LAYING DOWN THE LAWS NEW IN '05: VOTING BY FAX, MARRIAGE BY PROXY ARE LEGAL.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Sacramento Bureau

SACRAMENTO - Starting Jan. 1, troops from California stationed overseas can vote by fax and marry by proxy. People living in the state will have new domestic-partner rights and new protections against sex offenders.

Those are just a few of the new laws passed in 2004 that take effect on New Year's Day.

Others include a ban on .50-caliber weapons; new efforts against electronic piracy, and allowing the sale of hypodermic needles without a prescription.

But residents will also be paying more for services such as student fees and health insurance for poorer families.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 959 bills and vetoed 311 between taking office in November 2003 and the Sept. 30, 2004, deadline to sign bills passed in the last legislative session, according to the Senate Office of Research. Most of those bills take effect Jan. 1, unless they have urgency clauses, were signed last year or contain other exceptions.

``Given the severity of the funding situation in California, most of the laws this year either involve the regulation of personal rights, for which there is no apparatus to enforce, or enhanced fees, which is the legislature's new way of avoiding taxes,'' said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University, Sacramento.

Many of these new laws may be difficult to enforce, she said, because funding for law enforcement, as for most agencies of state and local government, remains tight even as the new responsibilities are added.

She added that the state can probably expect to see plenty of lawsuits this year filed by the industries that were regulated by the new laws, particularly those that look to improve air quality and slow global warming, as well as those that affect Internet commerce.

Among the new or increased fees imposed by the Legislature this year were increases in higher education student fees ranging from 14 percent to 44 percent; a hike in the surcharge levied by air quality management districts on motor vehicle registrations from $4 to $6, an increase in the tire fee by 75 cents to fund Air Resources Board programs, and higher premiums starting July 1 on families participating in the Healthy Families program, which provides health insurance to children in families living just above the federal poverty level.

One of the more controversial laws that takes effect on Jan. 1 is a ban on a firearm known as the .50-caliber BMG. The law requires existing owners to register with the state and allows the state attorney general to issue permits in some cases for new weapons.

Supporters say that such weapons are too powerful and deadly and could be used by a terrorist or criminal to inflict major damage from a long distance. Gun enthusiasts say it is one of the most popular target shooting rifles because of its power and accuracy and is rarely used for criminal purposes.

``Just because they haven't been used yet for a terrorist or criminal purpose with frequency in this state is no reason to wait until that happens,'' said Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, who authored the law.

Chuck Michel, an attorney and spokesman for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, said target shooters are already looking at ways to modify their existing guns so they fall outside the definition provided in the law. Others are stocking up on the weapon now to beat the Jan. 1 deadline, to the point where gun shops cannot keep them in stock.

``The bill was promoted based on lies, based on misrepresentations about what the guns would do and who would be inclined to get ahold of them,'' Michel said. ``They turned it into a terrorist angle which is frankly crass political opportunism.''

Other new laws which take effect Jan. 1 - or already took effect because they were passed as urgency measures - include:

--Voting by fax: This bill, AB 2941, allows a California voter who is temporarily living outside the United States to vote by facsimile if necessary to cast a ballot by Election Day. The law, which has already taken effect because it was an urgency measure, is a pilot program that expires Jan. 1, 2009.

--Marriage by proxy: This law, SB 7, allows a member of the military who is serving overseas to get married without actually being present at the ceremony, as long as he or she is represented by an attorney. It was passed as an urgency measure, so it is already in effect.

--Domestic partner rights: AB 205 will provide couples registered as domestic partners most of the same rights under California state law that married couples have, such as community property rights, public benefit calculations and prisoner-visitation rights.

--Megan's Law: AB 488 requires the Megan's Law database, which lists information for registered sex offenders such as names, photographs and addresses, be available to the public on the Internet. The law required the database to be online by July 1, 2005, although the Attorney General's Office has implemented it already. Previously, members of the public could only access the database at police or sheriff's stations.

Harrison Sheppard, [phone]

harrison.sheppard(at)dailynews.com