It was a good day for celebrity parents on Tuesday, 24 September, after California Senator Kevin de Leon passed the SB606 Bill into legislation. The new law will place tighter sanctions against paparazzi in the state of California, prohibiting them from taking photographs of celebrities and their children, without prior consent to do so. The law will enforce tougher repercussions on any photographers who are found breaking these new restrictions.

Kevin de Leon
Sen. Kevin de Leon is being praised by celebrities for enforcing the tougher sanctions against the press

A number of well-known stars had pushed for the bill to be entered into state law, and Sen. de Leon has been praised for enforcing the tougher legislative restrictions on photographers. The new law will boost penalties for actions that include taking photos and video of a child without parental consent and will also impose tougher sanctions against anyone who is considered to behaving in a harassing manner whilst photographing stars. The new law has not been passed solely for the protection of celebrities either, as de Leon said that he hoped the new law would help protect the children of law enforcement officials and other children who may be susceptible to harassment due to the profession of their parents.

"On behalf of my children, it is my hope that this is the beginning of the end for those overly aggressive paparazzi whose outrageous conduct has caused so much trauma and emotional distress," actress Halle Berry said of the new piece of legislation in a statement released by her publicist, via E! News. The Academy Award winner has also stated her intent to work alongside other parents who may be affected by the new bill in ensuring that it is taken seriously and enforced stringently by police, who apparently don't have anything better to do than protect celebrities from being photographed.

Halle Berry kids
Berry has long complained about the paparazzi invading her children's lives

The new legislation will be passed into law on January, and threatens would be lawbreakers with up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $10,000, with the fines increasing with subsequent convictions. A number of California-based media organisation were opposed to the bill, stating it could work against those looking to gain insight on genuine news stories. De Leon on the other hand has stated that the bill does not infringe on anyones First Amendment rights, because it only targets the behaviour and conduct of photographers. Full details on the bill are available on the California Legislative Information web page.

Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner also worked hard to get the new law passed