San Diegans and all Californians will face new laws starting Monday, July 1. The two most talked about are the new background checks for ammunition purchasing and the new scooter regulations passed by City Council last March.
The beaches will feel the biggest impact on the scooter ban and gun owners will face new ammunition background checks.
New Dockless Bike and Scooter Rules
New speed limit rules and other safety regulations for dockless bikes and scooters will soon go into effect.
Pedestrian areas like the Embarcadero and the food plaza in Little Italy will have speed limits of 3 mph, while riders on beach boardwalks, in Balboa Park and Petco Park, will have 8 mph limits.
Riders will also begin to receive push alerts from the dockless bike and scooter companies notifying them when they’re in a forbidden area.
“The more people there are, the worse it gets, so when you have them going 15 mph the ability to stop is slower,” said San Diego resident, Breeana Mcintyre. “It’s good for populated areas."
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Gun Ammunition Rules
Gun ammunition sales have been increasing as Prop 63 will make it harder to buy bullets.
The law will require customers who purchase bullets to show a photo ID and pay for an instant background check. The law also requires people in California to buy ammo face-to-face from a licensed dealer versus ordering online. The law was approved three years ago to allow the Department of Justice to set new guidelines.
“We are actually running out of ammunition, a lot of stores and a lot of ranges are right now,” said Gun Range San Diego manager, Jason Stevens.
He said his sales have increased as people are stocking on ammo before the law goes into effect.
“Any gun store or gun range typically has 50 or 60,000 rounds of 9mm at any one time at least, and it’s usually upwards of that, and we have maybe 6 or 7,000 left,” Stevens said.
The ballot measure also would require background checks for ammunition dealers and require dealers to report lost or stolen bullets.
“Several times every hour, everybody wants to know how it’s going to work. It’s pretty unprecedented I wouldn’t say they are panicked, there is definitely a lot of frustration in the gun community,” Stevens said. “A lot of people feel it’s not necessary and it’s not going to prevent anything bad from happening.”
Gun Range San Diego is handing out ammo registration fact sheets to their customers to help them better understand the new process.
Other laws going into effect
- California gas taxes will increase 5.7 cents. It is part of a Senate Bill passed by the Legislature in Sacramento and signed by then Governor Jerry Brown in 2017. At the time gas taxes went up 12 cents along with additional registration fees. The money from the increase is supposed to go to roads and bridges along with bicycle and pedestrian projects.
- Law enforcement agencies will now have to release video recordings of shootings or critical incidents of force in a historically short amount of time. If someone requests the video the agency must release it within 45 days of the incident. The AB 748 was signed into law last year by then Governor Jerry Brown.
