Existing law, the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, sets forth various provisions for the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of elder and dependent adult abuse. Existing law requires specified people, known as mandated reporters, to report cases of elder or dependent adult abuse. Under existing law, failure to report the abuse is a misdemeanor. Existing law establishes certain procedures for mandated reporters to report known or suspected instances of abuse by telephone followed by a written report, or through a confidential internet reporting tool, as specified. If the abuse is physical abuse, and the abuse occurred in a long-term care facility, with exceptions, existing law sets forth the reporting conditions, including those relating to the format, timelines, and recipients of the reporting. Under existing law, the reporting conditions are based on whether or not the suspected abuse results in serious bodily injury, or whether the suspected abuse is allegedly caused by a resident with a physician's diagnosis of dementia and there is no serious bodily injury, as specified. If the abuse is not physical abuse, and the abuse occurred in a long-term care facility, with exceptions, existing law requires a telephone report and a written report to be made to the local ombudsperson or the local law enforcement agency. This bill would delete and reorganize some of those reporting provisions. Under the bill, if the abuse that occurred in a long-term facility was allegedly caused by another resident of the facility with dementia diagnosed by a licensed physician and there was no serious bodily injury, the reporter would be required to submit a written report within 24 hours to the long-term care ombudsperson and the local law enforcement agency. Under the bill, in all other instances, immediately or as soon as practically possible, but no longer than 2 hours, the reporter would be required to submit a verbal report to the local law enforcement agency, and to submit a written report within 24 hours to the aforementioned recipients. Under the bill, the time limit for reporting would begin when the mandated reporter observes, obtains knowledge of, or suspects the abuse or neglect. The bill would make conforming changes to related provisions. By expanding the scope of the mandated reporting crime, and to the extent the bill would change the duties of local entities receiving the reports, 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 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.
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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 the 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 that are provided by a local governmental agency or local educational agency (LEA) . Existing law requires the department to engage in specified activities relating to the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, including amending the Medicaid state plan to ensure that schools are reimbursed for all eligible services, consulting with specified entities in formulating state plan amendments, examining methodologies for increasing school participation in the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option, and conducting an audit of a Medi-Cal Billing Option claim consistent with prescribed requirements, such as generally accepted accounting principles. Existing law requires the department to issue and regularly maintain a program guide for the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option program. Existing law requires the department to file an annual report with the Legislature that includes, among other things, a summary of department activities. This bill would require the department, when conducting an audit of a Medi-Cal Billing Option claim, to complete the audit and notify the LEA of the findings within 18 months of the date that the Cost and Reimbursement Comparison Schedule (CRCS) is submitted. The bill would require the department to provide an interim settlement or final settlement within 12 months of the March 1 due date for the CRCS. The bill would require the department to update and distribute the program guide to all participating LEAs by July 1, 2024, as specified. The bill would require the department's summary of activities in the above-described report to also include training for LEAs and a summary of the number of audits conducted of Medi-Cal Billing Option claims, as specified. The bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
Existing law authorizes various local governmental entities, 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 Humboldt County Board of Supervisors to impose a transactions and use tax for the support of countywide transportation programs at a rate of no more than 1% that would, in combination with other transactions and use taxes, exceed the above-described combined rate limit of 2%, if the ordinance proposing the tax is approved by the voters, subject to applicable voter approval requirements, as specified. The bill would provide that a transactions and use tax rate imposed pursuant to the bill will not be considered for purposes of that combined rate limit described above. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Humboldt.
The California Safe Drinking Water Act provides for the operation of public water systems and imposes on the State Water Resources Control Board various responsibilities and duties relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health. This bill would direct the board to require a public water system that has experienced a wildfire event meeting specified criteria to perform sample collection and analysis of its source waters, treatment facilities, conveyance facilities, distribution systems, or a combination thereof, for the presence of benzene as soon as it is safe to do so. The bill would authorize the state board to require a public water system response that includes specified measures if a public water system conducts sampling and finds detectable concentrations of benzene.
