Asm. Liz Ortega

(1) Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) , grants a consumer various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected or sold by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that collects sensitive personal information about the consumer to limit its use, as prescribed. Existing law defines "sensitive personal information" to mean, among other things, personal information that reveals a consumer's precise geolocation. Existing law, the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, amended, added to, and reenacted the CCPA. This bill would prohibit a covered entity from collecting or processing the location information of an individual unless doing so is necessary to provide goods or services requested by that individual. The bill would impose various other restrictions on covered entities with regard to location information. The bill would define various terms for purposes of these provisions, including "location information" to mean information that pertains to or directly or indirectly reveals the present or past geographical location of an individual or device, as specified. This bill would require a covered entity to prominently display, at the point where location information is being captured, a notice to individuals stating that their location information is being collected, the name of the covered entity and service provider collecting the information, and a phone number and an internet website where the individual can obtain more information. The bill would require a covered entity to maintain and make available to the data subject a location privacy policy that includes specified information on data usage and management and is subject to a specified notice procedure. This bill would make a covered entity that violates these provisions liable for actual or statutory damages and other specified relief. The bill would authorize the Attorney General or other public prosecutors to bring an action to recover a civil penalty against a covered entity that violates these provisions. This bill would require a business, as defined by the CCPA, to comply with the above-described provisions. (2) Existing law, the Information Practices Act of 1977, prescribes a set of requirements, prohibitions, and remedies applicable to agencies, as defined, with regard to their collection, storage, and disclosure of personal information, as defined. This bill would prohibit a state or local agency, including an agency as defined under the Information Practices Act, from monetizing, as defined, location information. By imposing new requirements on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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. (4) The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature, as specified. This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.

Existing law establishes the California State Library, which includes the California Research Bureau, under the control of an executive known as the "State Librarian." Existing law authorizes the California State Library to serve as the central reference and research library for the departments of state government and to, among other things, maintain adequate legislative reference and research library services for the Legislature. Existing law declares as legislative policy that all of the territory of the state shall be included within a community college district, except that territory located within a county where the county residents accounted for fewer than 350 units of average daily attendance in the state's community colleges during the preceding fiscal year, and that territory located within such a county may be included within a community college district pursuant to prescribed procedures. This bill instead would declare as legislative policy that all of the territory of the state shall be included within a community college district or otherwise provided with equivalent opportunities for residents to participate in both in-person and online community college programs and courses. This bill would require the California Research Bureau to conduct a study and prepare a report evaluating the provision of community college services and opportunities to residents of the underserved Counties of Amador, Alpine, Mariposa, Modoc, and Sierra that are not fully included within the territory of a community college district, and would require the report to include policy recommendations regarding how the state can ensure that residents of those 5 counties have opportunities to participate in both in-person and online community college programs and courses equivalent to those of similarly sized communities that are fully included within the territory of a community college district, as provided. To assist with and inform the development of the report and recommendations, the bill would require the California Research bureau to convene and consult a working group that includes specified voluntary representatives, and would authorize the bureau to request and receive information from specified entities. The bill would require the California Research bureau to submit the report and recommendations to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Governor on or before December 31, 2027. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2032. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Counties of Amador, Alpine, Mariposa, Modoc, and Sierra.

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 by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, incontinence medical supplies are covered by the Medi-Cal program. This bill would establish diapers as a covered Medi-Cal benefit for a child greater than 3 years of age who has been diagnosed with a condition, as specified, that contributes to incontinence, and for an individual under 21 years of age if necessary to correct or ameliorate a condition pursuant to certain federal standards. The bill would limit the provided diapers to an appropriate supply based on the diagnosed condition and the age of the Medi-Cal beneficiary. The bill would require the department to seek any necessary federal approvals to implement these provisions. The bill would condition implementation of these provisions on receipt of any necessary federal approvals, the availability of federal financial participation, and an appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require the department to update the Medi-Cal provider manual, as applicable, in the course of implementing these provisions.

Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and sets forth its powers and duties regarding the administration of correctional facilities and the care and custody of inmates. This bill would require the department to require all food items sold in prison vending machines to be priced at the same average market retail price as in the community in which the prison is located. The bill would also require the department to take into consideration research that exists on junk foods and snacks as a cause of obesity in children and families when providing food in the state prison, and to encourage the provision of affordable, fresh, and nutritious food items in prison vending machines and the sourcing of food items from local farmers and producers.

