Existing law requires any state agency, board, or commission that directly or by contract collects demographic data as to the ancestry or ethnic origin of Californians to use separate collection categories and tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and requires a state agency, board, or commission to include data on specified collection categories and tabulations in every demographic report on ancestry or ethnic origins of California residents that it publishes or releases. Existing law requires specified agencies to use additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for major Asian groups and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander groups, and also requires those agencies to take additional actions, including, among other things, posting, and annually updating, the demographic data collected on their Internet Web sites, and updating the reporting categories to reflect these Asian and Pacific Islander groups as they are reported for the 2020 decennial census. This bill would require the updating of the reporting categories for future decennial censuses. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to use the additional separate collection categories and other tabulations for specified Asian groups and Pacific Islander groups, and to take additional actions as specified above, under certain circumstances.
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The California Children's Services (CCS) program is a statewide program providing medically necessary services required by physically handicapped children whose parents are unable to pay for those services. The State Department of Health Care Services administers the CCS program. Counties, based on population size, are also charged with administering the program, either independently or jointly with the department. The services covered by the CCS program include expert diagnosis, medical treatment, surgical treatment, hospital care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, special treatment, materials, and the supply of appliances and their upkeep, maintenance, and transportation. Funding for the program comes from county, state, and federal sources. In order to be eligible for the CCS program, an applicant must be under 21 years of age, have or be suspected of having a condition covered by the program, and meet certain financial eligibility standards established by the department. Existing law prohibits services covered by the CCS program from being incorporated into a Medi-Cal managed care contract entered into after August 1, 1994, until January 1, 2017, except with respect to contracts entered into for county organized health systems or Regional Health Authority in specified counties. This bill would exempt contracts entered into under the Whole Child Model program, described below, from that prohibition and would extend to January 1, 2022, and until the evaluation required under the Whole Child Model program has been completed, the termination of the prohibition against CCS-covered services being incorporated in a Medi-Cal managed care contract entered into after August 1, 1994. The bill would authorize the department, no sooner than July 1, 2017, to establish a Whole Child Model program, under which managed care plans served by a county organized health system or Regional Health Authority in designated counties would provide CCS services to Medi-Cal eligible CCS children and youth. The bill would limit the number of managed care plans under a county organized health system or Regional Health Authority that are eligible to participate in the program. The bill would require the department to implement the program, as specified, and would require a managed care plan to obtain written approval from the department and establish a local stakeholder process, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit the department from approving the application of a managed care plan until the Director of Health Care Services has verified the readiness of the managed care plan to address the unique needs of CCS-eligible beneficiaries, including, among other things, that the managed care contractor demonstrates the availability of an appropriate provider network to serve the needs of children and youth with CCS conditions and complies with all CCS program guidelines. The bill would prohibit the department from implementing the program in any county until it has developed specific CCS monitoring and oversight standards for managed care plans. The bill would require the department to establish, through December 31, 2021, a statewide Whole Child Model program stakeholder advisory group comprised of specified stakeholders, including representatives from health plans and family resource centers, or modify an existing stakeholder advisory group and would require the department to consult with the Whole Child Model program stakeholder advisory group on the implementation of the program, as specified. The bill would impose various requirements on a Medi-Cal managed care plan serving children and youth with CCS-eligible conditions under the CCS program, including, but not limited to, coordinating services, as specified; providing appropriate access to care, services, and information, including continuity of care requirements; and providing for case management, care coordination, provider referral, and service authorization services. The bill would require a Medi-Cal managed care plan participating in the Whole Child Model program to ensure provision of case management, care coordination, provider referral, and service authorization services to children and youth, as prescribed, but would authorize the department to waive this requirement if the plan demonstrates that it cannot meet the requirement because it would result in substantially increased program costs, as specified. This bill would require a managed care plan to provide a timely process for accepting and acting upon complaints and grievances of CCS-eligible children and youth. The bill would require a specified stakeholder process to address proposed changes to CCS medical eligibility requirements. The bill would require the department to contract with an independent entity to conduct an evaluation to assess health plan performance and the outcomes and the experience of CCS-eligible children and youth participating in the program, and would require the department to provide a report on the results of this evaluation to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2021. This bill would provide that its provisions are not intended to permit any reduction in benefits or eligibility levels under the existing CCS program. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2020, to adopt regulations and, commencing July 1, 2018, would require the department to provide a status report to the Legislature until regulations have been adopted. The bill would authorize the Director of Health Care Services to enter into exclusive or nonexclusive contracts on a bid, nonbid, or negotiated basis and amend existing managed care contracts to provide or arrange for services provided under the bill. By imposing new duties on counties with respect to the transition and implementation of CCS program services, 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 these statutory provisions.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, funds a system of county mental health plans for the provision of mental health services, as specified. Existing law provides for the operation and administration of various mental health programs at a statewide and county level, as specified. This bill, until January 1, 2022, would require the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to create a grant program for public community colleges, colleges, and universities for purposes of improving access to mental health services on those campuses, as specified. The bill would require campuses that have been awarded grants under these provisions to report annually on the use of those grant funds and to post that information on their Internet Web sites. The bill would also require the commission to submit a report to the Legislature evaluating the impact of the program, as specified. The bill would require that evaluation to be conducted by a public or private research university or institute in this state and would require the Department of Finance to assist the commission in issuing a request for proposal for that contract.
