Jerry Brown: Beer Tasting Good, Subsidizing Commuters, Caffeinated Beer and Massage-Parlor Prostitutes Bad

Jerry Brown's pen had a busy day today, and in all the bills signed and vetoed, he offered some good news and some bad news for California's relentless nanny state.

On the good side, he signed San Diego Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher's AB 1014. That's right, now breweries will be able to set up tasting rooms without being required to meet the 190,741 regulations (give or take a few) that California restaurants have to comply with. We wrote about this when it passed the Legislature, but the bill is a good thing. It will save small craft brewers thousands in regulatory costs, and allow them to introduce their delightful products to more customers. Also of note: we have to credit Brown for vetoing SB 582, which would have forced private firms to subsidize employees who "go green" in their commuting habits. If just one California employer decides not to leave the state because of this ridiculous bill, the veto was worth it.

On the flip side, noted 4th Amendment opponent Alex Padilla scored a victory today, with Brown signing his SB 39 into law. This bill will ban the sale of alcopops, or caffeinated alcoholic beverages, in the state. While we might think that personal responsibility could take care of any possible problems associated with drinking these disgusting things, clearly our wise overlords in Sacramento think otherwise. Also, Brown signed into law a bill that will only increase suffering in our recession-plagued state: SB 285, which aims to crack down on prostitution in massage parlors by requiring police departments to report to the California Massage Therapy Council the names of massage schools whose graduates have been prosecuted for prostitution, and will make it a misdemeanor to provide a certificate to a massage therapy student who hasn't completed the degree's requirements. To which we say: for shame, Jerry Brown. For shame.