Existing law provides the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with jurisdiction over the state prison, as specified. Existing law states that it is unlawful to use any cruel, corporal, or unusual punishment or to inflict any treatment or allow any lack of care that would injure or impair the health of a prisoner, inmate, or person confined. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Department of Justice, in collaboration with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of State and Community Corrections, to conduct a one-time comprehensive study on the use of solitary confinement in all detention facilities in California. The bill would require the study to include specified data about each instance of solitary confinement during the first 9 months of the year of 2026, including, among other data, the time and date solitary confinement began and ended, the facility in which it occurred, and the stated basis for the solitary confinement. The bill would require detention facilities to report the required data to the department. By increasing duties on local detention facilities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide monthly data to the Legislature, and a final report to the Legislature and the Governor, by November 1, 2026, as specified. 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 designates 8 agencies in state government and requires the secretary of an agency to be generally responsible for the sound fiscal management of each department, office, or other unit within the agency. Existing law further requires the secretary of an agency to, among other duties, continually seek to improve the organization structure, the operating policies, and the management information systems of each department, office, or other unit. This bill would establish the Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Agency as an agency within state government, to be headed by a secretary who is appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. The bill would specify that the purpose of the agency is to enhance, and reduce obstacles to, immigrant and refugee inclusion into the social, cultural, economic, and civic life of the state. The bill would authorize the secretary to, among other things, assist other state agencies in evaluating their programs for accessibility and effectiveness in providing services to immigrants and refugees and recommending policy and budget mechanisms for meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion. This bill would establish the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs within the agency, under the direction of the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion. The bill would declare the intent to incorporate existing and future programs created to assist immigrants and refugees into the office. The bill would transfer to the office the property of any other office, agency, or department that relates to functions concerning immigrant and refugee affairs. The bill would require every officer and employee who is performing a function at another office, agency, or department that is transferred to the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs to also be transferred to the office, and would provide that every officer and employee who is serving in the state civil service who is transferred to the office shall retain their status, position, and rights, except as specified. The bill would create the Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion Fund within the State Treasury, and would make the moneys in the fund available to the office upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would transfer to the office any unencumbered balance of any appropriation or other funds that were available for use in connection with any function transferred to the office. This bill would limit interagency sharing of information, would prohibit sharing of personal information of immigrants and refugees outside of the agency, and would prohibit use of agency resources to directly or indirectly participate or assist in immigration enforcement activity. Existing law establishes the Statewide Director of Immigrant Integration and requires the director serve as the statewide lead for the planning and coordination of immigrant services and policies in California. Existing law requires, among other things, that the director develop a comprehensive statewide report on programs and services that serve immigrants, develop an online clearinghouse of immigrant services, resources, and programs, and monitor the implementation of statewide laws and regulations that serve immigrants. This bill would recast those provisions to rename the director as the Statewide Director of Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion and would require the director to, among other things, develop a mission statement, strategic plan, and matrix of success for the office, and to report to the Legislature biannually on successes and challenges in meeting immigrant and refugee inclusion goals. The bill would require the director, by January 1, 2027, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on programs and services that serve immigrants and refugees and on a statewide plan for better implementation and coordination of immigrant and refugee assistance policies and programs. The bill would repeal the bill's provisions on January 1, 2036. 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.

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, community health worker (CHW) services are a covered Medi-Cal benefit subject to any necessary federal approvals. CHW is defined as a liaison, link, or intermediary between health and social services and the community to facilitate access to services and to improve the access and cultural competence of service delivery. Existing law requires a Medi-Cal managed care plan to engage in outreach and education efforts to enrollees with regard to the CHW services benefit, as specified. Existing law requires the department to inform stakeholders about implementation of the benefit. This bill would require the department to annually conduct an analysis of the CHW services benefit, submit the analysis to the Legislature, and publish the analysis on the department's internet website, with the first analysis due July 1, 2027. The bill would require the analysis to include, at a minimum, an assessment of the above-described outreach and education efforts conducted by each Medi-Cal managed care plan, an assessment of the CHW benefit utilization and services, a demographic disaggregation of CHWs providing the CHW benefit and the Medi-Cal beneficiaries receiving services, and data on Medi-Cal reimbursements for CHW services billed to the department, as specified.

