This measure would declare that President Abraham Lincoln be honored on February 12, 2016, the anniversary of his birthday.
The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Under existing law, regional centers purchase needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities through approved service providers or arrange for those services through other publicly funded agencies. Existing law establishes specified rates and wages to be paid to certain service providers and the rates to be paid for certain developmental services. Existing law requires that rates to be paid to other developmental service providers either be set by the department or negotiated between the regional center and the service provider. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced, as specified. This bill would appropriate a specified sum to the State Department of Developmental Services to, commencing July 1, 2016, among other things, increase rates and wages for certain developmental services providers and fund incentive payments for competitive integrated employment opportunities and internships for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require the department to submit a rate study to specified committees of the Legislature on or before March 1, 2019, regarding community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The bill would require each regional center to report specified information to the department regarding increased funding for regional center operations. The bill would, for dates of service on or after August 1, 2016, increase the payment rates for intermediate care facilities and skilled nursing facilities that provide services to developmentally disabled individuals under the Medi-Cal program, as specified. The bill would also prohibit the State Department of Health Care Services from seeking to retroactively implement certain Medi-Cal provider payment reductions and limitations with regards to reimbursements for services provided by skilled nursing facilities that are distinct parts of general acute care hospitals for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011, and on or before September 30, 2013, and from seeking to recoup overpayments, as specified. Existing law requires the department and regional centers to annually collaborate to compile specified data relating to purchase of service authorization, utilization, and expenditure by each regional center. Existing law requires each regional center to annually report to the department regarding the regional center's implementation of these requirements, including whether the data indicates a need to reduce disparities in the purchase of services among consumers in the regional center's catchment area and the regional center's recommendations and plan to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires the department to consult with specified stakeholders to review the data, develop recommendations to help reduce disparities in purchase of service expenditures, and encourage development and expansion of culturally appropriate services, among other things, and to report the status of its efforts during the 2016–17 legislative budget subcommittee hearing process. The bill would also require the department, subject to available funding, to allocate funding to regional centers to assist in implementing specified recommendations and plans, including the recommendations and plans of the regional centers to promote equity, and reduce disparities, in the purchase of services. Existing law requires an entity that receives payments between $250,000 and $500,000 per year from one or more regional centers to obtain either an independent audit or an independent review report of its financial statements, and requires an entity that receives payments that are equal to or more than $500,000 per year to obtain an independent audit. This bill would instead require an entity that receives payments between $500,000 and $2,000,000 from one or more regional centers to obtain an independent review report of its financial statements, and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from this requirement if the regional center does not find issues in the independent review report that have an impact on regional center services. The bill would require an entity that receives payments from one or more regional centers that are equal to or more than $2,000,000 to obtain an independent audit and would authorize these entities to apply for, and require the regional center to grant, a 2-year exemption from the audit requirement if the audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, an unmodified opinion with additional communication, or a qualified opinion with issues that are not material. The bill would require a regional center to annually report to the State Department of Developmental Services any exemptions granted pursuant to these provisions.
This measure would declare the month of January 2016 as Pet Care Education Month and would request Californians to observe the month by ensuring that their companion animals receive the proper preventative care by establishing a financial plan for pet health emergencies and by contributing to charitable organizations that provide low-cost spay and neuter services and vaccinations or funds to help low-income individuals pay for veterinary care.