Existing law creates the Emergency Medical Services Authority to coordinate various state activities concerning emergency medical services. Existing law requires the authority to report specified information, including reporting ambulance patient offload time twice per year to the Commission on Emergency Medical Services. This bill would require the authority to annually report the allowable maximum rates for ground ambulance transportation services in each county, including trending the rates by county, as specified. 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 and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires that health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies provide coverage for certain services and treatments, including medical transportation services, and requires a policy or contract to provide for the direct reimbursement of a covered medical transportation services provider if the provider has not received payment from another source. This bill would delete that direct reimbursement requirement and would require a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, to require an enrollee or insured who receives covered services from a noncontracting ground ambulance provider to pay no more than the same cost-sharing amount that the enrollee or insured would pay for the same covered services received from a contracting ground ambulance provider. The bill would prohibit a noncontracting ground ambulance provider from sending to collections a higher amount, would limit the amount an enrollee or insured owes a noncontracting ground ambulance provider to no more than the in-network cost-sharing amount, and would prohibit a ground ambulance provider from billing an uninsured or self-pay patient more than the established payment by Medi-Cal or Medicare fee-for-service amount, whichever is greater. The bill would require a plan or insurer to directly reimburse a noncontracting ground ambulance provider for ground ambulance services the difference between the in-network cost-sharing amount and an amount described, as specified, unless it reaches another agreement with the noncontracting ground ambulance provider. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements 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, the California Retail Food Code, provides for the regulation of health and sanitation standards for retail food facilities by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law, with specified exceptions, requires a food handler to obtain a food handler card within 30 days of their date of hire and to maintain a valid food handler card for the duration of their employment as a food handler. Under existing law, a food handler card is issued only upon successful completion of a food handler training course and examination that meets certain requirements. Existing law requires that at least one food handler training course and examination cost no more than $15, including a food handler card. A violation of the California Retail Food Code is generally a misdemeanor. This bill would require an employer to consider the time that it takes for the employee to complete the training and the examination as compensable "hours worked," for which the employer would pay, and to pay the employee for any necessary expenditures or losses associated with the employee obtaining a food handler card. The bill would require the employer to relieve an employee of all other work duties while the employee is taking the training course and examination. The bill would prohibit an employer from conditioning employment on the applicant or employee having an existing food handler card. Under existing law, the provisions relating to a food handler card do not apply to a food handler subject to an existing local food handler program that took effect before January 1, 2009. This bill would make the new provisions described above also applicable to a food handler who is subject to one of those existing programs. The bill would require the department, by January 1, 2025, to post on its internet website a link to the internet website of certain accredited food handler training programs. The bill would require a local public health department to provide a link to that web page on its own internet website. By increasing the scope of a crime and creating new duties for local public health departments, 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 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 authorizes specified state departments and authorities, upon determination that an advance payment is essential for the effective implementation of a program, to advance to a community-based private nonprofit agency with which it has contracted for the delivery of services funds not exceeding 25% of the annual allocation to be made to the agency during the fiscal year. Existing law also establishes a pilot program, which is repealed on July 1, 2025, to explore possible improvements to the state's existing advance payment practices for state-funded assistance grants. Existing law authorizes an administering state agency of a grant program to advance a payment to a recipient entity, which means a local agency or a nongovernmental entity that is awarded a grant by an administering state agency and with whom the administering state agency has entered into a contract pursuant to that grant, in accordance with specified procedures. These procedures include stipulating an advance payment structure and request process within the grant agreement or contract and ensuring that the advance payment to the recipient entity does not exceed 25% of the total grant amount awarded to the recipient entity, except in specified circumstances. Existing law establishing the pilot program further authorizes an administering state agency to advance payment to a recipient state agency awarded a grant in accordance with specified procedures, including stipulating an advance payment structure and request process within the grant agreement or contract between the state agency administering the program and the recipient state agency and requiring the recipient state agency to provide an itemized budget, spending timeline, and workplan. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to improve and expand the state's existing advance payment practices for state grants and contracts with nonprofits. The bill would authorize an administering state agency to advance a payment to a recipient entity, defined to mean a private, nonprofit organization qualified under federal law, subject to meeting specified requirements. The bill would require the administering state agency to prioritize recipient entities and projects serving disadvantaged, low-income, and under-resourced communities, and to ensure an advance payment to the recipient entity does not exceed 25% of the total grant or contract amount. The bill would require the recipient entity to satisfy certain minimum requirements, including providing an itemized budget and submitting documentation, as required by the administering state agency, to support the need for advance payment. The bill would require the Department of Finance or its designee to audit a state agency subject to these provisions or any recipient or subrecipient that received an advance payment.
