Asm. Marc Berman

This measure would declare August 2022 as Valley Fever Awareness Month.

This measure would declare the month of September 2022 as California Emergency Preparedness Month.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings. Existing law states that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to receive substance use disorder services with reasonable promptness that meets the needs of the child, to have diagnoses and services explained in an understandable manner, and to participate in decisions regarding health care treatment and services. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services, to establish a grant program to fund the development and implementation of evidence-based models and promising practices to serve foster youth with substance use disorders who are residing in family-based settings. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, in the establishment of the grant program, to take specified actions, including, among others, developing an application process and establishing requirements for models and practices funded with a grant. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to provide technical assistance to grantees, counties, and providers to support implementation of evidence-based models and promising practices. The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to submit progress reports relating to the grant program to the Legislature during annual budget hearings. The bill would make these provisions operative upon an appropriation by the Legislature.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, and the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as the 2 segments of public postsecondary education in the state generally authorized to grant baccalaureate degrees. The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth the missions and functions of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the regents act, by appropriate resolution, to make those provisions applicable. A provision of the act expresses the intent of the Legislature that, in determining the standards and criteria for undergraduate and graduate admissions to the University of California and the California State University, the governing bodies of the segments develop processes that, among other things, strive to be fair and are easily understandable. This bill would require the trustees, and request the regents, before adopting a change in undergraduate student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements, as described, that impact students across its segment, to engage in public discussions with and coordinate with other educational segments that will be impacted by the policy to understand the impacts of the policy in order to try to align preparation and their respective student eligibility policies. The bill would also require the trustees, and request the regents, to commission an independent study by a third-party research organization to assess the impact of the change in student eligibility policy on the eligibility rates of the graduates of public secondary schools who are members of underrepresented student groups, and specifically examine the impact on eligibility and admission rates of all high school graduates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and region. The bill would also require, or request, as applicable, if either the trustees or the regents approve a change in student eligibility policy that adds new eligibility requirements that impact students across its segment, that an implementation committee, that meets publicly and with members selected as designated, be convened to develop a multiyear plan for that segment to work with the public elementary and secondary school system, the California Community Colleges, and the governing body of the other segment to implement the change, and would require in those circumstances the implementation committee to provide annual progress reports to the Governor, the Legislature, and the governing bodies of the two segments, as specified.

Existing law requires, by July 1, 2017, and every 3 years thereafter, the Natural Resources Agency to update, as prescribed, the state's climate adaptation strategy, known as the Safeguarding California Plan. Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in state government in the Governor's office. Existing law establishes the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program to be administered by the office to coordinate regional and local efforts with state climate adaptation strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change, as prescribed. This bill would authorize eligible entities, as defined, to establish and participate in a regional climate network, as defined. The bill would require the office, through the program, to encourage the inclusion of eligible entities with land use planning and hazard mitigation planning authority into regional climate networks. The bill would authorize a regional climate network to engage in activities to address climate change, as specified. The bill would authorize a regional climate network to develop a regional climate adaptation and resilience action plan. The bill would require the office, through the program, to develop and publish on its internet website guidelines on how eligible entities may establish regional climate networks and how governing boards may be established within regional climate networks. The bill would require the office, through the program, to provide technical assistance to regions seeking to establish a regional climate network, facilitate coordination between regions, and encourage regions to incorporate as many eligible entities into one network as feasible.

Existing federal law establishes the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to provide aid to childcare institutions and family or group daycare homes for the provision of nutritious foods that contribute to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children. Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, administered by the State Department of Social Services, provides for the licensure and regulation of child daycare facilities, as defined. Existing law requires childhood nutrition training for certain licensees, and requires that training to include information about reimbursement rates for the CACFP. Existing law generally prohibits a person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation from operating, establishing, managing, conducting, or maintaining a child daycare facility in this state without a current valid license. Existing law requires the department to establish and continuously update a trustline registry of persons who provide childcare and who are not required to be licensed. Under existing law, a provider who is registered pursuant to these provisions is known as a Trustline provider. Existing law, the Early Education Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to, among other things, provide an inclusive and cost-effective preschool program, and declares the policy of the state that no child shall be hungry while in attendance in a preschool facility and that preschool programs have an obligation to provide for the nutritional needs of children in attendance. Existing law requires a school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining a kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to provide a needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday, and two school meals free of charge during each schoolday to any pupil who requests a meal without consideration of the pupil's eligibility for a federally funded free or reduced-price meal, and sets the reimbursement rate for meals served by family daycare homes at 75 percent of the meals served. This bill would, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, require the department to provide funding for (1) a supplemental state meal reimbursement for preschool facilities, child daycare facilities, and Trustline providers for up to 2 daily meals per child served through the CACFP at a rate equivalent to the state meal reimbursement for local educational agencies; (2) reimbursement of up to 2 daily meals per child served through the CACFP at a specified rate in order to establish a free meal program for all children receiving care from those facilities and providers; and (3) grants to those facilities and providers, and sponsors of the CACFP, to encourage their participation in and expansion of the CACFP. This bill would also increase the reimbursement rate for meals served in family daycare homes to 100 percent of the meals served.