Existing law regulates the existence and disclosure of specified chemicals and components in consumer products, including phthalates and bisphenol A. Existing law also provides for the licensing and regulation of nail salons and manicurists by the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology within the Department of Consumer Affairs. This bill would require the Department of Toxic Substances Control to publish guidelines for cities, counties, and cities and counties to voluntarily implement local healthy nail salon recognition (HNSR) programs. The bill would allow the guidelines to include, but not be limited to, specified criteria, such as the potential for exposure of nail salon workers and customers to chemicals. The bill would also require the department to develop a consumer education program, present the guidelines to local health officers, local environmental health departments, and other local agencies, and post specified information on its Internet Web site.
The Real Estate Law provides for the licensure and regulation of real estate brokers and real estate salespersons by the Bureau of Real Estate, headed by the Real Estate Commissioner. Fees charged and collected under the Real Estate Law, except as otherwise provided, are deposited into the Real Estate Fund and continuously appropriated for use by the commissioner, as specified. Existing law requires the commissioner to provide on the Internet specific information regarding the status of every license issued by the department. This bill would authorize the commissioner, upon petition by a licensee accompanied by a specified fee, to remove from the posting of discipline an item that has been posted on the bureau's Internet Web site for at least 10 years and for which the licensee provides evidence of rehabilitation indicating that the notice is no longer required to prevent a credible risk to members of the public utilizing licensed activity of the licensee. The bill would require the commissioner, in evaluating a petition, to take into consideration other violations that present a credible risk to the members of the public since the posting of discipline requested for removal, as specified. Because the fees collected pursuant to these provisions would be deposited in the Real Estate Fund, which is continuously appropriated, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would also authorize the bureau to develop, through regulations, the amount of the fee and the minimum information to be included in a licensee's petition, including, but not limited to, a written justification and evidence of rehabilitation. The bill would require the petition process to commence January 1, 2018. The bill would require the bureau to maintain a list of all licensees whose disciplinary records are altered as a result of the petition process and to update the list and make it available to other licensing bodies, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 10083.2 of the Business and Professions Code proposed by AB 2330, that would become operative only if AB 2330 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2017, and this bill is chaptered last.
Under existing law, health facilities, including general acute care hospitals, are licensed and regulated by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law prohibits a health facility from charging, billing, or otherwise soliciting payment from a patient on behalf of, or referring a patient to, another health facility in which the health facility has a significant beneficial interest, except as provided. A violation of these provisions is a crime. This bill would require a general acute care hospital, except as specified, to provide a delineated notice to each patient scheduled for a service in a hospital-based outpatient clinic, as defined, when that service is available in a nonhospital-based location. By expanding the application of an existing crime, the bill would create 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 authorizes cities and counties, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes that may be imposed in accordance with that law in the county not exceed 2%. This bill would authorize the City of Alameda to impose a transactions and use tax for general purposes that, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, would not exceed the combined rate limit of 2% by more than 0.5%, if the city adopts an ordinance proposing the tax and the ordinance proposing the tax is approved by the voters, subject to applicable voter approval requirements, as specified. The bill would repeal this authorization on January 1, 2025, if an ordinance proposing the tax has not been approved by that date. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of Alameda.
