SB 329 (Morrow) – Adds a course in computer applications in real estate to the list of course options for getting a real-estate license. Signed – Chapter 26, Statutes of 2001.

AB 119 (Chavez) – Allows securities broker-dealers to have background checks of potential employees done by the California Department of Justice. Signed – Chapter 547, Statutes of 2001.

SB 344 (Ortiz) – Requires the state Department of Health Services to post Medi-Cal data tables and program applications on its Internet Web site in a manner that does not require downloading and that the general public is likely to understand. Signed – Chapter 276, Statutes of 2001

AB 594 (Harman) – Codifies uniform, statewide rules for dating electronic payments of locally assessed property taxes. Signed – Chapter 86, Statutes of 2001.

SB 147 (Bowen) – Prohibits an employer from monitoring employee electronic mail or other computer records without first advising the employee of the employer’s workplace privacy and monitoring policy. Vetoed.

SB 394 (Sher) – Extends the California Internet Tax Freedom Act until 2003 or 2004, depending on whether the California Commission on Tax Policy in the New Economy submits a report to the governor and Legislature by December 1, 2002. The California Internet Tax Freedom Act would remain in effect until January 1, 2004, unless the commission fails to submit the report, in which case the California Internet Tax Freedom Act will be repealed on January 1, 2003. The California Internet Tax Freedom Act establishes a state moratorium on taxation of Internet access, online computer services, and bits or bandwidth. Signed – Chapter 343, Statutes of 2001.

SB 412 (Vasconcellos) – Prohibits a person, with intent to defraud, from committing "political cyberfraud." This is defined as intentionally diverting access to a political Web site by using a similar domain name, intentionally preventing exit from a political Web site, registering a domain name that is similar to another domain name for a political Web site with intent to cause confusion, or registering a domain name for a political Web site for the purpose of reselling it to a proponent or opponent of a statewide ballot measure. Signed – Chapter 927, Statutes of 2001.

SB 896 (Poochigian) – Conforms the Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge Law with the federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, regarding taxation of mobile telecommunication services. Signed – Chapter 638, Statutes of 2001.

AB 140 (Strom-Martin) – Creates a California Public Utilities Commission grant program of up to $10 million annually, funded by an existing surcharge on telephone services, to extend telecommunication services to low-income communities. Establishes the Rural Telecommunications Infrastructure Task Force to evaluate those grant proposals. A recent state auditor’s report estimated that 112,000 people live in areas without phone service. Signed – Chapter 903, Statutes of 2001.

AB 219 (Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee) – Extends until January 1, 2006, the surcharge on intrastate telephone service used to pay for the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program, which provides telecom devices and services for the deaf and hearing impaired, and for the disabled. Signed – Chapter 109, Statutes of 2001.

AB 770 (Nakano) – Requires that California Highway Patrol and police reports on any traffic collision include information as to whether a cellular telephone or any other distraction was a possible contributing factor. Requires the CHP to study the data gathered and to issue recommendations to the governor and Legislature. Signed – Chapter 710, Statutes of 2001.

AB 870 (Wesson) – Prohibits use of certain types of automatic calling devices capable of storing and calling random numbers with no person or prerecorded message available for the person called. Signed – Chapter 696, Statutes of 2001.