(1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state. This system comprises local educational agencies throughout the state that provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, at schoolsites operated by these agencies. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times during each regular schoolday. Existing law authorizes the governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools to make applications for free or reduced-price meals electronically available online. Existing law specifies requirements to be met by the governing boards of school districts, county offices of education, and school food authorities that choose to provide access to an online application. This bill would require applications for free or reduced-price meals made electronically available online by school district governing boards or county offices of education to comply with specified requirements, including provisions prohibiting the misuse of information provided online by applicants. The bill would require applications for free and reduced-price meals, which are authorized to be submitted at any time during a schoolday, to be processed within 10 days of submission. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would make private third-party vendors who violate its provisions subject to specified civil penalties. The bill would specify that its provisions would not prevent the use of information provided by a school meal applicant from being used by a governmental entity to increase access to a government-administered anti-hunger program. The bill would authorize each school district and county superintendent of schools to establish a secured internet website providing access to an online data collection form as part of the annual enrollment process, and would require the department to host a sample application by July 1, 2024, unless the Superintendent of Public Instruction determines that use of the form would negatively impact the local control funding formula. (2) Existing law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , administered in California as CalFresh, under which each county distributes nutrition assistance benefits provided by the federal government to eligible households. Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families using federal, state, and county funds. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits. Existing federal law provides for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, under which the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States is authorized to approve state plans to provide eligible children with temporary emergency nutrition assistance benefits during fiscal years 2020 and 2021 in any case in which a school is closed or has reduced the number of days or hours that students attend the school during a public health emergency designation during which the school would otherwise be in session. This bill would establish the Better Out of School Time (BOOST) Nutrition EBT Program, to be administered by the State Department of Social Services, to provide benefits to eligible pupils during regularly scheduled summer breaks. The bill would make eligible pupils who receive benefits under Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or CalWORKs, or are in foster care. The bill would make implementation of the BOOST Nutrition EBT Program contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes. The bill would require the department to seek all available funding for, and maximize participation in, the P-EBT program. The bill would also require the department to issue BOOST Nutrition EBT benefits to any pupil who was eligible to receive benefits under the P-EBT program, as of July 1, 2021, for the 5-month period following the end of the P-EBT program, and any child who was eligible to receive benefits under the P-EBT program, as of July 1, 2021, for the 5-month period following the end of the P-EBT program and who also receives benefits under Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or CalWORKs, or is in foster care. By imposing new duties on local educational agencies, the 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.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The state board is required to approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions level in 1990 to be achieved by 2020 and to ensure that statewide greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to at least 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. The act requires the state board to prepare and approve a scoping plan for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and to update the scoping plan at least once every 5 years. The act requires the scoping plan to identify and make recommendations on direct emissions reduction measures, alternative compliance mechanisms, market-based compliance mechanisms, and potential monetary and nonmonetary incentives for sources and categories of sources that the state board finds are necessary or desirable to facilitate the achievement of the maximum feasible and cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, as provided. This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2023, and on or before March 1 of each year thereafter, each state agency, board, or department to post on its internet website a report regarding its compliance with and efforts to implement any goal or recommendation related to that state agency, board, or department, as defined, that is identified by the state board in the scoping plan, including any scoping plan updates. The bill would require a state agency, board, or department to include specified information in its report, including, but not limited to, identification of all scoping plan goals or recommendations that the state agency, board, or department is charged with or responsible, in whole or in part, for implementing, a description of the state agency's, board's, or department's, efforts to implement each scoping plan goal or recommendation, and whether the state agency, board, or department has fully implemented each scoping plan goal or recommendation. The bill would require, for each scoping plan goal or recommendation that is not fully implemented, a state agency, board, or department to describe in detail why the scoping plan goal or recommendation has not been fully implemented and the steps necessary for the state agency, board, or department to fully implement the goal or recommendation.