Here are the California laws will benefit the LGBTQ community in 2018

LGBTQ seniors in California will be protected from discrimination starting in 2018 in long-term care facilities thanks to Gov. Jerry Brown signing SB 219, the “LGBT Senior Long-Term Care Bill of Rights.” Photo: iStock/EyeJoy

Several state bills go into effect this year that will benefit the LGBTQ community.

Here’s a roundup of the legislation that was passed by Sacramento and signed by the governor in 2017.

• California LGBT seniors to be protected from discrimination in long-term care facilities

Starting this year, California’s LGBT seniors will be protected from discrimination in long-term care facilities in five ways.

• California’s antiquated, HIV laws that discriminate will be reformed

California’s outdated laws that criminalize and stigmatize people who are HIV positive will be reformed under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law today.

• California’s ‘broken’ sex offender registry to get reformed

Some gay and bisexual men who are listed on the state’s sexual offender registry because they were targeted by law enforcement and discriminated against in undercover vice stings will be able to petition the state in 2021 to have their names removed under a law that will go into effect next year.

• California begins process of third gender, non-binary option on driver’s licenses

California is streamlining the process this year for issuing a third gender, non-binary option on state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses, and birth certificates.