Existing law, the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, requires the State Department of Developmental Services to contract with regional centers to provide services and supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. Existing law sets forth the department's and a regional center's authority to establish provider rates. Existing law prohibits a regional center from paying a greater rate to a provider of certain services or supports, as specified, or from approving a service level for a residential service provider that would result in an increase in state costs, unless the regional center demonstrates that the approval is necessary to protect the consumer's health or safety and the department has granted prior written authorization or, in certain circumstances, unless the increase is required by a contract between the regional center and the vendor, as specified. This bill would deem a request from a regional center for prior written authorization approved by the department if the department does not act on the request within 30 calendar days of receipt of the request, unless the director, in his or her discretion, determines that additional time is reasonably necessary to fully and fairly evaluate the request, as specified. If the director determines that additional time is necessary, the bill would grant the department an additional 30 calendar days to act on the request. The bill would authorize additional extensions of time only upon agreement of all parties, as specified. The bill would, for a request from a regional center for prior written authorization involving cases in which there is an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the individual consumer, as defined, require the department to notify the regional center of its decision to grant or deny the request within 3 working days from receipt of the request. The bill would authorize the department to request additional information from a regional center under those circumstances, and would prescribe the procedure for making that request. If requested, once that information is provided to the department, the bill would require the department to make a decision to grant or deny the request within 3 working days. The bill would also, for a request from a regional center for prior written authorization, require the department to provide receipt of those requests and the contact information of the department representative handling the request to the regional center. The bill would authorize the consumer or the regional center to request a meeting with the department representative handling the request, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to provide an accounting annually to the Legislature with regard to regional center requests for prior written authorization, as specified. Existing law prohibits a regional center from negotiating a rate with new residential service providers, new supported living service providers, or other certain service providers, as specified, that is higher than the statewide or regional center's median rate for the same service code and unit of service, whichever is lower. This bill would make an exception to the above prohibition if the regional center demonstrates that the approval is necessary to protect an individual consumer's health or safety and the department has granted prior written authorization. The bill would also make the 30-day and 3-day time frames described above applicable to these provisions. Existing law requires the department to promulgate regulations for payment for community-based programs, including a procedure for appealing rates. Existing law prohibits certain rate increases for residential service providers, but, commencing July 1, 2017, authorizes increases to those rates as necessary to adjust employee wages to meet the state minimum wage law. This bill would, on or before July 1, 2019, require the department to adopt regulations to create a process to review requests from regional centers in order to resolve systemic issues with service provider rates that have the potential to create economic distress for service providers or disrupt services to consumers, including, but not limited to, local minimum wage ordinances. The bill would require the department to include in the review process regulations a requirement that the department render a decision on the requested review no later than 60 calendar days after receipt of the review request unless the director, in his or her discretion, determines that additional time is reasonably necessary to fully and fairly evaluate the request, as specified.
Sponsored bills
The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 provides the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Industrial Relations with the power, jurisdiction, and supervision over all employment and places of employment necessary to enforce and administer all occupational health and safety laws,and standards and to protect employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, an independent entity within the department, has the exclusive authority to adopt occupational safety and health standards within the state. Existing law requires every employer to comply with those standards. A violation of these standards and regulations under specific circumstances is a crime. This bill would require the board to adopt occupational safety and health standards for state public works projects to prevent and control coccidioidomycosis, more commonly known as Valley Fever. By expanding the definition of an existing 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.
Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, establishes the Emergency Medical Services Authority, which is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state agencies concerning emergency medical services. Among other duties, the authority is required to develop planning and implementation guidelines for emergency medical services systems, provide technical assistance to existing agencies, counties, and cities for the purpose of developing the components of emergency medical services systems, and receive plans for the implementation of emergency medical services and trauma care systems from local EMS agencies. The act also authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services program and requires local EMS agencies to plan, implement, and evaluate an emergency medical services system. Existing law requires local EMS agencies to be responsible for the implementation of advanced life support systems, limited advanced life support systems, and for the monitoring of specified training programs for emergency personnel. Existing law defines advanced life support as special services designed to provide definitive prehospital emergency medical care, as specified, at the scene of an emergency, during transport to an acute care hospital, during interfacility transfer, and while in the emergency department of an acute care hospital until responsibility is assumed by that hospital. Existing law makes it a crime to violate the act, or the rules or regulations adopted under the act. This bill would authorize a local emergency medical services agency to submit, as part of its emergency medical services plan, a plan to transport specified patients who meet triage criteria to a behavioral health facility or a sobering center, as defined. The bill would make conforming changes to the definition of advanced life support to include prehospital emergency care provided during transport to a behavioral health facility or a sobering center. The bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to designate, and contract with, a sobering center to receive patients, and would establish standards that apply to sobering centers, as specified. This bill would also require the authority to adopt guidelines for the triage criteria and assessment procedures by July 1, 2020, and would require the authority to annually analyze the administration of the local plans and to issue certain reports, as specified. By expanding an existing 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.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, for taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2019, and before January 1, 2024, would allow a credit under those laws to a qualified employer that pays or incurs to a qualified employee a wage equal to or exceeding the minimum wage during the taxable year, as provided. The bill would define a qualified employee as an individual with a disability who may be paid a special minimum wage under existing state or federal law. The credit would be allowed in an amount equal to the difference between the special minimum wage and the minimum wage, multiplied by the hours worked by the qualified employee. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to submit a report containing specified data relating to these credits to the Legislature by June 1, 2024. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including motion picture credits for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, to be allocated by the California Film Commission on or after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2020, subject to a computation and ranking of applicants based on a jobs ratio. Existing law allows the credit for the taxable year in which the commission issues a credit certificate for the qualified motion picture for the applicable percentage of all qualified expenditures, as defined, paid or incurred by the qualified taxpayer in all taxable years for that qualified motion picture. Existing law limits the aggregate amount of these credits allocated in each fiscal year to $330 million, through and including the 2019–20 fiscal year. This bill would allow and extend the allocation of those credits through and including the 2024–25 fiscal year. The bill would require the commission to allocate those credits before July 1, 2025, as specified. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Existing law prohibits a person from operating a motorcycle on a highway unless that person holds a valid driver's license or endorsement for a motorcycle. Existing law requires an applicant for a license or endorsement to operate a motorcycle to submit to an examination including a demonstration of his or her ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in operating a motorcycle. Under existing law, in lieu of this demonstration, the applicant may submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of an approved motorcyclist training program. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2019, require this certificate to be submitted electronically to the Department of Motor Vehicles by the operator of an approved motorcyclist training program and would require the department to accept those electronic submissions.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Under existing law, community college districts throughout the state have established campuses where they provide instruction to students. Existing law establishes a system through which state funds are apportioned to community college districts based on specified formulas. A provision of existing law identifies the noncredit community college courses and classes that are eligible for state apportionment funding. This bill would provide that supervised tutoring for courses and classes in all subject areas that are either basic skills, degree applicable, or transfer level, irrespective of whether a student being tutored has been referred to tutoring by a faculty member or has self-initiated the tutoring, is eligible for state apportionment funding. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes in this provision. The bill would require the board of governors to amend, as soon as feasible, a designated provision of the California Code of Regulations to include student-initiated tutoring, in accordance with the bill.
Existing law provides that it is the policy of the state that all minors and nonminors in foster care have specified rights, including, among others, the right to attend school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child's age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational stability. This bill would establish, until January 1, 2023, the California Foster Youth Enrichment Grant Pilot Program. The bill would require the Department of Social Services, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants of $500 or less to qualified foster youth to enable them to participate in activities that enhance the foster youth's skills, abilities, self-esteem, or overall well-being. The bill would require the department, on or before March 1, 2019, to convene a workgroup to develop an implementation plan for the pilot program. The bill would require the department to conduct the pilot program in four counties with the highest need, as specified. The bill would specify eligibility criteria for receipt of a grant and the authorized uses of a grant. The bill would require a recipient, within 6 months after receipt of a grant, to submit copies of receipts showing the purchase of the program, product, or service, and payment of any directly related costs purchased with the grant. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2022, to submit a report to the Legislature that addresses, among other things, data on the number of applications received and the number of grants awarded. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.
This measure would declare the support of the Legislature for the expansion of sensory-friendly movie screenings and similar programs for people with autism, and would encourage families to attend a sensory-friendly movie screening during April 2018, which is National Autism Awareness Month.
This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2018 as "State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," would designate April 24, 2018, as "State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923," and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.