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. A willful violation of the act is a crime. Existing law requires a health care service plan to reimburse providers for emergency services and care provided to its enrollees, until the care results in stabilization of the enrollee. Existing law prohibits a health care service plan from requiring a provider to obtain authorization prior to the provision of emergency services and care necessary to stabilize the enrollee's emergency medical care, as specified. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Insurance Commissioner. Existing law requires a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2014, that provides or covers benefits with respect to services in an emergency department of a hospital to cover emergency services without the need for prior authorization, regardless of whether the provider is a participating provider, and subject to the same cost sharing required if the services were provided by a participating provider, as specified. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after July 1, 2017, to provide that if an enrollee or insured receives covered services from a contracting health facility, as defined, at which, or as a result of which, the enrollee or insured receives covered services provided by a noncontracting individual health professional, as defined, the enrollee or insured would be required to pay the noncontracting individual health professional only the same cost sharing required if the services were provided by a contracting individual health professional, which would be referred to as the "in-network cost-sharing amount." The bill would prohibit an enrollee or insured from owing the noncontracting individual health professional at the contracting health facility more than the in-network cost-sharing amount if the noncontracting individual health professional receives reimbursement for services provided to the enrollee or insured at a contracting health facility from the health care service plan or health insurer. However, the bill would make an exception from this prohibition if the enrollee or insured provides written consent that satisfies specified criteria. The bill would require a noncontracting individual health professional who collects more than the in-network cost-sharing amount from the enrollee or insured to refund any overpayment to the enrollee or insured, as specified, and would provide that interest on any amount not refunded to the enrollee or insured shall accrue at 15% per annum, as specified. Existing law requires a contract between a health care service plan and a provider, or a contract between an insurer and a provider, to contain provisions requiring a fast, fair, and cost-effective dispute resolution mechanism under which providers may submit disputes to the plan or insurer. Existing law requires that dispute resolution mechanism also be made accessible to a noncontracting provider for the purpose of resolving billing and claims disputes. This bill would require the department and the commissioner to each establish, by September 1, 2017, an independent dispute resolution process that would allow a noncontracting individual health professional who rendered services at a contracting health facility, or a plan or insurer, to appeal a claim payment dispute, as specified. The bill would authorize the department and the commissioner to contract with one or more independent dispute resolution organizations to conduct the independent dispute resolution process, as specified. Contracts entered into pursuant to these provisions would be exempt from specified statutory provisions and related state agency review and approval requirements. The bill would provide that the decision of the organization would be binding on the parties. The bill would require a plan or insurer to base reimbursement for covered services on the amount the individual health professional would have been reimbursed by Medicare for the same or similar services in the general geographic area in which the services were rendered pursuant to a specified methodology and would specify, among other responsibilities, the duties of health care service plans, their delegated entities, and health insurers in identifying and calculating the applicable reimbursement rates, as well as various related duties of the department and the commissioner. The bill would require the department and the commissioner to report on the data and information provided in the independent dispute resolution process to the Governor and other specified recipients by January 1, 2019. The bill would require a noncontracting individual health professional, health care service plan or delegated entity, or health insurer that disputes that claim reimbursement to utilize the independent dispute resolution process. The bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to emergency services and care, as defined. 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. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions relative to 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.
Existing law requires, from February 1, 2012, to July 1, 2012, inclusive, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the county auditor-controller in each county to allocate property tax revenues in the county's Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund, established to receive revenues equivalent to those that would have been allocated to former redevelopment agencies had those agencies not been dissolved, towards the payment of enforceable obligations and among entities that include, among others, a city, county, or city and county. This bill would authorize a city or county to reject its allocations of property tax revenues that it would otherwise receive pursuant to specified statutory provisions governing the dissolution of redevelopment agencies. The bill would except from this authorization a city, county, or city and county that became the successor agency to the redevelopment agency and did not receive a finding of completion from the Department of Finance, as specified, and any designated local authority of a redevelopment agency, formed as specified, that did not receive the finding of completion from the Department of Finance. The bill would direct those rejected distributions of property tax revenues to an affordable housing special beneficiary district, established as a temporary and distinct local governmental entity for the express purposes of receiving rejected distributions of property tax revenues and providing financing assistance to promote affordable housing within its boundaries. The bill would require a beneficiary district to be governed by a 5-member board and comply with specified open meeting and public record laws. The bill would automatically require a beneficiary district to cease to exist on a specifically calculated date and prohibit a beneficiary district from undertaking any obligation that requires its action past that date. The bill would transfer any funds and public records of a beneficiary district remaining after the date the beneficiary district ceases to exist to the city or county that rejected its distributions of property tax revenues that were thereafter directed to that beneficiary district, as specified.
(1) Existing law, the California Finance Lenders Law, generally provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders and brokers by the Commissioner of Business Oversight and makes a willful violation of its provisions a crime. That law, until January 1, 2018, establishes the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans, which requires licensees and other entities to file an application and pay a specified fee to the commissioner to participate in the program. The program authorizes a licensee approved by the commissioner to participate in the program to impose specified alternative interest rates and charges, including an administrative fee and delinquency fees, on unsecured loans of at least $300 and less than $2,500, subject to certain requirements. The program requires the commissioner, on or before January 1, 2017, to post a report on his or her Internet Web site summarizing utilization of the program, a recommendation whether the pilot program should be continued after January 1, 2018, and the results of a random sample survey of borrowers. This bill would extend the Pilot Program for Increased Access to Responsible Small Dollar Loans until January 1, 2023, make a conforming change to the requirement for the commissioner to report a recommendation for further continuation of the program, and require additional annual reporting, as specified. The bill would remove the requirement for the commissioner to conduct and report the results of a random sample survey of borrowers. The bill would also make a technical change to a cross-reference within the program provisions. Because a willful violation of these extended provisions would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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.