Existing law generally requires county elections officials to prepare a county voter information guide before each election and to mail the guide to each voter no later than 21 days before the election. For a partisan primary election, existing law requires county elections officials to prepare a county voter information guide for each political party and a nonpartisan county voter information guide and to mail the applicable guide to each voter no later than 10 days before the election. This bill would instead require county elections officials to mail a county voter information guide to each voter no later than 29 days before the election. By increasing the duties of county elections officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the Office of Emergency Services within the office of the Governor and under the supervision of the Director of Emergency Services and makes the office responsible for the state's emergency and disaster response services for natural, technological, or human-made disasters and emergencies. Existing law defines the term "emergency plan" for purposes of emergency services provided by local governments. Existing law requires a county, upon the next update to its emergency plan, to integrate access and functional needs into its emergency plan by addressing, at a minimum, how the access and functional needs population is served by, among other things, emergency evacuation, including the identification of certain transportation resources and resources for individuals who are dependent on public transportation. This bill would require the emergency plan to include a plan for the movement, storage, acquisition, and deployment of durable medical equipment, as defined, to address how the access and functional needs population is served by emergency evacuation. The bill would also require a county, or city and county, upon the next update to its emergency plan, regarding the integration of access and functional needs into that emergency plan, to work with Mutual Aid and Administrative Regions, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) , and the State Department of Public Health to coordinate the interregional agreements, as necessary, for acquisition or deployment of durable medical equipment. The bill would require EMSA to coordinate with city and county local emergency medical services agencies to provide prearranged assistance to those cities and counties for planning, organizing, implementing, and maintaining regional caches of durable medical equipment, subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor. By increasing the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the English Language Learner Acquisition and Development Pilot Program, under the administration of the State Department of Education, as a 3-year competitive grant pilot project of 25,000 or more English language learners to be conducted during the 2007–08 to 2009–10, inclusive, school years. Under the program, grants are made to local educational agencies, as defined, to identify existing best practices regarding topics including, but not limited to, curriculum, instruction, and staff development for teaching English language learners and promoting English language acquisition and development. The program requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a 13-to-20 member advisory committee, with specified responsibilities. This bill would repeal the statutes that establish the program.
(1) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care under authority of the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance under the authority of the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law limits the maximum amount an enrollee or insured may be required to pay at the point of sale for a covered prescription drug to the lesser of the applicable cost-sharing amount or the retail price. This bill would require an enrollee's or insured's defined cost sharing for each prescription drug to be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to 90% of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the drug. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to, among other things, pass through to each enrollee or insured at the point of sale a good faith estimate of their decrease in cost sharing. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to calculate an enrollee's or insured's defined cost sharing and provide that information to the dispensing pharmacy, as specified. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to disclose information, as specified, sufficient to show compliance with these provisions to the director or commissioner. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan, health insurer, or a plan's or insurer's agents from publishing or otherwise revealing information regarding the actual amount of rebates the health care service plan or health insurer receives on a product-specific, manufacturer-specific, or pharmacy-specific basis. The bill would make a violation of its provisions not a crime under the act. The bill would authorize the director or commissioner to assess a civil penalty for each violation of these provisions, as specified. The bill would make those provisions inoperative on January 1, 2025. The bill would require the department and the commissioner, on or before March 1 each year, to provide a report on the impact of those provisions on drug prices and health care premium rates, as specified. The bill would repeal those provisions January 1, 2026. (2) Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer that files certain rate information to report to the appropriate department specified cost information regarding covered prescription drugs, including generic drugs, brand name drugs, and specialty drugs, dispensed as provided. This bill, until January 1, 2025, would require a health care service plan or health insurer to report additional information on the above-described point of sale provision. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law, the Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act, establishes the Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (I-Bank) and authorizes it to, among other things, issue bonds, make loans, and provide other financial assistance to various types of projects that constitute economic development facilities or public development facilities. The act establishes in the State Treasury the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund (I-Bank Fund) for the purpose of implementing the objectives and provisions of the act and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund, except as prescribed. This bill, the Rural California Infrastructure Act, would authorize the I-Bank to establish the Rural California Infrastructure Program for the purpose of making competitive grant awards to eligible local agencies for rural infrastructure projects, as prescribed. The act would require the Controller to transfer a sum of $1,000,000,000 to the Rural California Infrastructure Account in the I-Bank Fund, which the bill would create and continuously appropriate for purposes of the act. By requiring the Controller to transfer moneys from the General Fund to the Rural California Infrastructure Account for purposes of the program, the bill would make an appropriation. The act would require the I-Bank to submit a specified report to the Governor and the Legislature regarding program activity in any fiscal year that the account receives funding or in which the I-Bank administers the program.
