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Photo: Pet adoption displays are OK, but no go on sales near public streets or on sidewalks –  Senate Bill 917.

Here are just a few of the countless new bills that have gone into effect on January 1, 2012!

Business

• Landlords can ban smoking in rental housing.  SB 332.
• No beer with added caffeine can be made or sold.  SB 39. Note: This California bill does not put an end to brews like Meantime Coffee Porter, Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout or Mateveza Yerba Mate IPA, which are all brewed with coffee, coffee beans, or herbal tea. This ban which prohibits sales of beers with caffeine added as a separate ingredient comes after incidents involving the hospitalization of young drinkers who consumed alcohol mixed with caffeine.
• Employers in most cases cannot use consumer credit history for employment purposes. AB 22.
• Local governments cannot pass ordinances requiring businesses to use the federal E-verify program to electronically check on immigration status. AB 1236.

Education

• The Dream Act allows illegal immigrants attending college starting Jan. 1 to apply for private financial aid. AB 130. Then starting Jan. 1, 2013, those students can apply for public aid, such as scholarships and fee waivers. They could receive Cal Grants starting in the fall of 2013. AB 131.
• School curriculum must address gay rights, and disability rights, including notable figures in the history of both communities. SB 48.

Motorists

• Children who are younger than 8 or shorter than 4 feet 9 inches must be buckled into a back-seat booster. SB 929.
• Car buyers will pay $25 more for documentation fees. In return, dealers must post a red warning sign if the vehicle had been totaled, returned under the “lemon law” or suffered some other catastrophic damage. Effective July 1. AB 1215.
• Drunken drivers will lose their license for 10 years upon a third conviction within 10 years. (Passed in 2010, effective 2012.) AB 1601.
• Police cannot impound vehicles after field sobriety checks if the only offense is the driver is unlicensed. AB 353.

Health

• Individual and group health plans must include maternity coverage. AB 210 and SB 222. Both effective July 1.
• Health insurers must cover behavioral treatment of autism. Effective July 1. SB 946.
• Child care providers can only serve 1 percent or nonfat milk to children ages 2 or older; only one serving of juice once a day and no beverages allowed that include added sweeteners. (Passed in 2010, but takes effect in 2012.) AB 2084.

Law Enforcement

• Jurors are prohibited from texting, tweeting and using smart phones to discuss or research cases. AB 141.
• Live pets cannot be sold on any street, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk. SB 917.