Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, as defined. Under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration administers the statewide program to license manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers of cigarettes and tobacco products. This bill, the Strengthen Tobacco Oversight Programs (STOP) and Seize Illegal Tobacco Products Act, would amend the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to authorize the department, if it discovers that a retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, sell, offer for sale, or possess with the intent to sell or offer for sale a flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer, in violation of existing law, to seize those products at the retail location or any other person's location. The bill would deem any seized products to be forfeited and would require the department to comply with specified procedures relating to the seizure and forfeiture of cigarette and tobacco products. Existing law requires certain items forfeited to the state, including any cigarettes or tobacco products forfeited to the state pursuant to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003, to be destroyed. This bill would additionally require flavored tobacco products and tobacco product flavor enhancers forfeited to the state pursuant to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to be destroyed. The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act regulates the use of tobacco and tobacco products by, among other things, prohibiting a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco, cigarettes, or any other paraphernalia that is designed for the smoking or ingestion of tobacco, tobacco products, or any controlled substance to a person under 21 years of age, and establishes an exception for active duty military personnel who are at least 18 years of age. Existing law authorizes civil penalties for a first and subsequent violations of the act. This bill would increase the penalties for providing a person who is under 21 years of age any of those substances or paraphernalia. Existing federal law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to any person younger than 21 years of age. This bill, in conformity with federal law, would repeal the provision authorizing the sale of tobacco products to active duty military personnel who are at least 18 years of age. The bill would also make a nonsubstantive conforming change. This bill would also make findings and declarations related to the STOP and Seize Illegal Tobacco Products Act. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 104559.5 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by AB 3218 to be operative only if this bill and AB 3218 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Sponsored bills
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. Under existing law, each hospital designated by the department as a critical access hospital, and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, is eligible for supplemental payments for Medi-Cal covered outpatient services rendered to Medi-Cal eligible persons. Existing law sets forth various other provisions regarding Medi-Cal reimbursement in consideration of small and rural hospitals. This bill would require the department to convene a Rural Hospital Technical Advisory Group, with a certain composition of stakeholders, at least bimonthly during the 2025 calendar year. The bill would set forth the purposes of the advisory group, including, among other things, analyzing the continued ability of small, rural, or critical access hospitals, as defined, to remain financially viable under existing Medi-Cal reimbursement methodologies, providing related recommendations, and identifying key contributors to the financial challenges of those hospitals, as specified. The bill would require, by March 31, 2026, the department, in consultation with the advisory group, to report to the Legislature on the findings and recommendations arising out of the convenings, as specified.
Existing law, until January 1, 2025, allows an individual taxpayer to contribute amounts in excess of the taxpayer's personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds and accounts, including, among others, to the Endangered and Rare Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Species Conservation and Enhancement Account, a continuously appropriated account established in the Fish and Game Preservation Fund, or until December 1 of a calendar year that the Franchise Tax Board determines the amount of contributions estimated to be received will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount of $250,000. This bill would extend the operability of the taxpayer contribution described above until the sooner of January 1, 2032, or until December 1 of a calendar year that the Franchise Tax Board determines the amount of contributions estimated to be received will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount of $250,000, as provided. By extending the operation of a continuously appropriated account, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires the Department of Fish and Wildlife to maintain the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund for the support of a competitive grant program established by the department for the purposes of the recovery and rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife and of conservation education, and creates a voluntary checkoff on the tax return for an individual to designate a contribution in excess of the tax liability, if any, to be made to the fund, as provided. This bill would instead require the grant funds to be used for the purposes of the rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife and of wildlife conservation education. The bill would require an applicant to be in compliance with all conditions of its wildlife rehabilitation permit and all applicable local, state, and federal laws and to actively use an electronic database to maintain wildlife rehabilitation animal records. This bill would authorize the department to distribute up to 100% of the grant award of a covered grant, as the bill would define the term, upon its execution. The bill also would require the department to require a report from a covered grant recipient after the completion of a covered grant award that addresses what objectives were met and the means used to meet them, and what objectives were unmet and the reasons why they were unmet. The bill would disqualify a recipient nonprofit that fails to submit the report from covered grant award eligibility for one year. Existing law allows an individual to designate on the individual's tax return that a specified amount in excess of the individual's tax liability be contributed to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund. Existing law requires that these provisions remain operative only until January 1 of the 7th taxable year following its first appearance on the tax return, and is repealed as of December 1 of that year. This bill would extend the operability of the designation and fund to the sooner of January 1, 2031, or until on and after January 1 of a calendar year that the Franchise Tax Board determines the amount of contributions estimated to be received will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount of $250,000, as provided. By extending the operation of a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law authorizes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) to prescribe, by regulation, energy efficiency standards, including appliance efficiency standards. Under this authority, the Energy Commission has established building standards for the installation of photovoltaic systems meeting certain requirements for certain residential and commercial buildings. Existing law requires any building standard that has been adopted by the Energy Commission pursuant to these provisions to be submitted to the California Building Standards Commission for approval. This bill would exempt a building that is constructed in the service territory of a public utility district and that receives all of its electricity pursuant to a preference right adopted and authorized by the United States Congress, as specified, if that electricity is carbon free, from the building standards adopted by the Energy Commission, as provided, that require new residential and commercial buildings to be solar ready or to have photovoltaic and battery storage systems installed. Because local entities would determine whether a building qualifies for the exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Trinity Public Utilities District. 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.
Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of long-term health care facilities, including, among others, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities, by the State Department of Public Health. A violation of those provisions is generally a crime. 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. Existing law prohibits a long-term health care facility that participates as a provider under the Medi-Cal program from discriminating against a Medi-Cal patient on the basis of the source of payment for the facility's services that are required to be provided to individuals entitled to services under the Medi-Cal program. Existing law prohibits that facility from seeking to evict out of the facility, or transfer within the facility, any resident as a result of the resident changing their manner of purchasing the services from private payment or Medicare to Medi-Cal, except as specified. This bill would require the facility to provide aid, care, service, and other benefits available under Medi-Cal to Medi-Cal beneficiaries in the same manner, by the same methods, and at the same scope, level, and quality as provided to the general public, regardless of payment source. The bill would find and declare that this requirement is declaratory of existing law and thus not reimbursable under the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act or any other Medi-Cal ratesetting provisions, as specified. The bill would specify that if reimbursement is found to be required by state or federal law or regulation, as specified, the above requirement shall only become operative upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would also provide that this requirement and the above-described prohibition against discrimination on the basis of payment source be implemented only to the extent that these provisions do not conflict with federal law, that any necessary federal approvals are obtained, and that federal financial participation for the Medi-Cal program is available and is not otherwise jeopardized. Existing federal regulations require certain nursing facilities to post their resident census and specified nurse staffing data on a daily basis. This bill would require a skilled nursing facility that participates as a provider under the Medi-Cal program to make publicly available its current daily resident census and nurse staffing data, as defined. The bill would require the facility to make the information available either by posting it on the facility's internet website or by providing the information to a requester by telephone or email, as specified. The bill would exempt these requirements from the above-described and other related criminal penalties. The bill would find and declare that these requirements are not reimbursable under the Medi-Cal Long-Term Care Reimbursement Act, but that if reimbursement is found to be required by state or federal law or regulation, as specified, the above provision shall only become operative upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires that a contract of admission to a long-term health care facility state that, except in an emergency, a resident may not be involuntarily transferred or discharged from the facility unless the resident and, if applicable, the resident's representative, are given reasonable notice in writing and transfer or discharge planning as required by law. Existing law requires that the written notice state the reason for the transfer or discharge. This bill would require that the notice also include a specified statement relating to, among other things, restrictions on discharge from the facility or transfer within the facility solely as a result of changing the manner of purchasing services from private payment or Medicare to Medi-Cal payment, and certain resource information about facilities participating in Medi-Cal.
Existing law prohibits certain distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballot, unless the media includes a disclosure stating that the media has been manipulated, subject to specified exemptions. Existing law authorizes a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in audio or visual media distributed in violation of these provisions to file specified actions, and it requires a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would prohibit a person, committee, or other entity from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election communication, as defined, that contains certain materially deceptive content, as defined, with malice, as defined, subject to specified exemptions. The bill would apply this prohibition within 120 days of an election in California and, in specified cases, 60 days after an election. The bill would authorize a recipient of materially deceptive content distributed in violation of this section, candidate or committee participating in the election, or elections official, as defined, to file a civil action to enjoin the distribution of the media and to seek damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed it, except as specified. The bill would require a court to place such proceedings on the calendar in the order of their date of filing and give the proceedings precedence. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 35 of the Code of Civil Procedure proposed by AB 2655 to be operative only if this bill and AB 2655 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would, among other things, urge the United States Congress and President Joseph R. Biden to fully fund the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution for the Tijuana River due to the ongoing impacts to public health, the environment, and the local economy caused by cross-border pollution and would urge President Joseph R. Biden to declare a national emergency due to those ongoing impacts.
This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to repeal the state and local tax deduction limitation so that residents of California and married taxpayers are no longer penalized by the federal tax code.
Maddy summaryAssembly Concurrent Resolution 120 designates January 2024 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month in California. This measure does not change laws or allocate funding but instead encourages state agencies, communities, and organizations to focus on the importance of positive parenting strategies. The resolution highlights how supportive family environments can improve children's health and well-being while acknowledging the diverse forms families take in the state. It serves as a formal acknowledgment of existing programs and resources rather than creating new mandates or policies.
This measure would proclaim September 20, 2024, and September 20 of each year thereafter, as California Youth Climate Action Day to honor and support the efforts of young people in their pursuit of environmental sustainability, climate justice, and the preservation of biodiversity.