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New Laws: Registering Rifles, Transgender Teens, Ban On Bulbs, More

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- An array of new and sometimes controversial laws hits January 1st, 2014 including mandatory registration of long guns and rifles, a ban on 60-watt and 40-watt incandescent light bulbs, equal facility requirements for transgender students, a higher minimum wage for San Jose and San Francisco, and increased transit costs for BART and Muni.

Mandatory Registration For Long Guns: The law brings the longer, hunting-style weapons into a process already used for handguns.


Federal Ban On 60-Watt And 40-Watt Incandescent Light Bulbs: The 100-watts ones are already gone. Now, the rest won't be able to be manufatured or imported.


BART, Muni Fares Increase January 1st: Other transit services may also have changed.


Minimum Wage Going Up For San Jose And San Francisco: Also, the state minimum wage goes to $9 in July


Transgender Student Bathrooms & Facilities: A group is suing to stop this, but schools are already complying.


Protection From Discrimination Extends To Military And Veteran Status:
Military and veteran status are now added to the list of protected categories under the Fair Employment and Housing, joining the pantheon of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, and/or sexual orientation.

Additional laws for drivers include:

Passing Distance For Bicycles: On September 16th, 2014, drivers passing a cyclist must leave 3 feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or bicyclist.  For example, if the cyclist was signalling a left turn by an outstretched left arm and a driver chose to pass him, the vehicle's passenger side mirror would have to be no closer than three feet from the tips of the cyclists' fingers.  The law does provide that if three feet is not possible, the driver may creep by very slowly.

Safer Limo Exits:And because of the tragic fire on the San Mateo bridge this year, by January 1st, 2016, every limousine that has been modified to accommodate additional passengers will need to have two rear doors and at least one emergency rear window that can be removed from the inside.  1st, 2015.  Every new limo built after January 1st 2015 must also meet these requirements

Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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