured, releasing thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Santa Barbara Channel.
The 'Rapid Oil Response Act' aims to make clean up efforts faster and more effective in the event of an oil spill.
The other law will require the State Fire Marshal to inspect pipelines annually, instead of every two or more years.
The annual inspections required by the legislation won't begin until 2017.
Senator Bill Monning
Senator Bill Monning (D- Carmel) co-authored a bill that would give terminally-ill Californians the option of an 'end of life' prescription.
The bill was signed in October but it will not take effect in January. Senator Monning said the bill was passed in what's called an "extraordinary session on health," which is still in progress.
"Until we adjourn that session, probably sometime in January, it will take 90 days after that period for the 'End of Life Option Act' to become operational and available to Californians," said Monning.
He said opponents of the bill are working to qualify a ballot referendum allowing Californians to vote in November whether to repeal the law.
In addition to the 'End of Life Option Act,' Brown signed three other bills authored by Monning, including one which extends the California Sea Otter Fund through 2021.
Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian
Several bills authored by Assemblyman Katcho Achadijian (R- San Luis Obispo) become law in January, including one to extend funding for emergency planning at Diablo Canyon through 2025.
Achadjian is running for the 24th District Congressional seat, but said serving in the assembly is his priority.
He said he will have a better idea of what to expect in the new year once it actually begins.
"Many requests will come through, and then we will screen them and see what we will do or not do. I haven't been a bill-crazy guy. I will write about four or five bills and they're all either redoing existing bills, making them better, or something comes up with a local jurisdiction they need help with," said Achadjian.
In addition to the nuclear power plant funding bill signed by Governor Brown, Achadjian's bill prohibiting manufacturers from holding local car dealers liable when a vehicle is exported or resold under certain conditions, becomes law in January among others.
Assemblymember Das Williams
Assemblymember Das Williams (D- Carpinteria) authored a bill that will allow the community of Isla Vista to become a Community Services District, if they vote to do so.
Williams said the community has been trying to gain the self-governing status for decades now.
Among the several pieces of legislation Williams authored becoming law in 2016, are two bills focusing on clean energy, one of which requires California to get half its energy from renewable source by 2030.
