Asm. Kansen Chu

Existing law, the California Whistleblower Protection Act requires the California State Auditor to administer the act and to investigate and report on improper governmental activities, as defined. Existing law requires the California State Auditor to establish a means for submission of allegations of improper governmental activity. Existing law also prohibits the California State Auditor from disclosing the identity of a person who provides information that results in an investigation, or of any person providing information in confidence to further an investigation, without obtaining the person's express permission. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Existing law makes a person who threatens a juror with respect to a criminal proceeding in which a verdict has been rendered and who has the intent and apparent ability to carry out the threat so as to cause the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her immediate family, guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years, by a fine of no more than $10,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

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 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, state, and county funds. Existing law requires each county to develop a plan, updated as needed, that describes how the county intends to deliver the full range of activities and services necessary to move CalWORKs recipients from welfare to work, and specifies elements that must be included in the plan. Existing law requires each county, no later than September 1, 1998, and each year thereafter, subject to continued welfare-to-work funding, to submit an addendum to the county's plan that describes certain coordination efforts of the county pertaining to welfare-to-work activities. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Existing law authorizes a city or county to establish a golf cart transportation plan subject to specified requirements. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop guidance policies relative to the release of veterans who are inmates to assist them in pursuing claims for federal veterans' benefits, or in establishing rights to any other privilege, preference, care, or compensation provided under federal or state law because of honorable service in the military. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this provision.

This measure would declare the month of January 2016 as Pet Care Education Month and would request Californians to observe the month by ensuring that their companion animals receive the proper preventative care by establishing a financial plan for pet health emergencies and by contributing to charitable organizations that provide low-cost spay and neuter services and vaccinations or funds to help low-income individuals pay for veterinary care.

(1) Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which health care services are provided to qualified, low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law requires the department to develop and implement a Medi-Cal inpatient hospital reimbursement payment methodology based on diagnosis-related groups, subject to federal approval, that reflects the costs and staffing levels associated with quality of care for patients in all general acute care hospitals, as specified. Existing law generally requires the diagnosis-related group-based payments to apply to all claims. This bill would require claims for payments pursuant to the inpatient hospital reimbursement methodology described above to be increased by 16% for the 2015–16 fiscal year, and would require, commencing July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, the department to increase each diagnosis-related group payment claim amount based, at a minimum, on increases in the medical component of the California Consumer Price Index. Commencing with the 2015–16 fiscal year, and annually thereafter, the bill would require managed care rates for Medi-Cal managed care health plans to be increased by a proportionately equal amount for increased payments for hospital services. (2) Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments to be reduced by 1% or 5%, and provider payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 1%, for dates of service on and after March 1, 2009, and until June 1, 2011. Existing law requires, except as otherwise provided, Medi-Cal provider payments and payments for specified non-Medi-Cal programs to be reduced by 10% for dates of service on and after June 1, 2011. This bill would, instead, prohibit the application of those reductions for payments to providers for dates of service on or after June 1, 2011. The bill would also require payments for managed care health plans for dates of service following the effective date of the bill to be determined without application of some of those reductions. The bill would require the Director of Health Care Services to implement this provision to the maximum extent permitted by federal law and for the maximum time period for which the director obtains federal approval for federal financial participation for those payments. (3) Prior law required, beginning January 1, 2013, through and including December 31, 2014, that payments for primary care services provided by specified physicians be no less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to those services and physicians as established by the Medicare program, for both fee-for-service and managed care plans. This bill, commencing January 1, 2016, would require payments for specified medical care services to not be less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to those services as established by the Medicare program for services rendered by fee-for-service providers, and would require rates paid to Medi-Cal managed care plans to be actuarially equivalent to payment rates established by the Medicare program. The bill, commencing January 1, 2016, would require rates paid to Denti-Cal providers for dental services provided to adults and children to be increased by the equivalent percentage as the percentage increase required for other fee-for-service Medi-Cal providers. The bill would require those provisions to be implemented only to the extent permitted by federal law and that federal financial participation is available. The bill would authorize the department to implement those provisions through provider bulletins without taking regulatory action until regulations are adopted, and would require the department to adopt those regulations by July 1, 2018. The bill would require, commencing July 1, 2016, the department to provide a status report to the Legislature on a semiannual basis until regulations have been adopted. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law provides for the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSP) , which requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. Under existing law, benefit payments under the SSP are calculated by establishing the maximum level of nonexempt income and federal SSI and state SSP benefits for each category of eligible recipient. The state SSP payment is the amount, when added to the nonexempt income and SSI benefits available to the recipient, which would be required to provide the maximum benefit payment. This bill, for the 2015–16 fiscal year, and annually thereafter, would require the state maximum SSP grant for individuals to be readjusted and increased so that the state SSP payment and federal SSI payment, when combined, equal 112% of the federal poverty level. By increasing the amount of SSP payments, which are expended from a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law establishes the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The University of California operates 10 campuses located in Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to conduct a study of, and report to the Legislature on, the feasibility of establishing a campus of the University of California devoted to science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The bill would require the report to be submitted on or before January 1, 2017. The bill would appropriate $50,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller for allocation, as specified, to the regents for establishment of the campus.

Existing law, on or before July 1, 2014, requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to adopt a local control and accountability plan and requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to update its local control and accountability plan on or before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires the local control and accountability plan to include certain elements, and requires the charter for a charter school to include some of those same elements. Existing law establishes the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence for purposes of advising and assisting school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools in achieving the goals set forth in a local control and accountability plan. Existing law requires the collaborative to be governed by a board consisting of 5 members, as specified. This bill would add one governing board member of a school district with greater than 2,500 total pupils, and one governing board member of a school district with fewer than 2,500 total pupils, appointed by a majority of the board members of the collaborative to the governing board of the collaborative. Existing law authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to direct the collaborative to advise and assist a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school in specified circumstances. This bill would also authorize the Superintendent to direct the collaborative to advise and assist a school district if the state-appointed trustee or administrator of the school district requests that advice and assistance.