Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Existing law prescribes the instruments and criteria by which a local agency, as defined, may invest and deposit its funds, including its surplus funds. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, authorizes a local agency, under certain conditions, to invest up to 30% of the agency's surplus funds in deposits at specified types of financial institutions that use a private sector entity to assist in the placement of deposits, as specified. Existing law, on and after January 1, 2021, authorizes a local agency, under certain conditions, to invest up to 30% of the agency's surplus funds in certificates of deposit at specified types of financial institutions. This bill would instead, commencing January 1, 2020, authorize a local agency to invest and deposit the agency's surplus funds in deposits at specified types of financial institutions whether those investments are in certificates of deposit or another form. The bill, from January 1, 2020, until January 1, 2026, also would increase to 50% the percentage of funds that can be so invested by a city, district, or other local agency that does not pool money in deposits or investments with other local agencies with a different governing body. The bill would, on and after January 1, 2026, authorize those same cities, districts, and agencies to invest up to 30% of the agency's surplus funds in the same manner described above. The bill would make additional conforming changes.

(1) Existing law, the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975, provides for the licensure and regulation of health care service plans by the Department of Managed Health Care and makes a willful violation of the act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires that health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies provide coverage for certain services and treatments, including emergency medical transportation services. This bill would require a health care service plan contract or a health insurance policy issued, amended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, to provide that if an enrollee, insured, or subscriber (individual) receives covered services from a noncontracting air ambulance provider, the individual shall pay no more than the same cost sharing that the individual would pay for the same covered services received from a contracting air ambulance provider, referred to as the in-network cost-sharing amount. The bill would provide that an individual would not owe the noncontracting provider more than the in-network cost-sharing amount for services. The bill would authorize a noncontracting provider to advance to collections only the in-network cost-sharing amount that the individual has failed to pay. The bill would authorize a health care service plan, health insurer, or provider to seek relief in any court for the purpose of resolving a payment dispute, and would not prohibit a provider from using a health care service plan's or health insurer's existing dispute resolution processes. Because a willful violation of the bill's requirements relative to health care service plans would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the Emergency Medical Air Transportation Act, effective until January 1, 2022, imposes a penalty of $4 until January 1, 2020, upon every conviction for a violation of the Vehicle Code or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code, other than a parking offense. The act requires the county or the court that imposed the fine to transfer the moneys collected pursuant to that act to the Treasurer for deposit into the Emergency Medical Air Transportation and Children's Coverage Fund. Under the act, moneys in the fund are made available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the State Department of Health Care Services for children's health care coverage and administrative costs relating to emergency medical air transportation provider payments. Existing law requires the assessed penalty to continue to be collected, administered, and distributed until exhausted or until June 30, 2021, whichever occurs first, and requires any remaining unexpended and unencumbered moneys in the fund to be transferred to the General Fund, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for specified purposes, including funding children's health care coverage. This bill would impose the penalty until July 1, 2020, and would extend the above-specified dates by six months. (3) 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 authorizes the governing board of a community college district to enter into a College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnership with the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school with the goal of developing seamless pathways from high school to community college for career technical education or preparation for transfer, improving high school graduation rates, or helping high school pupils achieve college and career readiness. Existing law requires the partnership agreement to outline the terms of the partnership, as specified, and to establish protocols for information sharing, joint facilities use, and parental consent for high school pupils to enroll in community college courses. Existing law requires the governing board of each district, at an open public meeting of that board, to present the dual enrollment partnership agreement as an informational item, as a condition of, and before adopting, a CCAP partnership agreement. Existing law requires the governing board of each district, at a subsequent open public meeting of that board, to take comments from the public and approve or disapprove the proposed agreement. Existing law authorizes a community college district participating in a CCAP partnership to assign priority for enrollment and course registration to a pupil seeking to enroll in a community college course that is required for the pupil's CCAP partnership program that is equivalent to the priority assigned to a pupil attending a middle college high school and consistent with specified middle college high school provisions. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2022. This bill would require those protocols described above to require a high school pupil participating under a CCAP partnership to submit only one parental consent form and principal recommendation, and would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, on or before July 31, 2020, to revise the special part-time student application process to allow a pupil to complete one application, for the duration of the pupil's participation under the CCAP partnership. The bill would eliminate the requirement imposed on the governing board of each district entering into a CCAP partnership agreement to present the dual enrollment partnership agreement as an informational item at a separate open public meeting of that board before taking public comment and acting to approve or disapprove the proposed agreement. The bill would provide that units completed by a pupil pursuant to a CCAP agreement may count towards determining a pupil's registration priority for enrollment and course registration at a community college. The bill would require the CCAP partnership agreement to include a plan, instead of a certification, by the participating community college district to ensure specified conditions are met. The bill would extend the operation of the CCAP partnership provisions until January 1, 2027. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 76004 of the Education Code proposed by SB 586 to be operative only if this bill and SB 586 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Existing law establishes the California Broadband Council in state government for the purpose of promoting broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the state and broadband adoption throughout the state, imposes specified duties on the council relating to that purpose, and specifies the membership of the council. This bill would add the Secretary of Food and Agriculture, or the secretary's designee, the State Librarian, or the librarian's designee, and the Governor's Tribal Advisor, or the advisor's designee, to the membership of the council.

