New Year Rings in Stringent New State Laws

Ventura County motorists who drive under the influence will face a greater chance of being ordered into drug and alcohol programs this year, while motorcyclists and their passengers will risk fines if they fail to wear helmets.

These more stringent highway safety measures are among a host of new state laws that take effect today on issues ranging from health and the environment to education, according to county and state officials.

Under one new law, people convicted of reckless driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can be ordered to go through a drug problem assessment and rehabilitation program. The fee for the program has been increased from $50 to $75, officials said.

Another bill requires the state Department of Motor Vehicles to revoke for three years the driver’s license of anyone convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, or of causing serious injury or death to another person while evading a police officer, said Lorraine Sanchez, aide to Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria).

As of today, drivers of commercial vehicles are prohibited from driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.04% or more, though other drivers can drive legally with blood-alcohol levels of up to 0.08%, said Ed Brodie, misdemeanor supervisor for the Ventura County district attorney’s office.

Brodie said state officials might have passed the law because they believed they could lose federal highway funds if they hadn’t.

California Highway Patrol statistics show that drunk-driving-related accidents and corresponding arrests are down this year, though the blood-alcohol content of those arrested continues to reach 0.14% and 0.15%, almost twice the legal limit.

It also is illegal as of today to drive or ride as a passenger on a motorcycle without a strapped helmet that meets U.S. Department of Transportation standards.

Passengers and drivers of motorcycles, mopeds, motorized bicycles or motor-driven cycles who travel without helmets will face a fine of up to $100 for the first offense, and up to $200 for the second violation within a year, CHP Officer James Utter said.

In 1990, five Ventura County residents died in motorcycle accidents, and three of them were not wearing helmets, said CHP Officer Randy Klucker. In 1991, all four people involved in fatal motorcycle accidents were not wearing helmets.

Statewide, 19,148 people were killed or injured in motorcycle accidents in 1990. Of these people, 569 died, Ventura police reported.

Under other legislation, junior and senior high schools must include AIDS in their health education course work, though parents may remove their children from that portion of the semester, said Kris Kuzmich, field representative for Assemblyman O’Connell.

Kuzmich said many constituents have called O’Connell’s office to express support and ask for further information about another new law--a new statewide ban on cigarette and tobacco product giveaways in public places.

“Supporters felt this was the way that kids get hooked,” she said of the giveaways.

Another ban starting today is on the sale of leaded gasoline. Drivers of older cars traditionally fueled by leaded gasoline will have to switch to more expensive unleaded petroleum.

But according to Louis Duncan, manager of Bill Burk Chevron in Ventura, the change does not warrant drivers’ concern. “When they have unleaded gas in cars running on leaded, it doesn’t do any damage,” he said.

Hate crime offenders can expect greater penalties under a new law that increases the maximum term they will spend in county jail from six to 12 months, Kuzmich said. Hate crimes are those predicated on race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or sexual orientation, she said.

One of a group of new railroad safety measures creates a disaster team for train accidents involving toxic chemical spills and requires railroad companies to pay extra fees to fund state inspections of trains and rails, Kuzmich said. The legislation also sets up a railroad spill-prevention and training fund.

This bill was sparked by incidents such as the derailment of a Southern Pacific freight train last July at Seacliff. That accident resulted in the bursting of eight drums of hydrazine, and the closure of the Ventura Freeway for more than five days for cleanup.

County officials sponsored a number of laws particular to Ventura County that also will take effect today.

Under a water conservation measure, any resident who pumps more than his or her allocated amount of ground water will be subject to a surcharge of $50 to $200 per acre-foot.

The bill authorizes the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency to impose the surcharge on residents who exceed their allocation, said Lowell Preston, manager of water resources for the county Public Works Agency. An aquifer that lies 1,500 feet below Fox Canyon is the county’s largest, and residents countywide consume its water directly or indirectly, he said.

“It’s quite likely that everyone in Ventura County will be affected,” Lowell said.

The penalty will be based on residents’ average water use between 1985 and 1989 or an efficiency formula for agricultural water users. Residents will not be charged the fee until 1993, however, meaning those who exceed their allotment this year can conserve in 1993 and avoid the charge, Preston said.

Another of the county-sponsored measures will help abused, neglected and abandoned children get emergency care by expanding the original proposal for the Casa Pacifica Children’s Crisis Care Center in Camarillo. Groundbreaking for the shelter is scheduled for March on a 22-acre site on Lewis Road.

The legislation extends the term of the lease for the site, which is owned by the state and leased by the county, from 40 to 90 years. It also removes the original 75-bed limit, and allows the facility to accept children under 4, including babies exposed to drugs, said Lauraine Effress, Casa Pacifica executive director.

The new lease “will ensure that this facility will be able to serve Ventura County into the next century,” Effress said. “It will be very beneficial for the children.”

The $10-million public-private facility, to which the Ventura County Board of Supervisors has granted $4 million, will offer a medical clinic, housing and psychiatric counseling for children.

Under another measure, estimated to save the county $100,000 per year, county auditors will no longer have to keep a running account of unclaimed sums of $10 or less owed to people who might have overpaid fees or fines, said Ginny Camarillo, senior administrative analyst for the county.

Although people still have three years to collect these sums, the accounts will not have to be included in computer reports that county auditors regularly produce, Camarillo said.

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