Asm. Lori Wilson

Existing law establishes within state government the Office of Planning and Research as the comprehensive state planning agency for long-range planning and research. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, establishes within state government a Governor's Military Council that serves under the direction of the Military Department to advise the Governor on efforts to retain military installations and operations within this state that are necessary for the defense of the nation and to coordinate and focus those efforts. This bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would establish the California Defense Community Infrastructure Program, which would require the Office of Planning and Research to grant funds and provide technical assistance to local agencies to assist with matching fund requirements in applications for funds from the federal Defense Community Infrastructure Program. The bill would require the office, in consultation with the Governor's Military Council, to develop guidelines for the program that, where possible, align with the guidelines of the federal program. This bill would require the office to use specified project criteria, define an eligible project, as specified, rank eligible projects, as specified, and award grants based on the available funds. The bill would require the office to give priority to projects located in, or that would provide services to people who live in, a disadvantaged community, as defined.

Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law under Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be approved by a 23 vote of each house of the Legislature and a majority of the voters. This bill would enact the Climate-resilient Farms, Sustainable Healthy Food Access, and Farmworker Protection Bond Act of 2024, which, if approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $3,650,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law, to finance programs related to, among other things, agricultural lands, food and fiber infrastructure, climate resilience, agricultural professionals, including farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers, workforce development and training, air quality, tribes, disadvantaged communities, nutrition, food aid, meat processing facilities, and fishing facilities. The bill would make its provisions severable. The bill would provide for the submission of the bond act to the voters at the November 5, 2024, statewide general election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, requires the Department of Managed Health Care to license and regulate health care service plans and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Other existing law requires the Department of Insurance to regulate health insurers. Existing law requires an individual or small group health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2017, to include, at a minimum, coverage for essential health benefits pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Under existing law, essential health benefits includes, among other things, rehabilitative and habilitative services. Existing law requires habilitative services and devices to be covered under the same terms and conditions applied to rehabilitative services and devices under the plan contract or policy, and defines habilitative services to mean health care services and devices that help a person keep, learn, or improve skills and functioning for daily living. This bill would specify that coverage of rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices under a health care service plan or health insurance policy includes durable medical equipment, services, and repairs, if the equipment, services, or repairs are prescribed or ordered by a physician, surgeon, or other health professional acting within the scope of their license. The bill would define "durable medical equipment" to mean devices, including replacement devices, that are designed for repeated use, and that are used for the treatment or monitoring of a medical condition or injury in order to help a person to partially or fully acquire, improve, keep, or learn, or minimize the loss of, skills and functioning of daily living. The bill would prohibit coverage of durable medical equipment and services from being subject to financial or treatment limitations, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to communicate to the federal Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight that the coverage of durable medical equipment is necessary to comply with federal requirements for purposes of being considered essential health benefits not subject to defrayal payments. If the center overrules the state's determination that the additional coverage subjects the state to defrayal payments, the bill would require the secretary to reevaluate California's essential health benefits benchmark plan to incorporate the coverage without triggering the defrayal requirement. The bill would require the secretary, no later than one year after the center makes its determination, to submit a report to the Legislature recommending the corresponding changes to the essential health benefits benchmarking process in order for the Legislature to approve submission of a new benchmark plan proposal to the center. Because a violation of the bill's provisions by a health care service plan 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.

This measure would declare that the Legislature should pass laws that halt the importation of cobalt or any product using cobalt mined in Africa using child slave labor and encourage the production of cobalt and other critical minerals ethically sourced from within the United States.

(1) Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may, during that period of confinement, be deprived of only those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners, including the right to purchase, receive, and read newspapers, periodicals, and books accepted for distribution by the United States Post Office. This bill would include the right to personal visits by an intimate partner or a family member, as those terms are defined, as a civil right, as specified. The bill would provide that these civil rights may not be infringed, except as necessary and only if narrowly tailored to further a compelling security interest of the government, and would provide that any governmental action related to these civil rights may be reviewed in court for legal or factual error. (2) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of prisons and requires regulations, which are adopted by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and may impact the visitation of inmates. Existing law requires these regulations to recognize and consider the value of inmate visitation as a means of increasing safety in prisons, maintaining family and community connections, and preparing inmates for successful release and rehabilitation. Existing regulations create the framework for establishing a visitation process in prisons that is conducted in as accommodating a manner as possible, subject to the need to maintain order, the safety of persons, the security of institutions and facilities, and required prison activities and operations. This bill would additionally require those regulations pertaining to inmate visits to recognize and consider the right to personal visits as a civil right. The bill would prohibit the department from denying or restricting in-person contact visits except as specified, including as a disciplinary sanction against the incarcerated person who has committed a listed offense during a personal visit. The bill would require the department to inform both the visitor and the incarcerated person of the specific reason for any denial of a visit, as specified. The bill would require the department to provide at least 3 days of in-person visiting per week, with a minimum of 7 visiting hours per day.

This measure would recognize July 17, 2023, to July 23, 2023, as Outdoor Worker Appreciation Week.

This measure would declare the month of October 2023 as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month.

This measure would designate the month of November 2023 to be California's Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to our state and would seek to afford all Californians the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history and shared principles of Sikh Americans. The measure would condemn all hate crimes and bias incidents against Sikh Americans and would encourage all Sikhs to practice their faith freely and fearlessly.

This measure would designate the month of October 2023 as California Hindu American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would also recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Hindu heritage to the state and seek to increase awareness and understanding of the Hindu American community.