Asm. Mark Stone

This measure would proclaim January 23, 2022, as Maternal Health Awareness Day.

This measure would, among other things, honor the late civil rights pioneer and icon Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Existing law governs the taxation of real property, tangible property, and income, as provided, and defines terms for those purposes, including "auditor." This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that definition.

Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to license and regulate facilities that provide residential nonmedical services to adults who are recovering from problems related to alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug misuse or abuse, and who need alcohol, drug, or alcohol and drug recovery treatment or detoxification services. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in these provisions.

Existing law requires a city or county to prepare and adopt a general plan for its jurisdiction that contains certain mandatory elements, including a housing element. For a housing element or amendment adopted on or after January 1, 2021, existing law requires the planning agency to submit to the Department of Housing and Community Development an electronic copy of its inventory of land suitable for residential development, as developed pursuant to specified law. This bill would make a nonsubstantive change in the above-described provisions relating to the submission of electronic copies of an inventory of land suitable for residential development.

Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, in consultation with county child welfare agencies and other specified entities, to implement a unified, family friendly, and child-centered resource family approval process to replace the existing multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, certifying foster homes by licensed foster family agencies, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving guardians and adoptive families. Existing law defines a "resource family" as an individual or family that has successfully met both the home environment assessment standards and the permanency assessment criteria necessary for providing care for a child placed by a public or private child placement agency by court order, or voluntarily placed by a parent or legal guardian. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

(1) Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may during that period of confinement be deprived of only those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners, including the right to purchase, receive, and read newspapers, periodicals, and books accepted for distribution by the United States Post Office. This bill would include the right to personal visits as a civil right, as specified. The bill would provide that these civil rights may not be infringed upon, except as necessary and only if narrowly tailored to further the legitimate security interests of the government, and would provide that any governmental action related to these civil rights may be reviewed in court for legal error under a substantial evidence standard of review. (2) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of prisons, and requires regulations, which are adopted by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, that may impact the visitation of inmates to recognize and consider the value of inmate visitation as a means of increasing safety in prisons, maintaining family and community connections, and preparing inmates for successful release and rehabilitation. Existing regulations establish the framework for establishing a visiting process in prisons that is conducted in as accommodating a manner as possible, subject to the need to maintain order, the safety of persons, the security of institutions and facilities, and required prison activities and operations. Existing law requires the department to contract with a private nonprofit agency or agencies to establish and operate a visitor center outside of each state adult prison in California that has a population of more than 300 inmates, and prescribes the minimum level of services to be available to prison visitors, including emergency clothing and information on visiting regulations and processes. Existing law requires the department to cooperate with the Department of Transportation in the development of public transportation services to prisons, requires these departments to evaluate the addition of stations or stops on existing bus or rail routes, or the addition of new services, that improve transportation access for visitors to prisons, and requires the department to publicize the availability of transportation services provided by the Department of Transportation. This bill would additionally require those regulations pertaining to inmate visits to recognize and consider the right to personal visits as a civil right. The bill would prohibit the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from denying in-person contact visits, as specified, including as a disciplinary sanction against the incarcerated person. The bill would require the department to inform an applicant of the specific reason for any denial of a visit.

Existing law, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, provides the authority and procedures for the initiation, conduct, and completion of changes of organization and reorganization of cities and districts by local agency formation commissions. This bill would create the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, as specified, except that the bill would authorize the Pajaro Valley Health Care District to be organized, incorporated, and managed, only if the relevant county board of supervisors chooses to appoint an initial board of directors. The bill would require, within 5 years of the date of the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District, the board of directors to divide the district into zones and number the zones consecutively. The bill would require that, after formation, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 govern any organizational changes for the Pajaro Valley Health Care District. The bill would require the district to notify the County of Santa Cruz local agency formation commission (LAFCO) when the district, or any other entity, acquires the Watsonville Community Hospital. The bill would require the LAFCO to order the dissolution of the district if the hospital has not been acquired by January 1, 2024. The bill would require the district to notify the LAFCO if the district sells the Watsonville Community Hospital to another entity or stops providing health care services at the facility, and would require the LAFCO to dissolve the district under those circumstances, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the creation of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District within the Counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.