Asm. Joaquin Arambula

Existing law, the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law requires the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the secret ballot election as a polling place election. This bill would also permit agricultural employees, as an alternative election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition to the board supported by representation ballot cards signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit. This bill would require the board to conduct an immediate investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the supporting representation ballot cards and, within 5 days after receiving a petition, to make an administrative decision as to whether the petition meets certain requirements and as to whether the labor organization submitted the requisite number of cards. The bill would require the board to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative if the board determines that the labor organization has submitted the required number of representation ballot cards and the cards meet specified criteria. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.

Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency, as those terms are defined, be open and public and that all persons be permitted to attend and participate. Under existing law, a member of the legislative body who attends a meeting where action is taken in violation of this provision, with the intent to deprive the public of information that the member knows the public is entitled to, is guilty of a crime. This bill would require local agencies to conduct meetings subject to the act consistent with applicable state and federal civil rights laws, as specified. This bill would, until December 31, 2023, require all open and public meetings of a city council or a county board of supervisors that governs a jurisdiction containing least 250,000 people to include an opportunity for members of the public to attend via a two-way telephonic option or a two-way internet-based service option, as specified, and would require a city council or county board of supervisors that has, as of June 15, 2021, provided video streaming, as defined, of at least one of its meetings to continue to provide that video streaming. The bill would require all open and public meetings to include an in-person public comment opportunity, except in specified circumstances during a declared state or local emergency. The bill would require all meetings to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on proposed legislation in person and remotely via a telephonic or an internet-based service option, as provided. By imposing new duties on local governments and expanding the application of a crime with respect to meetings, 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 specified reasons. The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities and counties, including charter cities and counties. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 54953 of the Government Code proposed by AB 361 to be operative only if this bill and AB 361 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

(1) The Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 establishes, under the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, a program of seismic safety building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and after March 7, 1973. A violation of any provision of the act is a misdemeanor. The act requires, before January 1, 2020, the owner of an acute care inpatient hospital whose building does not substantially comply with described seismic safety regulations or standards to submit to the office an attestation that the board of directors of that hospital is aware that the hospital building is required to meet a specified deadline for substantial compliance with those regulations and standards. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the owner of an acute care inpatient hospital to update the above-described submission by reporting the services provided in each building of the acute care inpatient hospital. By increasing the duties of owners of acute care inpatient hospitals, this bill would expand an existing crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. (2) 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 Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control Act establishes the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District and grants the district authority relating to flood control. The act requires that a contract entered into by the district for materials, supplies, or for the construction or repair of works or improvements that has a contract price exceeding $10,000 be let to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with specified public bidding requirements, except as provided. The act authorizes the district to enter into a contract without public bidding if the contract price does not exceed $10,000. This bill would increase the contract price amount set forth in those provisions for a contract for materials or supplies from $10,000 to $25,000.

Existing law, the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, contains provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for persons with mental health disorders in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs. Existing law requires the Director of State Hospitals to establish a Performance Outcome Committee, which is charged with developing measures of performance for evaluating client outcomes and cost effectiveness of mental health services provided pursuant to the act. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to establish, by July 1, 2023, the California Community-Based Behavioral Health Outcomes and Accountability Review (CBBH-OAR) to facilitate a local accountability system that fosters continuous quality improvement in county behavioral health programs and in the collection and dissemination by the agency of best practices in service delivery. The bill would require the agency to convene a workgroup to establish a workplan by which the CBBH-OAR shall be conducted and to consult on various other components of the CBBH-OAR process. This bill would require the CHHB-OAR to consist of performance indicators, a county behavioral health agency self-assessment process, and a county behavioral health system improvement plan. The bill would require the CBBH-OAR to be completed every 3 years. The bill would require the agency or its designee to receive, review, and certify all components of county-submitted CHHB-OARs and identify and promote the replication of best practices in community-based behavioral health service delivery. The bill would require a county to fulfill any components of its county behavioral health system improvement plan that it can do with existing resources. By creating new county duties, 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.

(1) Existing law establishes the Elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Program within the State Department of Public Health to allow the department to certify certain general acute care hospitals that are licensed to provide urgent and emergent cardiac catheterization laboratory service, and to perform scheduled, elective percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and stent placement for eligible patients. This bill would enact the California Outpatient Cardiology Patient Safety, Cost Reduction, and Quality Improvement Act. The bill would authorize the department, within the PCI Program, to certify an ambulatory surgical center to provide elective cardiac catheterization laboratory services that meet certain requirements to perform scheduled, elective percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and stent placement for eligible patients. The bill would authorize the department to, among other things, charge a certified ambulatory surgical center a fee for the reasonable regulatory costs to the state incident to granting this certification and to retain experts or establish one or more committees to analyze reports and advise the department, as specified. The bill would only allow the department to certify a maximum of 50 ambulatory surgical centers and would only allow the department to accept an application from an ambulatory surgical center for certification or renewal of participation until December 31, 2031. The bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to annually report each certified ambulatory surgical center's performance on mortality and stroke rate. (2) Existing law authorizes the State Department of Public Health to license a freestanding cardiac catheterization laboratory that meets certain requirements, including having been active in a completed pilot program as a freestanding cardiac catheterization laboratory. This bill would authorize, beginning on January 1, 2022, an ambulatory surgical center certified to participate in the Medicare Program to perform cardiac catheterization laboratory services if certain requirements are met, including, among others, that the ambulatory surgical center complies with specified department regulations and only performs procedures on adults in an outpatient basis. (3) This bill would also make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions.

The Pharmacy Law provides for the licensing and regulation of pharmacists by the California State Board of Pharmacy, which is within the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law, except as specified, prohibits a person from possessing any controlled substance, except that furnished to a person upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, optometrist, veterinarian, or another of prescribed healing arts licensees pursuant to existing law. A violation of the Pharmacy Law is a crime. This bill, with certain exceptions, on and after June 30, 2022, would require a pharmacist who dispenses in solid oral dosage form a controlled substance in Schedule II or Schedule IIN of the federal Controlled Substances Act to dispense it in a lockable vial, as defined, provide a specified opioid factsheet, and, if the lockable vial uses an alphanumeric passcode or other code, include the code in any patient notes in the database or other system used by the pharmacy in the dispensing of prescription drugs. The patient, the patient's parent or legal guardian if the patient is a minor or otherwise unable to authorize medical care, or the conservator of the patient if the conservator has been given the power to make health care decisions for the patient, would choose the code, except as specified. The bill would require the manufacturer of a controlled substance to reimburse the pharmacy each month for the cost of lockable vials used by the pharmacy to dispense controlled substances within 30 days of receiving a claim for reimbursement, and would require the manufacturer to pay, among other costs, the net acquisition cost of the lockable vials and dispensing costs. The bill would make the manufacturer subject to a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day the manufacturer is delinquent in reimbursing the pharmacy. The bill would require a vendor that contracts with a pharmacy to provide lockable vials to make available at all times assistance online or through a toll-free phone number for patient use. The bill would make a prescriber not liable for adverse consequences resulting from specified events relating to the lockable vials, except as specified. The bill would authorize the board to adopt regulations to carry out the bill. The bill would require the board to assess a fine for a violation of these provisions by a pharmacist, but would also authorize the board to choose not to take administrative action against a pharmacy if the board determines that compliance with the law would create a financial hardship on the pharmacy or that the pharmacy is temporarily out of stock of lockable vials, as provided. The bill would specify that a violation of these provisions shall not be punishable as a misdemeanor.