Some new California laws are sparking discussion over how much the state influences our decisions.
Senate Bill 1192 now requires most restaurants to serve milk or water with their kids’ meals instead of soda or juice. If a child wants something else, parents can ask for other drink options.
“I think it’s a great step to be healthy. A lot of times, if the kids are ordering by themselves, they might just automatically order a soda so if they know that water or milk is automatic, I think a lot of the times they’ll just choose that,” said mom Kim Vostermans.
But the owner of The Grill House, Jason Luke, sees it differently.
“It’s a bit of an overreach. I think the government telling restaurants to tell parents how to parent their children, I think it’s a little bit too much,” Luke explained.
Another new state law — the courts can now decide who gets a family’s pet when a couple gets divorced. Pet owners can argue who took care of the animal to help strengthen their case.
“In today’s society, a lot of people have pets as their children or pseudo children and you’ve got to have somebody decide and an impartial person would definitely be the courts,” said San Luis Obispo resident Stephen Baillie.
“I think people should be able to handle that themselves and not have a judge decide in my opinion,” said San Luis Obispo resident Shawna Robson.
Also in 2019, the ban on straws goes statewide. People across the state will now have to ask for them, an issue most people we spoke with seem to agree with.
“I think it’s a good thing. When we see that huge plume of plastic floating in our ocean, any little bit that we can do to shrink the waste going into our marine system is a good idea,” said San Luis Obispo resident Andrea Mackenzie.
You can search for more information on any of these new laws on the state’s website.
State lawmakers will be back to the drawing board soon. The 2019 legislative session starts January 7.
