Schwarzenegger signs through hundreds of horrible laws

Reason
Oct. 15, 2009

...Schwarzenegger this week, in the midst of his state's ongoing financial free-fall, signed still another round of largely idiotic laws. A surface-scratching list:

* An anti-paparrazi law making it "a crime to take and sell unauthorized photos of celebrities in 'personal or familial activity,' and also target[ing] media outlets that purchase those photos, with violators facing fines of up to $50,000."

* A law requiring gun sellers and ammunition dealers to create and maintain a registry of all paying customers.

* A law requiring DUI convicts in four counties to install ignition-interlock breathalyzer devices on their cars.

* The Dogfighting Prevention Act, which "will substantially increase the penalties for spectators caught attending a dogfighting event to up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine."

* A law prohibiting health insurance company from charging more for women than men.

* A law increasing the penalties for illegal fishing and poaching to "at least $5,000 and as much as $40,000 with a year in county jail."

* A law increasing by tenfold the fines for improperly using disabled placards to park in those sweet blue spots.

* A law allowing football's San Francisco 49ers to ignore the requirement that they solicit competitive construction bids for their new stadium.

* The Donda West law, making "health checks and a written clearance mandatory before being allowed to undergo plastic surgery in the state of California."

* A law reinforcing existing regulations that school buses "turn off idling engines within 100 feet of a school."

* A law creating a new "sustainable" label for seafood, contingent on fishing practices.

* A law that "increases penalties for charter bus operators who fail to comply with safety and licensing regulations."

* A law doubling the penalty for boat-abandonment.

I could go on all day–there are hundreds of the things.

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