Asm. Robert Rivas

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, 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. Existing law provides for a schedule of benefits under the Medi-Cal program, including certain dental services, and dental managed care plans. This bill would require the department to implement a special needs treatment and management benefit that would be provided for 4 visits in a 12-month period for a Medi-Cal dental program beneficiary with special dental care needs, as defined. The bill would require a Medi-Cal dental program provider to document specified information, including the need for additional time to treat a Medi-Cal dental program beneficiary with special dental care needs, for purposes of reimbursement. The bill would not limit the provision or scope of Medi-Cal benefits covered under existing law. The bill would require the department to seek any necessary approvals from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement the bill. The bill would authorize the department to implement these provisions, by various means, including plan or provider bulletins, without taking regulatory action, and would require the department, by July 1, 2022, to subsequently adopt regulations. The bill would require the department, commencing January 1, 2020, to provide the Legislature with semiannual status reports to the Legislature until regulations have been adopted.

(1) Under existing law, the guardian or conservator of a minor has specified powers over the care, custody, and control of the minor. Existing law authorizes a caregiver, who properly completes and signs a caregiver's authorization affidavit, to provide specified care to a minor, including, among other care, enrolling the minor in school and consenting to school-related medical care on behalf of the minor. This bill would authorize a custodial parent or a person who has been awarded custody or guardianship of a minor child to designate a person to serve as a standby guardian of the person, the estate, or both, by completing a Standby Guardian's Authorization Affidavit. The bill would require the designation of a standby guardian to take effect, absent an objection of a noncustodial parent, under specified circumstances that include if the custodial parent or guardian has died or is detained by law enforcement, incarcerated, or deported. The bill would prescribe the requirements for the designation of a standby guardian, including a statutory form for the Standby Guardian's Authorization Affidavit that would be signed and witnessed under penalty of perjury. By expanding the definition of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing federal law, the Immigration and Nationality Act, establishes a procedure for classification of certain aliens as special immigrants who have been declared dependent by a juvenile court and authorizes those aliens to apply for an adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident within the United States. Existing state law provides that the juvenile, probate, and family divisions of the superior court have jurisdiction to make judicial determinations regarding the custody and care of children within the meaning of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. This bill would provide that the existence of a standby guardian and evidence that a contingency has occurred that makes the authority of the standby guardian operative is affirmative evidence that the covered juvenile has been abandoned and cannot be reunified with one or both parents for the purposes of making judicial determinations regarding the custody and care of children within the meaning of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. (3) Existing law provides that a pupil complies with the residency requirements for school attendance in a school district when, among other things, the pupil resides with a caregiver or caregiving adult who is located within the boundaries of that school district. Under existing law, it is a sufficient basis for a determination of residency if the caregiver has submitted an affidavit, as specified, under penalty of perjury, unless the school district determines from actual facts that the pupil is not living in the home of the caregiver. This bill would make execution of the standby guardian affidavit a sufficient basis for a determination of residency of a minor child under these provisions, unless the school district determines from actual facts that the pupil is not living in the home of the