(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information, including an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state. This bill would require, as part of the 2025 edition of the integrated energy policy report, the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , to assess barriers to electricity interconnection and energization and provide recommendations on how to accelerate those processes, as appropriate. Existing law establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program that is administered by the Energy Commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities and requires the program to award moneys to public and private entities through various mechanisms. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for various purposes. The bill would additionally authorize the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for workforce development grants in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board. (2) Existing law requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. Existing law requires the PUC to adopt a process for each electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan, and to ensure that those entities meet other specified requirements. This bill would require that the portfolio of resources ensure a reliable electricity supply that also provides optimal integration of resource diversity in a cost-effective manner, as specified. The bill would require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2024, and consistent with a certain process and schedule, to determine if there is a need for the procurement of eligible energy resources, as described, would require the PUC to specify the eligible energy resources that should be procured to meet that need, and would authorize the PUC, within 6 months of making that determination, to request the Department of Water Resources to procure those specified resources that meet the portfolio of resources, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to procure those resources pursuant to that request only before January 1, 2035, as provided. The bill would authorize the PUC to order the procurement of resources with specific attributes by electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators as a result of the integrated resource planning process and require the PUC to enforce any resource procurement requirements on a nondiscriminatory basis. (3) Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction. Under existing law, the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, does not require a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity requires or will require its construction. This bill would require the PUC, in a proceeding evaluating the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed transmission project, to establish a rebuttable presumption with regard to need for the proposed transmission project in favor of an Independent System Operator governing board-approved need evaluation if specified requirements are satisfied. (4) Existing law requires each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers to prudently plan for and procure resources that are adequate to meet its planning reserve margin and peak demand and operating reserves, sufficient to provide reliable electric service to its customers. This bill would authorize a local publicly owned electric utility to meet its minimum planning reserve margin through individual contractual procurement or through an aggregated or pooled portfolio of resources, as specified. (5) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for purposes of (A) implementing projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out specified purposes, (B) constructing, owning, and operating, or contracting for the construction and operation of, contracting for the purchase of electricity from, or financing through loans, reimbursement agreements, or other contracts actions to secure resources for summer reliability or to preserve the option to extend the life of specified facilities, and (C) reimbursing electrical corporations for the value of imported energy or import capacity products that were delivered or capable of being delivered between July 1, 2022, and on or before October 31, 2023, and were procured at above-market costs or in excess of procurement authorizations set by the PUC and above the requirements needed to serve the electrical corporation's bundled customers in support of summer electric service reliability. This bill would require the PUC, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet a load-serving entity's identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each load-serving entity that during that same month fails to meet its system resource adequacy requirements, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before January 31, 2024, in consultation with the PUC, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature that includes an assessment of whether each local publicly owned electric utility exceeded, met, or failed to meet its minimum planning reserve margin and specified system resource adequacy requirements. Upon the submission of that report, the bill would require the executive director of the Energy Commission, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet an identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each local publicly owned electric utility in the Independent System Operator balancing area that during that same month fails to meet its minimum planning reserve margin, as specified. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to adopt regulations for this purpose, as specified. The bill would establish the Load-Serving Entity Capacity Payment Account and the Local Publicly Owned Electric Utility Capacity Payment Account in the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund, and would specify that moneys in those accounts would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for certain purposes. The bill would require capacity payments collected by the department from load-serving entities and local publicly owned electric utilities to be deposited into those 2 accounts, as provided. This bill would require the PUC, if the PUC requests the department to procure eligible energy resources and the department elects to conduct competitive solicitations or enter into contracts for eligible energy resources, to develop and adopt procedures and requirements that govern competitive procurement by, obligations on, and recovery of costs incurred by the department. The bill would require the department, in evaluating bids received through a solicitation to consider certain factors. The bill would require bids for the development of an eligible energy resource project to include the bidder's certification that certain labor requirements are met and that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all construction work on the eligible energy resource project, as provided. The bill would, at the request of the department, authorize the PUC to require an electrical corporation to act as the agent for the department or to assist the department in conducting the solicitation, bid