Office of Healthy and Safe Communities.

Existing establishes the State Department of Public Health, within the California Health and Human Services Agency, vested with certain duties, powers, functions, jurisdiction, and responsibilities over specified health programs, including, among others, a reporting system to collect data on violent deaths. This bill would create the Office of Healthy and Safe Communities (OHSC) under the direction of the State Department of Public Health, to provide a comprehensive violence prevention strategy. The bill would require the department to oversee the OHSC and would require the Governor to appoint the Director of the OHSC. The bill would set forth the duties of the OHSC, including the duty to develop, implement, and monitor a California vision and plan for violence prevention, safety, and healing. The bill would require the director to strengthen the professionalization of community violence intervention and prevention as a licensed occupation and facilitate the coordination and alignment of programming across statewide departments and agencies, among other duties. The bill would also require the director to assemble an advisory committee to inform and guide the execution of the duties of the OHSC. The bill would require the advisory committee to be selected by the President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly and would specify the composition of the advisory committee. The bill would make the implementation of its provisions contingent on appropriate funding as determined by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature or other sources.