standby guardian. (4) 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 requires each school district or county superintendent of schools maintaining kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and, commencing with the 2019–20 school year, each charter school, to provide each needy pupil with one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday. Existing law authorizes a school district or county office of education, in order to comply with that requirement, to use funds made available through any federal or state program the purpose of which includes the provision of meals to a pupil, including, among other programs, the federal National School Lunch Program, or to provide those meals at the expense of the school district or county office of education. Existing law authorizes a school district, county superintendent of schools, or other public or private entity that participates in programs under the federal National School Lunch Act to, if consistent with federal law, offer whole milk, in addition to other kinds of milk, if federal regulations require a lunch eligible for federal cash reimbursement under the act to contain unflavored, fluid lowfat milk, skim milk, or buttermilk. This bill would authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to establish a pilot program at the schoolsite of an elementary school within its jurisdiction for purposes of evaluating the impacts of whole or 2 percent unflavored milk consumption among pupils, as specified, and would authorize a school participating in a pilot program to receive funds from public or private sources to implement the pilot program.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, 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. Existing law provides that federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services, as defined, are covered benefits under the Medi-Cal program, to be reimbursed, in accordance with Medicare reasonable cost principles, and to the extent that federal financial participation is obtained, to providers on a per-visit basis that is unique to each facility. Existing law prescribes the reimbursement rate methodology for establishing and adjusting the per-visit rate. Under existing law, if an FQHC or RHC is partially reimbursed by a 3rd-party payer, such as a managed care entity, the department is required to reimburse the FQHC or RHC for the difference between its per-visit rate programs on a contract-by-contract basis. Existing law authorizes an FQHC or RHC to apply for an adjustment to its rate based on a change in the scope of service that it provides within 150 days following the beginning of the FQHC's or RHC's fiscal year. Existing law provides that the department's implementation of FQHC and RHC services is subject to federal approval and the availability of federal financial participation. This bill would require the methodology of the adjusted per-visit rate to exclude, among other things, a provider productivity standard. The bill would authorize an FQHC or RHC to apply for a rate adjustment for the adoption, implementation, or upgrade of a certified electronic health record system as a change in the scope of service. The bill would clarify specified terms, including the meaning of "scope of "service," would expand the meaning of "visit" to include FQHC and RHC services rendered outside of the facility location, and would modify how the department reimburses an FQHC or RHC that is partially reimbursed by a 3rd-party payer. The bill would require a health care provider who contracts with an FQHC or RHC to provide services outside of the facility on behalf of the facility, and for which the facility bills for those services, to comply with specified requirements, including actively serving patients in the same county as, or a county adjacent to, the physical location of the billing FQHC or RHC. The bill would repeal the provisions authorizing an FQHC or RHC to apply for an adjustment to its rate based on a change in the scope of service that it provides within 150 days following the beginning of the FQHC's or RHC's fiscal year, and would instead extend the time frame for an FQHC or RHC to file a scope of service rate change to any time during the fiscal year. The bill would require the department to ensure that department staff conducting audits related to FQHC and RHC services receive appropriate training on federal and state laws governing those facilities, and would make various conforming and technical changes.

