Eight new laws expanding rights and protections for California’s GLBT community went into effect Jan. 1, making it a record-breaking new year for having the most pro-gay measures enacted at one time anywhere in the country. Here’s a look at what we have to gain in 2007.

Modeled after a 1996 equal benefits ordinance enacted in San Francisco, Equal Benefits in State Contracting, AB 17, was passed during the 2003-04 legislative session and requires companies contracting with the state to provide employees with domestic partners the same benefits given to employees with spouses. Authored by then-Assemblymember and current state Senator Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, the new law establishes the fair principle of equal pay for equal work, regardless of sexual orientation.

Domestic partners in 2007 will for the first time be able to file their California income tax returns together, thanks to the passage of the State Income Tax Equity Act, SB 1827. The bill takes registered domestic partners in California one step closer to having all the rights as married couples in the state. Domestic partners are, of course, still unable to file jointly on their federal income tax return.

The Civil Rights Housing Act of 2006, AB 2800, authored by Assemblymember John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability and sex (including gender identity), marital status, sexual orientation, familial status and source of income. AB 2800 strengthens the California Code to protect people from discrimination, especially based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

As the first real generation of out gays and lesbians retire, the need for GLBT-specific services grows. The Older Californians Equality and Protection Act, AB 2920, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, ensures that GLBT seniors are adequately served by government services available to older Californians.

Authored by state Senator Shelia Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, the Nondiscrimination in State Programs and Activities Act, SB 1441, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in state-operated programs. Private businesses must adhere to nondiscrimination policies, including sexual orientation and gender identity. SB 1441 holds government to that same standard.

Domestic violence, unfortunately, touches same-sex couples and heterosexuals alike. Yet, services to address domestic violence in a GLBT context is grossly lacking. The Equality in Prevention and Services for Domestic Abuse Act, SB 2051, authored by Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn, D-Saratoga, creates a fund to develop and support education and services for GLBT victims of domestic violence.

Named after a transgender teen who was brutally murdered in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act, AB 1160, by Assemblymember Sally Lieber, D-San Jose, creates jury instruction and prosecutor training to limit the use of so-called “panic strategies” to influence criminal trial proceedings. The panic defense is a practice in which the defense argues that discovery of the victim’s sexual orientation or gender so enraged the defendant that they cannot be held fully accountable for their actions.

The eighth and final bill to take effect is the Code of Fair Campaign Practices, AB 1207, authored by Speaker Pro Tem Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. AB 1207 prohibits the use of negative appeals based on prejudice against GLBT people by candidates who sign the voluntary pledge in the Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

In addition to these eight pieces of legislation, California has two shots to legalize same-sex marriage in 2007. Assemblymember Leno has reintroduced the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, the same bill that passed the Legislature in 2005 but was later vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Now that Schwarzenegger has made it to his second term, many are speculating about whether he will again veto this bill.

The real hope, however, is the case coming before the California Supreme Court this year. In late December, the court agreed to decide whether the state’s ban on same-sex marriage violates a constitutional ban on discrimination, setting aside a lower court’s decision in October that upheld state laws banning same-sex couples from marrying. This time next year, we expect California to join Massachusetts as the only states to allow same-sex marriage in the country.