Lawmakers tackled a huge variety of topics in committees. Bills that advanced included a measure to ban the sale of sports drinks at schools, one that requires face-to-face meetings between lenders and struggling homeowners and another that would allow consumers to opt out of receiving a printed phone book.

There were all sorts of public safety-related measures. One, known as “Chelsea’s law” for a murdered San Diego area girl, would require life sentences for some child molesters and lifetime parole and GPS monitoring for others. Another bill would create an online registry for animal abusers.  A committee also approved legislation that bans convicted violent felons from buying or having bulletproof vests. And a controversial plan to allow the sickest prison inmates to be paroled early also advanced.