(1) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections. Existing law charges the board with providing the statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system, including addressing gang problems. The existing Budget Act of 2019 establishes the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program, administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to award competitive grants for the purpose of violence intervention and prevention. This bill would codify the establishment of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program and the authority and duties of the board in administering the program, including the selection criteria for grants and reporting requirements to the Legislature. (2) Existing law imposes various taxes, including taxes on the privilege of engaging in certain activities. The Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, provides procedures for the collection of certain fees and surcharges. This bill would impose an excise tax on a retailer in the amount of $25 per firearm on the sale in this state of a handgun or semiautomatic rifle or shotgun sold as new, as provided, and an excise tax on a retailer in the amount of ___% of the gross receipts from any sale of ammunition. The tax would be collected by the state pursuant to the Fee Collection Procedures Law. This bill would require that the revenues collected be deposited in the CalVIP Firearm and Ammunition Tax Fund, which the bill would create. The moneys in that fund would be continuously appropriated to the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide CalVIP grants. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. Because this bill would expand the scope of the Fee Collection Procedures Law, the violation of which is a crime, 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.

(1) The California Constitution, with respect to any taxes levied on taxable property in a redevelopment project established under the Community Redevelopment Law, as it then read or may be amended, authorizes the Legislature to provide for the division of those taxes under a redevelopment plan between the taxing agencies and the redevelopment agency, as provided. Existing law dissolved redevelopment agencies as of February 1, 2012, and designates successor agencies to act as successor entities to the dissolved redevelopment agencies. This bill, the Community Redevelopment Law of 2019, would authorize a city or county, or two or more cities acting jointly, to propose the formation of an affordable housing and infrastructure agency by adoption of a resolution of intention that meets specified requirements, including that the resolution of intention include a passthrough provision and an override passthrough provision, as defined. The bill would require the city or county to submit that resolution to each affected taxing entity and would authorize an entity that receives that resolution to elect to not receive a passthrough payment, as provided. The bill would require the city or county that adopted that resolution to hold a public hearing on the proposal to consider all written and oral objections to the formation, as well as any recommendations of the affected taxing entities, and would authorize that city or county to adopt a resolution of formation at the conclusion of that hearing. The bill would then require that city or county to submit the resolution of intention to the Strategic Growth Council for a determination as to whether the agency would promote statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals. The bill would require the council to approve formation of the agency if it determines that formation of the agency both (1) would not result in a state fiscal impact, determined as specified by the Controller, that exceeds a specified amount and (2) would promote statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals. The bill would deem an agency to be in existence as of the date of the council's approval. The bill would require the council to establish a program to provide technical assistance to a city or county desiring to form an agency pursuant to these provisions. The bill would provide for a governing board of the agency consisting of one member appointed by the legislative body or the legislative bodies, as applicable, that adopted the resolution of intention, one member appointed by each affected taxing entity, and 2 public members. The bill would authorize an agency formed pursuant to these provisions to finance specified infrastructure and housing projects, and to carry out related powers, such as the power to purchase and lease property within the redevelopment project area, that are similar to the powers previously granted to redevelopment agencies. The bill would require an agency to adopt an annual budget and to maintain detailed records of every action taken by that agency for a specified period of time, and would provide that any person who violates this requirement be subject to a fine of $10,000 per violation. The bill would require the agency to submit an annual report containing specified information, and a final report of any audit undertaken by any other local, state, or federal government entity, to its governing body within specified time periods. The bill would also require the agency to submit a copy of the annual report with the Controller and a copy of any audit report with the Department of Housing and Community Development. The bill would establish procedures under which the Controller would identify major audit violations and the Attorney General would bring an action to compel compliance. The bill would require the governing board of an agency to designate an appropriate official to prepare a proposed redevelopment project plan, in accordance with specified procedures. The bill would require the agency to hold a public hearing on the proposed redevelopment project plan, and would authorize the governing board to either adopt the redevelopment project plan or abandon proceedings, in which case the agency would cease to exist. The bill would authorize the redevelopment project plan to provide for the division of taxes levied upon taxable property, if any, between an affected taxing entity and the agency, as provided. The bill would declare that this authorization fulfills the intent of constitutional redevelopment provisions. The bill would also require that not less than 30% of all taxes allocated to the agency from an affected taxing entity be deposited into a separate fund, established by the agency, and used for the purposes of increasing, improving, and preserving the community's supply of low- and moderate-income housing available at an affordable housing cost, as provided. The bill would authorize the agency to issue bonds to finance redevelopment housing or infrastructure projects, in accordance with specified requirements and procedures, including that the resolution proposing the bonds include a description of the facilities or developments to be financed and the estimated cost of those facilities or developments, and that the resolution adopting the bonds provide for specified matters such as the principal amount of bonds. The bill would also authorize a city, county, or special district that contains territory within the boundaries of an agency to loan moneys to the agency to fund activities described in the redevelopment project plan. The bill would require the agency to contract for an independent financial and performance audit every 2 years after the issuance of debt. (2) Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution sets forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts for each fiscal year. This bill would require the Director of Finance to adjust the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts for these purposes in a manner that ensures that the division of taxes authorized by the Community Redevelopment Law of 2019 have no net fiscal impact upon the total amount of the General Fund revenue and local property tax revenue allocated to school districts and community college districts pursuant to Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, as specified. (3) By imposing additional duties on the county auditor with respect to the allocation of tax increment revenues, and the review of information submitted to the county auditor by an agency pursuant to these provisions, 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, 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.

Under the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, the State Water Resources Control Board and the California regional water quality control boards are the principal agencies with authority over water quality. Under the act, persons discharging waste are required to file with the appropriate regional board a report of the discharge and the discharge is subject to waste discharge requirements prescribed by that regional board. This bill would authorize a regional board to approve a waste discharge requirement for the use or reuse of produced water from an oil and gas operation for agricultural purposes or for groundwater recharge, only if, after a public hearing, it finds that the California Council on Science and Technology has reviewed the best available independent scientific evidence and has found the use will not pose a significant risk to the public from any contaminants in the produced water, as provided.

