New laws take effect in California on New Year's Day
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTVU) -- A series of new laws went into effect New Year's day in California.
One law that received quite a bit of attention requires law enforcement agencies to obtain a search warrant before looking at private emails, texts and GPS data in smartphones, laptops and storage clouds.
San Francisco State Senator Mark Leno wrote the law, with support from tech companies, such as Google, Facebook and Apple.
Police or relatives of a person can seek a 21-day restraining order preventing individuals who are deemed dangerous, from possessing a gun.
Children 13 and younger who witnessed a violent crime, can testify through a remote video feed.
Innocent people wrongly convicted will receive $140 dollars for each day behind bars, which is up from $100 a day.
Drivers or people riding bicycles can not wear earbuds or headsets on both ears. The CHP can issue "yellow alerts" on freeway signs, asking the public's help in finding drivers involved in hit-and-run crashes.
California high school exit exams will be suspended for three years. Passing the test had been a graduation requirement, but now educators have the additional time to create a new test, which must still keep with new common core standards.
The new law will let thousands of students who did not pass the test, to receive diplomas, if they completed all the other requirements.
The state's minimum wage goes from $9 an hour, to $10 an hour. When Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill, he said it was a way to help narrow the divide between the rich and the poor. Several Bay Area cities on Friday went above California.
Palo Alto use to follow the state, but has now set the minimum wage in its city at $11 an hour. Santa Clara increased its minimum wage from $9 to $11 as well.