The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act authorizes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, governed by a board of directors, to, among other things, make loans, issue bonds, and provide other financial assistance for various types of infrastructure and economic development projects. The act defines terms for its purposes and establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for support of the bank. This bill would expand the authority of the bank by adding affordable housing, as defined, to the types of projects to which the bank is authorized to provide financial assistance. By expanding the banks's authority to expend funds in a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would also make conforming, nonsubstantive changes to cross-references to this provision.
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Existing law, including the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, imposes requirements on local governments for meeting specific environmental quality standards. The Bergeson-Peace Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Act authorizes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, governed by a board of directors, to make loans, issue bonds, and provide other financial assistance for various types of infrastructure and economic development projects, among other things. The act establishes the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for support of the bank. This bill would establish within the bank the Local Government Affordable Housing Forgivable Loan Program, and require the bank to make loans to a local government for the development of affordable housing by the local government on terms and conditions the bank deems in the best interests of the state. The bill would define terms for its purposes. The bill would excuse a local government from being required to repay either half or all of the principal and interest on a loan if the local government meets specific requirements that include, among others, that at least 75% of the units in the financed affordable housing be affordable to very low income households or extremely low income households, as specified. The bill would require the board to consult with the Strategic Growth Council and the California Housing Finance Agency in determining whether a local government has met these requirements. By expanding the use of the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
(1) Existing law defines "telehealth" as the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient's health care while the patient is at the originating site and the health care provider is at a distant site, and that facilitates patient self-management and caregiver support for patients and includes synchronous interactions and asynchronous store and forward transfers. Existing law requires that prior to the delivery of health care via telehealth, the health care provider initiating the use of telehealth inform the patient about the use of telehealth and obtain documented verbal or written consent from the patient for the use of telehealth. This bill would add video communications and telephone communications to the definition of telehealth. The bill would also provide that the required prior consent for telehealth services may be digital as well as oral or written. (2) 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 prohibits health care service plans and health insurers from limiting the type of setting where services are provided for the patient or by the health care provider before payment is made for the covered services appropriately provided through telehealth, subject to the terms and conditions of the contract entered into between the enrollee, insured, subscriber, or policyholder and the plan or insurer, and between the plan or insurer and its participating providers or provider groups. This bill would also prohibit a health care provider from requiring the use of telehealth when it is not appropriate and would require health care service plans and health insurers to include coverage and reimbursement for services provided to a patient through telehealth to the same extent as though provided in person or by some other means, as specified. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer from limiting coverage or reimbursement based on a contract entered into between the plan or insurer and an independent telehealth provider. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan or a health insurer from altering the provider-patient relationship based on the modality utilized for services appropriately provided through telehealth. The bill would provide that all laws regarding the confidentiality of health care information and a patient's right to his or her medical information shall apply to telehealth services. Because a willful violation of the bill's provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, it 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
This measure would declare the month of April 2016 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of "Prosperity Through Education," to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.
This measure would recognize May 2016 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.
This measure would recognize Nowrūz, the Persian New Year celebration.
This measure would recognize the month of April 2016 as Citrus Strong Month for the purpose of celebrating California's vibrant citrus industry and the benefits it provides to the state's environment, economy, and people, and to affirm that California is citrus strong.
Existing provisions of the Political Reform Act of 1974 regulate the activities of lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers in connection with attempts to influence legislative and administrative action by legislative and other state officials, including requirements that lobbyists, lobbying firms, and lobbyist employers register and file periodic reports with the Secretary of State. For purposes of these provisions, "lobbyist" is defined, in part, as an individual who receives $2,000 or more in economic consideration in a calendar month, or whose principal duties as an employee are, to communicate with specified officials for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action. This bill would revise the definition of "lobbyist" to include specified conduct by an individual acting on behalf of any person other than his or her employer for the purpose of influencing administrative action that is governmental procurement, which is further defined to include various actions regarding a state procurement contract for which the total estimated cost exceeds $250,000, thereby making the above-described lobbying requirements applicable to the specified attempts to influence governmental procurement. This bill would provide that the act's penalty provisions are the exclusive remedy for a violation of the act's requirements concerning governmental procurement lobbying. The bill would makes these provisions operative on January 1, 2017. Because a willful violation of the act's provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor, 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. The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act's purposes upon a 23 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements. This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.