So in writing the title I needed to reference an animal that has weak teeth. The Barbastelle Bat and the Aardwolf is all I could come up with according to WikiAnswers. Point is ….
California laws have no teeth.
I took a chance and watched the local news last night. I haven’t given the news here a chance since first arriving in Southern California because the first few nights H and I watched it, well it was bad.The actual quality of the news stories and the people reporting wasn’t much better when I took in the local NBC news last night but it did turn me on to a story.
They want to pass a law here banning metallic balloons, you know those ones that say “Happy Graduation!”, “Get Well Soon”, or “You’re Fired!” (I don’t know if they make one that announces your termination, but the idea of putting one of those on someone’s desk in the morning would certainly be a new approach). According to this news report, more than 200 power outages were caused last year by these balloons getting caught in hyrdo wires (hyrdo = electricity). I wasn’t quite sure about the validity of the law but then I thought about how much it probably cost to restore the power in each case; equipment, crews to go out and fix the issue and lost revenue from the hydro not getting to the end user. I came to the conclusion that as nice as the balloons might be, I get the point because they must be causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages.
So what is the fine going to be for selling these balloons if the law is passed? $100. That’s right, a mere $100. I have to imagine the costs I noted above will not be covered by the vendor selling illegal metallic balloons and getting fined once. $100? If you care enough to draft a law and get it passed then why not make it worth while? I have no idea who is going to enforce the law to begin with but I am pretty sure Joe-Shop-Owner will not be scared with the $100 fine he might face.
Which brings me to the upcoming cell phone ban here in California. It’s similar law to the one already in place in Chicago that makes it illegal to use a cell phone without a hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle. I think it’s a great idea because (1) People in California struggle to drive without a cell phone in their hand, (2) Everyone uses a cell phone here 24/7 it seems like and (3) Everyone talks on their phone while driving. So this is a good idea right? Help reduce some of the congestion and make people pay more attention? Not if the fine is a whopping $20 for the first offense and $50 each one thereafter.
Why bother passing a law if (a) you are not going to enfore it, and (b) there is no deterent in the form of a fine?
[...] California: Home of the Most Restrictive Balloon Laws The other day I talked about laws here in California and how they don’t seem to have any teeth. The post in question is here. [...]
It isn’t just the electric company that loses revenue with power line repair and transformer replacement, the fire department gets a good workout, too.
Last year I was sitting at home near downtown LA when there was a massive flash of light, a loud ZORCH nose, and the power went out. Followed a minute later by the flickering orange glow of flames.
A mylar balloon had hit the transformer line at the corner, shorting it, causing a power outage, but also showering many sparks down on a dry hillside which caught fire. Only about 20 square meters were burned before some of us got it put out, but the fire department was there another couple of hours knocking down all the brush and soaking the remaining hot spots.
I won’t miss mylar balloons. I am a traditionalist and like latex ones anyway. That article said that there were 200 balloon events in that one service area. I wonder how many happen each year to the LADWP?
As for the fine amount in the law, It is certainly more than the cell phone while driving fine. Perhaps they didn’t want to put retailers out of business just for selling one balloon?
I didn’t take into account fire departments needing to respond to such calls, good point!
You make a good point about fines and not wanting to put people out of business. At the same time, if you are going to pass a law, any law that serves the best interest of the public and attach a fine to it, you might wanna raise the stakes and put forth an actual deterrent. While I don’t want to see my neighborhood florist go out of business because she sells a balloon here and there, you have to decide whether or not a law is worth it. What’s the point of having such a law if there is no reason for people to comply?
Haha I am off my soap-box now.