Asm. Tony Thurmond

This measure would designate that January 16, 2017, be observed as the official memorial of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement in changing public policy in California and in the United States of America.

Under existing law, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board within the Department of Industrial Relations promulgates and enforces occupational safety and health standards for the state, including standards dealing with toxic materials and harmful physical agents. Under existing law, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health is required to enforce all occupational safety and health standards, as specified. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime. This bill would, by June 1, 2017, require the division to convene an advisory committee to develop a regulation that requires a health facility to evacuate or remove plume through the use of a plume scavenging system in all settings that employ techniques that involve the creation of plume and would authorize certain entities and people to be on the advisory committee, including, among others, practicing physicians and surgeons from affected specialties. The bill would require the division, in developing the regulation to do certain things, including evaluating the use of certain standards adopted by specified organizations as a benchmark. The bill would also require the division, when developing the proposed regulation, to take into consideration recommendations on the evacuation of plume from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration or National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The bill would, by June 1, 2018, require the division to submit to the board the proposed regulation. The bill would, by July 1, 2019, require the board to adopt the proposed regulation. The bill would provide that compliance with general room ventilation standards or the use of surgical masks does not satisfy the requirements for protection from surgical plumes under these provisions. The bill would provide that the use of respirators does not satisfy the requirements for protection from surgical plumes under these provisions, except as specified. The bill would require the manufacturer of a plume scavenging system to provide evidence that the system meets specified minimum requirements when installed, operated, and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The bill would specify that these provisions do not limit the authority of the division to develop, or limit the authority of the board to adopt, a regulation with a broader scope or broader application than required by these provisions. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes an administrative claiming process under which the department is authorized to contract with local governmental agencies and local educational consortia for the purpose of obtaining federal matching funds to assist with the performance of administrative activities relating to the Medi-Cal program. Existing law defines a local educational agency for these purposes as a local educational agency that participates under the process as a subcontractor to the local educational consortium in its service region. Existing law provides that specified services provided by local educational agencies (LEAs) are covered Medi-Cal benefits and requires the department to perform various activities with respect to the billing option for services provided by LEAs, including amendment of the Medicaid state plan to ensure that schools shall be reimbursed for all eligible services they provide. Existing law requires the department to file an annual report with the Legislature that provides information related to these activities, as specified. Existing law requires the department to regularly consult with the State Department of Education, school district representatives, county offices of education, the local educational consortium, and local educational agencies to assist in formulating those state plan amendments. Existing law funds these activities by requiring the department to proportionately reduce federal Medicaid payments allocable to LEAs, collect the reductions, and deposit them into the Local Educational Agency Medi-Cal Recovery Fund, as specified. This bill would additionally require the department to contract directly with an LEA, if the LEA chooses and the department has developed a process governing direct contracting, to perform school-based administrative activities necessary for the proper and efficient administration of the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would designate the contracting between the department and participating local educational agencies, local educational consortia, and local governmental agencies to perform those school-based administrative activities as the School-Based Administrative Claiming process program. The bill would authorize the department to administer or oversee the administration of a single statewide random moment time survey, or a reduction in the number of quarterly random moment time surveys conducted in the state, for the purposes of the program. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations. This bill would require the department to prepare and post on its Internet Web site an annual report of the costs of administering the School-Based Administrative Claiming process program and the LEA billing option and list local educational agency participation in each. The bill would also require the department to include in that report the annual report related to the LEA billing option. This bill would require the department to enter into an interagency agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Department of Education to coordinate the efforts of both departments with respect to the LEA billing option and the School-Based Administrative Claiming process program. The bill would require the department to develop an appeals process, as specified, to contest an action of the department. This bill would require the department and the State Department of Education to establish and jointly administer a School-Based Health Program and Policy Workgroup, as specified, in order to assist the department in formulating state plan amendments required to implement the LEA billing option described above and for the purpose of advising the department on issues related to the delivery of school-based Medi-Cal services to students in the state, as specified. The bill would require the department to consult with the advisory group in connection with developing the interagency agreement or MOU described above. The bill would authorize the department and the State Department of Education to use moneys collected by the department to fund the LEA Medi-Cal billing option program activities and amounts withheld from LEAs by agreement with the department to meet the requirements of the interagency agreement or MOU described above and to fund staffing requirements for the workgroup.

Existing law establishes various programs, including, among others, the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program, to provide assistance to homeless persons. This bill would require a state agency or department that funds, implements, or administers a state program that provides housing or housing-related services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, except as specified, to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to include enumerated Housing First policies. The bill would also establish the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council to oversee the implementation of the Housing First guidelines and regulations and, among other things, to identify resources, benefits, and services that can be accessed to prevent and end homelessness in California.