(1) Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law requires the department to develop and implement a Medi-Cal inpatient hospital reimbursement payment methodology based on diagnosis-related groups, subject to federal approval, that reflects the costs and staffing levels associated with quality of care for patients in all general acute care hospitals, as specified. Existing law generally requires the diagnosis-related group-based payments to apply to all claims. This bill would require claims for payments pursuant to the inpatient hospital reimbursement methodology described above to be increased by 16% for the 2015–16 fiscal year, and would require, commencing July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, the department to increase each diagnosis-related group payment claim amount based, at a minimum, on increases in the medical component of the California Consumer Price Index. Commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year, and annually thereafter, the bill would require managed care rates for Medi-Cal managed care health plans to be increased by a proportionately equal amount for increased payments for hospital services. (2) Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would, instead, prohibit the application of those reductions for payments to providers for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also require payments for managed care health plans for dates of service following the effective date of the bill to be determined without application of some of those reductions. The bill would require the Director of Health Care Services to implement this provision to the maximum extent permitted by federal law and for the maximum time period for which the director obtains federal approval for federal financial participation for those payments. (3) Prior law required, beginning January 1, 2013, through and including December 31, 2014, that payments for primary care services provided by specified physicians be no less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to those services and physicians as established by the Medicare program, for both fee-for-service and managed care plans. This bill, commencing January 1, 2016, would require payments for specified medical care services to not be less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to those services as established by the Medicare program for services rendered by fee-for-service providers, and would require rates paid to Medi-Cal managed care plans to be actuarially equivalent to payment rates established by the Medicare program. The bill, commencing January 1, 2016, would require rates paid to Denti-Cal providers for dental services provided to adults and children to be increased by the equivalent percentage as the percentage increase required for other fee-for-service Medi-Cal providers. The bill would require those provisions to be implemented only to the extent permitted by federal law and that federal financial participation is available. The bill would authorize the department to implement those provisions through provider bulletins without taking regulatory action until regulations are adopted, and would require the department to adopt those regulations by July 1, 2018. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2016, the department to provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis until regulations have been adopted. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires that a vote by mail ballot be available to any registered voter and specifies the manner by which the ballot must be returned. Existing law permits a military or overseas voter who is temporarily living outside of the territorial limits of the United States or the District of Columbia, or is called to military service, to return his or her vote by mail ballot by facsimile transmission to the elections official. The ballot must be received by the closing of the election day polls and accompanied by an identification envelope and an oath of voter declaration in a prescribed form. Existing law requires a military or overseas voter who returns a ballot by facsimile transmission to agree in an oath of voter declaration under penalty of perjury to waive his or her right to a secret ballot and that he or she has not applied for a vote by mail ballot from any other jurisdiction for the election. The elections official is required to determine the voter's eligibility to vote by comparing the voter's signature from the materials returned by facsimile transmission to the signature on the voter's affidavit of registration. This bill would permit a military or overseas voter to return his or her ballot by electronic mail, as prescribed. The bill would require the ballot to be accompanied by a copy of an identification envelope and an oath of voter declaration in substantially the form described with respect to facsimile transmission of ballots. This bill would require the elections official to determine the voter's eligibility to vote by comparing the signature on the scanned copy of the identification envelope with the signature on the voter's affidavit of registration. This bill would permit a military or overseas voter to cast his or her vote on the Internet by electronically marking his or her ballot and securely transmitting the voted ballot to the appropriate elections official. To be counted, the voted ballot must be received by the voter's elections official no later than the closing of the polls on election day. These provisions would become operative only if the Secretary of State certifies that he or she has identified and addressed all issues regarding the security of casting a vote using the Internet. Because the bill requires elections officials to provide a higher level of service and expands the scope of the crime of perjury, it 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law prohibits a person from engaging in the business of, or performing for a fee, the servicing, charging, or testing of portable fire extinguishers without a license issued by the State Fire Marshal expressly authorizing the person to perform such acts. Existing law requires the licensee to notify the State Fire Marshal in writing within 15 days of any change of his or her address. This bill would instead require the licensee to notify the State Fire Marshal in writing within 30 days of any change of his or her address.
Existing sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for the storage, use, or other consumption in this state, and provides various exemptions from those taxes. The bill, on and after January 1, 2016, until January 1, 2021, would provide a partial exemption from those taxes with respect to the sale of specified low-emission vehicles, as provided. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing law authorizes districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to state sales and use taxes are incorporated into these laws. This bill would specify that this exemption does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law provides specified requirements in awarding certain public contracts. This bill would authorize the Governor to sign agreements required by the United States Olympic Committee as part of the bid process for the City of Los Angeles or the City and County of San Francisco to become the United States applicant city and candidate city for the 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations that, among other things, the endorsing municipality, as defined, has developed a self-sufficient bid for financing the games. This bill would authorize the Governor to enter into an agreement for the state to be jointly liable, not to exceed a specified amount, with the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) , as specified, for obligations of the OCOG, and for any financial deficit relating to the games, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