The Corporation Tax Law imposes, among other taxes, taxes according to or measured by the net income of the taxpayer for the taxable year at specified rates, but not less than the minimum franchise tax of $800, as specified. Existing law imposes an annual minimum franchise tax of $800, except as provided, on every corporation incorporated in this state, qualified to transact intrastate business in this state, or doing business in this state. Existing law also imposes an annual tax in an amount equal to the minimum franchise tax on specified entities doing business in this state, as specified. Existing law imposes interest and penalties for failing to timely pay the tax due under those laws. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2020, suspend the payment requirement of the taxes imposed under the Corporation Tax Law and the annual tax for small businesses, as defined, until the state of emergency declared by the Governor on March 4, 2020, related to the COVID-19 virus, has ended. The bill would also suspend the accrual of any penalties or interest related to the payment of those taxes for the specified taxable years for small businesses. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law generally prohibits anyone from manufacturing, importing, or selling alcoholic beverages in California without a license from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law creates certain exceptions from this proscription, including by allowing the service of alcohol without a license or permit in a limousine or as part of a hot air balloon ride service, provided there is no extra charge or fee for the alcoholic beverages. Existing law creates a similar exception that permits a beauty salon or barber shop to serve wine or beer, subject to additional restrictions on the sizes of the beverages and hours of service. This bill would allow service of wine or beer by an arts and crafts workshop, if certain requirements are met. The bill would require, in this regard, that there be no extra charge or fee for the beer or wine, as described, that the servings be restricted to specified amounts, and that the wine or beer only be provided during business hours and, in no case later than 10 p.m.
Existing law imposes taxes upon income and real property, as well as taxes upon certain transactions and excise taxes. This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, impose an annual tax at a rate of 1% of a resident of this state's worldwide net worth in excess of $50,000,000, or in excess of $25,000,000 in the case of a married taxpayer filing separately. The bill would also impose an additional tax at a rate of 0.5% of a resident's worldwide net worth in excess of $1,000,000,000, or in excess of $500,000,000 in the case of a married taxpayer filing separately. The bill would describe worldwide net worth with reference to specific federal provisions and would provide that worldwide net worth does not include specific assets, including personal property situated out of state, directly held real property, or liabilities related to directly held real property. The bill would also authorize the Franchise Tax Board to adopt regulations to carry out these provisions, including regulations regarding the valuation of certain assets that are not publicly traded. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to administer the Personal Income Tax Law. This bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to amend or create returns with regard to the Wealth Tax. Existing law, the False Claims Act, provides that any person who commits specified acts, including, but not limited to, knowingly presenting a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval or knowingly making or using a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim, is liable to the state or to the political subdivision for 3 times the amount of damages that the state or political subdivision sustained because of the act and for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any penalties or damages, and is subject to a civil penalty. That act requires the Attorney General or the prosecuting authority of a political subdivision to diligently investigate violations of those specific acts involving state funds or political subdivision funds, respectively, and authorizes the Attorney General, the prosecuting authority, or a qui tam plaintiff to bring a civil action against a person who commits those acts. That act does not apply to claims, records, or statements made under the Revenue and Taxation Code. This bill would apply the provisions of the False Claims Act to claims, records, or statements made in relation to the wealth tax imposed by the bill, as specified. This bill would specify that the tax imposed by the bill shall only become operative if a specified constitutional amendment is approved by the voters and takes effect. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law prohibits health care service plans and their contracting entities from including provisions in their contracts that interfere with the ability of a physician and surgeon or other licensed health care provider to communicate with a patient regarding their health care. This bill would prohibit a health facility from requiring a physician or surgeon, as a condition of obtaining or maintaining clinical privileges, to agree to comply with criteria, rules, regulations, or other policies or procedures that are not knowingly and explicitly ratified, issued, or promulgated by the medical staff, that directly or indirectly prohibit, limit, or restrict the ability of the physician or surgeon to provide a particular medical treatment or service that falls within the scope of their privileges, or from requiring a physician or surgeon to obtain permission from a nonphysician or nonsurgeon to perform a particular medical treatment or service for which consent has been obtained from the patient or the patient's representative, except as provided. The