Existing federal law provides for the Medicare Program, which is a public health insurance program for persons 65 years of age and older and specified persons with disabilities who are under 65 years of age. Existing federal law specifies parts of Medicare that cover specific services, such as Medicare Part B, which generally covers medically necessary services and supplies and preventive services. 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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing federal law additionally provides for the issuance of Medicare supplement policies or certificates, also known as Medigap coverage, which are advertised, marketed, or designed primarily as a supplement to reimbursements under the Medicare Program for the hospital, medical, or surgical expenses of persons eligible for the Medicare Program, including coverage of Medicare deductible, copayment, or coinsurance amounts, as specified. Existing law, among other provisions, requires supplement benefit plans to be uniform in structure, language, designation, and format with the standard benefit plans, as prescribed. Existing law prohibits an issuer from denying or conditioning the offering or effectiveness of any Medicare supplement contract, policy, or certificate available for sale in this state, or discriminating in the pricing of a contract, policy, or certificate because of the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, or medical condition of an applicant in the case of an application that is submitted prior to or during the 6-month period beginning with the first day of the first month in which an individual is both 65 years of age or older and is enrolled for benefits under Medicare Part B. Existing law requires an issuer to make available specified Medicare supplement benefit plans to a qualifying applicant under those circumstances who is 64 years of age or younger who does not have end stage renal disease. This bill would delete the exclusion of otherwise qualified applicants who have end stage renal disease, thereby making the specified Medicare supplement benefit plans available to those individuals. The bill, on and after January 1, 2027, would prohibit an issuer of Medicare supplement coverage in this state from denying or conditioning the issuance or effectiveness of any Medicare supplement coverage available for sale in the state, or discriminate in the pricing of that coverage because of the health status, claims experience, receipt of health care, medical condition, or age of an applicant, except as specified, if an application for coverage is submitted during an open enrollment period, as specified in the bill. The bill would entitle an individual enrolled in Medicare Part B to a 90-day annual open enrollment period beginning on January 1 of each year, as specified, during which period the bill would require applications to be accepted for any Medicare supplement coverage available from an issuer, as specified. The bill would require the open enrollment period to be a guaranteed issue period. The bill would authorize premium rates offered to applicants during the open enrollment period to vary based on the applicants' age at the time of issue, as specified, but would prohibit the premiums from varying based on age after the contract is issued. Because a violation of the bill's requirements by 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 Financial Code, provides for the licensure and regulation of various types of financial institutions and transactions. Existing law, the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, regulates the issuance, use, and processing of credit cards and credit card transactions. This bill would enact the Consumer Inflation Reduction and Tax Fairness Act, within the Financial Code, to require that the calculation of interchange fees charged by an issuer, a payment card network, an acquirer bank, or a processor not take into account certain state and local taxes and fees, as specified. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would prohibit a payment card network, an acquirer bank, or a processor from altering the computation of interchange fees, either by increasing the rate or the amount of fees applicable, to circumvent the effects of the act. Existing law, the Unfair Competition Law, makes various practices unlawful and provides that a person who engages, has engaged, or proposes to engage in unfair competition is liable for a civil penalty, as specified. This bill would provide a violation of its provisions is enforceable pursuant to the Unfair Competition Law, as provided.

The Personal Income Tax Law allows various credits against the taxes imposed by that law, including a young child tax credit to a qualified taxpayer in a specified amount multiplied by the earned income tax credit adjustment factor, as provided. That law also allows a payment from the continuously appropriated Tax Relief and Refund Account for an amount in excess of tax liability. Existing law defines "qualified taxpayer" for this purpose to include an eligible individual, as defined, who has a qualifying child, defined to be a child younger than 6 years of age as of the last day of the taxable year, and who meets other specified criteria. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, would instead define a "qualifying child" to mean a child younger than a specified age as of the last day of the taxable year, as described. By increasing the payments from the Tax Relief and Refund Account, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. Existing law requires any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements. This bill would include additional information required for any bill authorizing a new tax expenditure.