Existing law establishes the Office of Farm to Fork within the Department of Food and Agriculture, and requires the office, to the extent that resources are available, to work with various entities, including, among others, the agricultural industry and other organizations involved in promoting food access, to increase the amount of agricultural products available to underserved communities and schools in the state. This bill would create the California Organic-to-School Pilot Program, to be administered by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, through the Office of Farm to Fork. The bill would require the secretary to expend moneys allocated for the program to provide grants for school food authorities to purchase California organic food products for school meals, as specified. The bill would require the secretary to consult with the State Department of Education to determine the recipients and amounts of grants awarded under the program. The bill would require a school food authority that receives a grant under the program to submit a report to the secretary containing specified information and would require the secretary to report to the Legislature on the outcomes of the program. The bill would make the implementation of its provisions contingent on a one-time appropriation being made for its purposes by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

(1) Under existing law, the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state. Existing law defines various terms for those purposes, including "production facility." This bill would define the term "sensitive production facility" for those purposes to mean a production facility that is located within certain areas, including, among others, an area containing a building intended for human occupancy that is located within 2,500 feet of the production facility. The bill would require the division, on or before January 1, 2021, to review and evaluate, and update as appropriate, its existing regulations regarding sensitive production facilities, as specified. (2) Existing law generally designates air pollution control and air quality management districts (air districts) with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law requires a refinery-related community air monitoring system, as defined, to be installed on or before January 1, 2020, as specified, and requires an air district to design, develop, install, operate, and maintain the refinery-related community air monitoring system or to contract with a 3rd party to provide those services. Existing law requires an owner or operator of a petroleum refinery to develop, install, operate, and maintain a fence-line monitoring system, as defined, on or before January 1, 2020, as specified. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board, by October 1, 2018, to prepare a monitoring plan regarding technologies for monitoring criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants and the need for and benefits of additional community air monitoring systems, as defined. Existing law requires the state board, based on the monitoring plan, to select the highest priority locations in the state for the deployment of community air monitoring systems, and requires an air district containing a selected location to deploy a community air monitoring system in the selected location by July 1, 2019. Existing law requires air districts to provide to the state board the air quality data produced by the community air monitoring systems, and requires the state board to publish that air quality data on its internet website. The Planning and Zoning Law, among other things, requires the legislative body of each county and city to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan for the physical development of the county or city and of any land outside its boundaries that relates to its planning, and provides for the adoption and administration of zoning laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations by counties and cities. This bill would authorize a city or county, as part of its authority over land use permitting and after consultation with the relevant air districts, to (A) develop and adopt air monitoring plans, (B) require, after the adoption of an air monitoring plan, the installation of continuous and periodic monitoring systems for hydrocarbon emissions from nonrefinery stationary sources, and (C) impose reasonable charges on nonrefinery sources of hydrocarbon emissions within the city's or county's respective jurisdiction as necessary to cover the cost of developing, adopting, implementing, and enforcing those air monitoring plans, including the installation of continuous and periodic monitoring systems for hydrocarbon emissions from nonrefinery stationary sources.

Existing law requires the governing boards of school districts and county boards of education to adopt local control and accountability plans using a state template adopted by the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the local control and accountability plan to include, among other things, a description of annual goals for all pupils and specified subgroups of pupils to be achieved for each state priority, as specified, including, among other state priorities, school climate as measured by, among other things, surveys of pupils, parents, and teachers on the sense of safety and school connectedness. This bill would require, on or before March 1, 2020, the department, in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services and the State Department of Public Health, to submit a report to the Legislature, the Governor, and the Department of Finance on how to monitor, using a survey, certain aspects relating to school climate, including a pupil's use of marijuana and other drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. The bill would also require the report to identify specific and ongoing funding sources that could be used to conduct the surveys, as well as a recommended implementation plan that can provide local educational agencies, including charter schools, with the tools and resources to administer annual surveys, as provided. The bill would require the department to identify those core questions in the survey that shall not be removed.