evaluation, or contract negotiation for new eligible energy resource procurement. The bill would authorize the department to establish a schedule and mechanism for a local publicly owned electric utility to voluntarily obtain from the department eligible energy resources to be acquired by the department through its central procurement function on a contract-by-contract basis. The bill would provide electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators with a voluntary option to obtain incremental eligible energy resources from the department, as provided. At the request of the department, the bill would authorize the PUC to order an electrical corporation to transmit or provide for the transmission of, and distribute all electricity made available by the department, and, as an agent of the department, to provide billing, collection, and other related services on terms and conditions that reasonably compensate the electrical corporation for its services and adequately secure payment to the department. The bill would establish the Eligible Energy Resource Central Procurement Fund and continuously appropriate moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require that all moneys collected by electrical corporations, electric service providers, community choice aggregators, and local publicly owned electric utilities and remitted to the department for eligible energy resources, and all moneys paid directly or indirectly to or for the account of the department for any sale, exchange, transfer, or disposition of those resources, be deposited into the fund. The bill would authorize the department, upon determining that it is necessary or desirable to issue bonds to support activities for the procurement of eligible energy resources, to issue bonds for purposes of, among other things, financing the procurement of those resources supporting the fund and other related expenses incurred by the department, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations for purposes of administering these provisions. (6) This bill would provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the sum of no less than $6,000,000 from the General Fund is available in the 2024–25 fiscal year to support comprehensive, regional baseline environmental monitoring and research into the impacts of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the United States Department of the Interior, pending future legislation. The bill would provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, additional moneys from the General Fund will be made available for the 2024–25 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years to support the California Coastal Commission's coastal development permitting of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the bureau, pending future legislation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate additional resources for environmental permitting and related needs across applicable state entities upon the submission and review of a specified assessment. (7) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
(1) Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to operate an aircraft in pest control unless, among other things, the pilot operating the aircraft holds a valid manned or unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate issued by the Director of Pesticide Regulation. Existing law requires each unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate to designate the pilot's status as a journeyman, apprentice, or vector control technician, and requires an applicant for a manned or unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate to pass an examination as a condition of licensure. This bill would additionally include the status of private applicator as a designation under the unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate. The bill would prohibit an individual with a private applicator unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate from applying pesticides except for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity on property owned, leased, or rented by the pilot or their employer. The bill would require a pilot to submit satisfactory documentary proof demonstrating the pilot's completion of a program accredited by the director and possession of a valid private applicator certificate to be eligible for an unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate under the status of private applicator, and to pass an examination as a condition of licensure. (2) Existing law prohibits the issuance of a journeyman's certificate until the applicant has served as an apprentice under an apprentice certificate for one year and until the applicant presents to the director satisfactory documentary proof that the applicant operated an aircraft in pest control activities for a specified amount of time within the previous 2 years, as provided. This bill would, notwithstanding the above limitation, authorize the director to establish specific requirements for obtaining an unmanned journeyman certificate, as specified. (3) Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to act as a pest control aircraft pilot in any county without first registering with the appropriate county agricultural commissioner. Under existing law, it is unlawful to use any fraud or misrepresentation in connection with meeting any license requirement relating to pest control operations. A violation of any of these provisions is a crime. To the extent the bill would expand the scope of existing crimes, 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 authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law requires the commission to enforce rules governing the extension of service by electrical corporations. This bill would require the commission to determine the criteria for timely service for electric customers to be energized, including, among other things, categories of timely electric service through energization, as specified. The bill would require each electrical corporation that energized less than 35% of customers with completed applications exceeding 12 months in duration by January 31, 2023, to submit a report to the commission, as specified, on or before December 1, 2024, demonstrating that the electrical corporation has energized 80% of customers with applications deemed complete as of January 31, 2023, as specified. To improve the accuracy of projected demand and facilitate achievement of the goal of timely electric service through energization, the bill would require each electrical corporation to evaluate and update, as necessary, its existing distribution planning processes. In order to inform the commission's determination of criteria for timely service, the bill would require the commission to annually collect certain information from each electrical corporation until new reporting requirements are established. Under the Public Utilities Act, a violation of an order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirements of the commission is a crime. Because the above-described provisions would be a part of the act, a violation of which 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.