bill would prohibit a health facility from limiting or otherwise exercising control over the independent professional judgment of a physician or surgeon concerning the practice of medicine or the diagnosis or treatment of disease, if the physician or surgeon, exercising their independent professional judgment, determines that a particular medical service or treatment is medically appropriate, unless specified circumstances apply. This bill would authorize a superior court, upon application by a health facility's medical staff or an individual member of a facility's medical staff, to issue an injunction or other appropriate order restraining any acts or practices that could constitute a violation of these provisions. The bill would specify that its provisions cannot be construed to prohibit a health facility from establishing criteria, rules, regulations, policies, or procedures that are required by federal or state law or regulation as a condition of licensure, receipt of federal or state funds, or participation in Medicare, Medi-Cal, or other federal or state health care programs, or limit a medical staff's authority to take corrective action against medical staff members in accordance with the medical staff bylaws, except in specified circumstances. The bill would also prohibit health facility corporate bylaws, policies, rules, contracts, or other institutional requirements that conflict with these provisions from being applied to directly or indirectly affect a physician's clinical privileges or rights, or privileges of membership on the medical staff, except as required by federal or state law. (2) Existing law requires each shareholder, director, and officer of a medical or podiatry corporation, except as provided, to be a licensed person, as defined. This bill would require the shareholders, directors, and officers of a medical corporation to manage and have ultimate control, as defined, over the assets and business operations of the medical corporation and not be replaced, removed, or otherwise controlled by any lay entity or individual, as specified. (3) Existing law requires any nonprofit corporation that operates or controls a health facility or operates or controls a facility that provides similar health care, as specified, to provide written notice to, and to obtain the written consent of, the Attorney General prior to entering into any agreement or transaction to sell, transfer, lease, or exchange its assets to a for-profit corporation or entity or to a mutual benefit corporation or entity when a material amount of the assets of the nonprofit corporation are involved in the agreement or transaction, or to transfer control, responsibility, or governance of a material amount of the assets or operations of the nonprofit corporation to any for-profit corporation or entity or to any mutual benefit corporation or entity, as specified. Existing law requires any nonprofit corporation that operates or controls a health care facility, or that or operates or controls a facility that provides similar health care to provide written notice to, and to obtain the written consent of, the Attorney General prior to entering into any agreement or transaction to sell, transfer, lease, or exchange its assets to another nonprofit corporation or entity when a material amount of the assets of the nonprofit corporation are involved in the agreement or transaction, or to transfer control, responsibility, or governance of a material amount of the assets or operations of the nonprofit corporation to another nonprofit corporation or entity. Existing law gives the Attorney General discretion to consent to, give conditional consent to, or not to consent to these agreements or transactions considering any factor they determine to be relevant. This bill would include among those factors that, if applicable, may be relevant to the Attorney General in determining whether to consent whether the agreement or transaction may create a reduction of or limitation on the availability of the full range of health care services to any group of individuals based on their membership in a protected class. The bill would, in the case of an agreement or transaction to sell, transfer, lease, or exchange its assets to another nonprofit corporation or entity, also include among those factors whether the agreement or transaction may result in undue interference in patients' access to medical care due to improper or unlawful motives. (4) This bill would state that its provisions are severable.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources emitting greenhouse gases. The act requires the state board to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit, as defined, no later than December 31, 2030. The act requires the state board to adopt rules and regulations in an open public process to achieve the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions. The state board is authorized to include market-based compliance mechanisms to comply with the regulations. The implementing regulations adopted by the state board provide for the direct allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to electrical corporations pursuant to a market-based compliance mechanism. Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to allocate 15% of the revenues received by the electrical corporations from that allocation of allowances for clean energy and energy efficiency projects established pursuant to statute that are administered by electrical corporations. Existing law requires the PUC to direct the balance of the revenues to be credited directly to the residential, small business, and emissions-intensive trade-exposed retail customers of the electrical corporations, as specified. Beginning with the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2022, and ending with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, except as provided, this bill would require the PUC to annually allocate 5% of the revenues received by the electrical corporations from that allocation of greenhouse gas allowances to the Environmental Justice Community Resilience Hubs Program, which would require each electrical corporation to award those allocated revenues to a single third-party administrator, selected by the commission, that will award competitive grants to owners of critical community institutions, meeting eligibility criteria established by the PUC, for building upgrade projects that demonstrate community engagement in all phases, demonstrate multistakeholder partnerships, reflect the geographic diversity of the state, and are installed at critical community institutions. The bill would require the PUC to select a third-party administrator by no later than March 1, 2023, and require that the program be operational and begin processing applications by no later than July 1, 2023. The bill would require that the program be jointly operated among all the participating electrical corporations and be consistent across the utility territories. The bill would require the third-party administrator ensure that program moneys from each utility are used only for projects located in the service territory of that utility from which the moneys are received and to provide technical assistance to program applicants. The bill would prohibit more than 10% of those allocated revenues from being used for administration, technical assistance, and outreach. The bill would require the PUC to establish requirements relating to hiring, wages, apprenticeship programs, and workforce standards for the program. Under existing law, a violation of any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the State Air Resources Board, on or before December 31 of each year, to jointly review and report on progress toward establishing a hydrogen-fueling network that provides the coverage and capacity to fuel vehicles requiring hydrogen fuel that are being placed into operation in the state. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would allow a green hydrogen, as defined, production facility and distribution credit against the personal income and corporate income taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2033, to a qualified taxpayer for qualified building or qualified distribution costs, or both, as defined. The bill would also allow a hydrogen infrastructure credit against those taxes for each taxable year beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and before January 1, 2033, to a qualified taxpayer for qualified building costs, as defined. The bill would decrease the green hydrogen production facility and distribution credit as the amount of green hydrogen produced on average per day in the state increases and would decrease the hydrogen infrastructure credit as the number of public hydrogen fueling stations in operation in the state increases. The bill would limit the total amount of the green hydrogen production facility and distribution credit to $1,000,000,000 over all available taxable years, as specified, and would limit the hydrogen infrastructure credit to $500,000,000 per taxable year. The bill would require each credit to be allocated to qualified taxpayers by the Franchise Tax Board in the order the returns are received by the board. This bill would, except as specified, require the State Air Resources Board, on or before January 1 of each year, to provide certification to the Franchise Tax Board on the average amount of green hydrogen produced in the state and the number of publicly available hydrogen fueling stations in operation in the state for the prior calendar year. The bill would repeal this requirement on December 1, 2033. This bill would also include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure. (2) Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution and requires the state board, in partnership with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and in conjunction with other state agencies, to develop and adopt a state plan to increase the use of alternative fuels, as defined. Existing law requires the state board to adopt regulations that will ensure that, in any year immediately following a 12-month period in which the mass of hydrogen fuel dispensed for transportation purposes in California exceeds 3,500 metric tons, no less than 33.3% of the hydrogen produced or dispensed in California for motor vehicles be made from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined. This bill would require those regulations to require that, on a statewide basis, no less than 33.3% of the hydrogen produced or dispensed in California for motor vehicles be green hydrogen. The bill would require that the green percentage be increased to 44% by December 31, 2024, 52% by December 31, 2027, 60% by December 31, 2030, and would require that by December 31, 2045, 100% of the hydrogen produced or dispensed in California for motor vehicles be either green hydrogen or clean hydrogen, as defined.
Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or the least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law permits age restrictions in connection with housing and defines senior citizen housing developments for these purposes as a residential development for senior citizens that has at least 35 dwelling units. This bill would require the department to establish and administer the Housing Plus Services Nursing Pilot Program in the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, and Sonoma. The program would provide grant funds to qualified nonprofit organizations that specialize in resident services for the purposes of hiring one full-time registered nurse to work at 3 senior citizen housing developments in each county to provide health education, navigation, coaching, and care to residents. The bill would require the department to submit a report to specified legislative committees and state agencies on or before January 1, 2026, and would repeal the program as of January 1, 2027.
