Legislation prohibiting CLEAR, a documentation verification company, from expanding in California’s airports is not quite ready for takeoff.
From Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, the bill sought to place a moratorium on CLEAR expanding its footprint in California until it could start operating a separate, dedicated security line.
For $189 a year, CLEAR subscribers can bypass oftentimes lengthy TSA security lines. Members scan their boarding pass at a white kiosk, which also confirms the traveler’s identity with a scan of the eyes or fingerprints, and a CLEAR “ambassador” then escorts the travelers to the front of the TSA line.
Newman argued that the service isn’t fair for travelers who don’t pay the fee and have to wait in long TSA lines, even if they have Precheck.
The intention, Newman had said, was never to “terminate” CLEAR’s service in California. Instead, the bill sought “to have CLEAR and other third-party screening services operate separate lines for subscribers, eliminating the friction and frustration created by the current system,” he previously said.
His bill had sailed through the legislature this year but was pulled ahead of a committee meeting last week over concerns that it wouldn’t have enough votes, Newman spokesperson Brian Wheatley said.
But the bill isn’t quite grounded, said Wheatley.
Newman, who plans to travel to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with TSA representatives, will bring it up again next year, said Wheatley.
CLEAR operates at more than 55 airports in the U.S., according to its website, including nine in California, such as LAX, Ontario International and Long Beach airports. It does not service John Wayne Airport or Hollywood Burbank.
“As we’ve said previously, we remain committed to operating in California without interruption and will always welcome opportunities to collaborate and have robust discussions with local, state and federal governments to ensure all travelers have a safer, easier checkpoint experience,” a spokesperson said.
In other news
• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assemblymember Diane Dixon’s bill banning devices, called “tuning kits,” which can modify an electric bicycle’s speed. California law has speed guidelines for e-bikes, according to the bill, and kits that can alter motors to enable them to go faster present safety concerns.
• Legislation from Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, whose district includes La Habra, that expands prohibitions on colleges from taking actions against students who owe what’s called “institutional debt” cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Institutional debt can be range from minor fines like unpaid library fees to significant financial burdens, such as tuition.
California already prevents colleges from withholding transcripts from students who owe institutional debts, according to the bill’s analysis, and Pacheco’s goes further by limiting when an institution can refer a debt to a third-party collections agency or when it can recoup money through garnishing a student’s tax refund.
The bill prevents schools from withholding diplomas because of a debt or charging an additional fee for that diploma.
• The legislature is officially on a month-long summer recess — which means Sacramento Snapshot is, too. The legislature is set to reconvene on Monday, Aug. 5.
