Asm. David Chiu

This measure would declare the month of May 2019 as Foster Care Month.

This measure would recognize June 19, 2019, as Juneteenth and would urge the people of California to join in celebrating Juneteenth as a day to honor and reflect on the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States and how they have enriched society through their steadfast commitment to promoting unity and equality.

This measure would declare June 6, 2019, as Secure Your Load Day in California.

The federal Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the availability of appropriations, to provide financial assistance to the State of Maryland and the State of Louisiana for a program to implement measures to eradicate or control nutria and restore marshland damaged by nutria. Under the federal act, the federal share of the costs of the program is prohibited from exceeding 75% of the total costs of the program. This measure would urge the United States Congress to reauthorize and specifically add California to the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 and to authorize an appropriation of $4,000,000 to help the state implement a nutria eradication program.

This measure would urge the United States Department of Health and Human Services to rescind the new Title X regulations that will impede access to essential, time-sensitive health care for low-income individuals across California and the nation.

Existing law, the California Retail Food Code, provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Public Health. Under existing law, local health agencies are primarily responsible for enforcing the California Retail Food Code, and a person who violates any provision of the code is guilty of a misdemeanor, except as otherwise provided. Existing law requires returned empty containers intended for refilling with food or beverage to be cleaned and refilled in an approved facility, except that consumer-owned containers may be refilled and returned to the same consumer if the container is refilled by an employee of the food facility or the owner of the container and the dispensing system includes a contamination-free transfer process. This bill would instead provide that clean consumer-owned containers provided or returned to the food facility for filling may be filled by either the employee or the owner of the container, and would require the food facility to isolate the consumer-owned containers from the serving surface or sanitize the serving surface after each filling. The bill would require the consumer-owned containers to be designed and constructed for reuse, as specified. The bill would require the food facility to prepare, maintain, and adhere to written procedures to prevent cross-contamination, and to make the written procedures available to the enforcement agency. Existing law defines a temporary food facility, for purposes of the California Retail Food Code, as a food facility approved by the enforcement officer that operates at a fixed location for the duration of an approved community event or at a swap meet and only as a part of the community event or swap meet. Under existing law, a temporary food facility is required to provide single-use articles for use by the consumer. This bill would authorize a local enforcement agency to allow a temporary food facility to use multiuse utensils that are cleaned, rinsed, and sanitized at either the temporary food facility or an approved food facility. Because any violation of these provisions would be a 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, 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. Existing law requires the Department of Insurance to regulate health insurers. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer offering a contract or policy to provide coverage for emergency services. Existing law prohibits a hospital from transferring a person needing emergency services and care to another hospital for any nonmedical reason unless prescribed conditions are met and makes a willful violation of this requirement a crime. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, to provide that if an enrollee or insured receives covered emergency services from a noncontracting hospital, except as specified, the enrollee or insured is prohibited from paying more than the same cost sharing that the enrollee or insured would pay for the same covered services received from a contracting hospital. The bill would require a health care service plan or insurer to pay a noncontracting hospital for emergency services rendered to an enrollee or insured pursuant to a specified formula, would require a noncontracting hospital to bill, collect, and make refunds in a specified manner, and would provide a dispute resolution procedure if any party is dissatisfied with payment. The bill would require health care service plans and insurers to document cost savings pursuant to these provisions. By expanding the duties of health care services plans and hospitals, this bill would expand existing crimes, thereby imposing 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 urge the 116th Congress of the United States to enact House Resolution 1708, which would, among other things, add 191,000 acres of the Rim of the Valley Corridor to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

This measure would designate the portion of Interstate 505 between the Interstate 80 interchange and the Vaca Valley Parkway in the County of Solano as the CHP Officer Kirk Griess Memorial Highway. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Federal law prohibits payment to a state for medical assistance furnished to an alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the United States under color of law. Existing law requires individuals under 19 years of age enrolled in restricted-scope Medi-Cal at the time the Director of Health Care Services makes a determination that systems have been programmed for implementation of these provisions to be enrolled in the full scope of Medi-Cal benefits, if otherwise eligible, pursuant to an eligibility and enrollment plan, which includes outreach strategies. Existing law makes the effective date of enrollment for those individuals the same day that systems are operational to begin processing new applications pursuant to the director's determination, and requires the department to seek any necessary federal approvals to obtain federal financial participation for purposes of implementing the requirements. Existing law requires that benefits for services under these provisions be provided with state-only funds only if federal financial participation is not available for those services. Existing law requires the department, until the director makes the above-described determination, to provide monthly updates to specified legislative committees on the status of the implementation of these provisions. This bill would extend eligibility for full-scope Medi-Cal benefits to individuals of all ages, if otherwise eligible for those benefits, but for their immigration status, and would delete provisions delaying eligibility and enrollment until the director makes the determination described above. The bill would require the department to provide, indefinitely, the above-described monthly updates to the legislative committees. The bill would expand the requirements of the eligibility and enrollment plan, such as ensuring that an individual maintains their primary care provider without disruption, as specified. The bill would require the department to collaborate with the counties and designated public hospitals to maximize federal financial participation and to work with designated public hospitals to mitigate any financial losses related to the implementation of these requirements. The bill would condition the implementation of its provisions on an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or other measure for that purpose. Because counties are required to make Medi-Cal eligibility determinations and this bill would expand Medi-Cal eligibility, 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, 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.