Existing law establishes the California Winter Rice Habitat Incentive Program that authorizes the Director of Fish and Wildlife to enter into contracts for an initial term of 3 years with nonpublic entities that are owners of record or with lessees of productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded and that are determined by the director to be important for the conservation of waterfowl. Existing law provides that, under these contracts, the use of the land is restricted for waterfowl conservation and habitat purposes in a manner that allows for the use of the land for rice farming. Existing law requires the lessees of the rice lands to have the owners of record execute the contracts and defines "productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded" for these purposes. Existing law requires each contract to include, among other things, an agreement by the owner and any lessee to restore, enhance, and protect the waterfowl habitat character of the described land. This bill would no longer require the lessees of the rice lands to have the owners of record execute the contracts and would revise the definition of "productive agricultural rice lands that are winter-flooded." The bill would revise that agreement to instead require an agreement by the owner or the lessee to restore, enhance, and protect the waterfowl habitat character of an established number of acres of described land that may be annually rotated provided that the minimum contracted acreage amount is achieved for each of the contracted winter flooding seasons. The bill would also authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife to enter into agreements with qualified entities that possess demonstrated experience and understanding of California rice farming practices and wildlife-related conservation practices to administer the conservation contracts on behalf of the department.

Under existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, the Governor is authorized to proclaim a state of emergency, as defined, under specified circumstances. The California Emergency Services Act also authorizes the governing body of a city, county, city and county, or an official designated by ordinance adopted by that governing body, to proclaim a local emergency, as defined. Existing law provides that a person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication with specified persons, except in specified circumstances. This bill would enact the California Firefighter Peer Support and Crisis Referral Services Act. The bill would authorize the state or a local or regional public fire agency to establish a Peer Support and Crisis Referral Program to provide an agencywide network of peer representatives available to aid fellow employees on emotional or professional issues. The bill would, for purposes of the act, define a "peer support team" as a team composed of emergency service personnel, as defined, hospital staff, clergy, and educators who have completed a peer support training course, as specified. The bill would provide that an emergency service personnel, whether or not a party to an action, has a right to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication between the emergency service personnel and a peer support team member, crisis hotline staff member, or crisis referral service, except under limited circumstances, including, among others, when disclosure is reasonably believed to be necessary to prevent death, substantial bodily harm, or commission of a crime, or when disclosure is required as part of a mandated reporter obligation. The bill would also provide that, except for an action for medical malpractice, a peer support team member providing peer support services as a member of a peer support team and the public fire agency that employs them are not liable for damages, as specified, relating to an act, error, or omission in performing peer support services, unless the act, error, or omission constitutes gross negligence or intentional misconduct.

Existing law, the Warren-911-Emergency Assistance Act, requires every local public agency to establish within its jurisdiction a basic emergency telephone system that includes, at a minimum, police, firefighting, and emergency medical and ambulance services. Existing law authorizes a public agency to incorporate private ambulance service into the system. This bill would prohibit a public agency from delegating, assigning, or contracting for "911" emergency call processing services for the dispatch of emergency response resources unless the delegation or assignment is to, or the contract or agreement is with, another public agency. The bill would exempt from that prohibition a public agency that is a joint powers authority that delegated, assigned, or contracted for "911" call processing services on or before January 1, 2019, under certain conditions. The bill would also authorize a public agency that delegated, assigned, or contracted for "911" call processing services on or before January 1, 2019, to continue to do so with the concurrence of the public safety agencies that provide prehospital emergency medical services. If a public safety agency does not concur with the public agency to continue to delegate, assign, or contract for those services, the bill would authorize the public agency to continue to delegate, assign, or contract for those services for the remaining concurring public safety agencies. The bill would state the Legislature's intent to affirm and clarify a public agency's duty and authority to develop emergency communication procedures and respond quickly to a person seeking emergency services through the "911" emergency telephone system. Existing law, the Emergency Medical Services System and the Prehospital Emergency Medical Care Personnel Act, authorizes each county to develop an emergency medical services (EMS) program and designate a local EMS agency. Existing law delegates responsibility over the medical direction and management of an EMS system to the medical director of the local EMS agency, and requires the local EMS agency to maintain medical control over the EMS system in accordance with minimum standards established by the Emergency Medical Services Authority. This bill would require a public safety agency that provides "911" call processing services for medical response to make a connection available from the public safety agency dispatch center to an EMS provider's dispatch center, as specified. The bill would provide that the public safety agency is entitled to recover from an EMS provider the actual costs incurred in establishing and maintaining the connection. The bill would require the local EMS-agency-authorized EMS providers and the EMS system providers within the jurisdiction of the incident, to be simultaneously notified and dispatched at the same response mode. The bill would require a local EMS agency to review and approve or deny a public safety agency's plan to implement an emergency medical dispatcher or advanced life support program within 90 days of submission of the plan. This bill would provide that medical control by a local EMS agency medical director, or medical direction and management of an EMS system, may not be construed to, among other things, limit the authority of a public safety agency to directly receive and process "911" emergency requests originating within the agency's territorial jurisdiction or authorize a local EMS agency to unilaterally reduce a public safety agency's response mode below that of the EMS transport provider, prevent a public safety response, or alter the deployment of emergency response resources within the agency's territorial jurisdiction. The bill would also clarify that a public safety agency does not transfer its authority to administer emergency medical services to a local EMS agency by adhering to the policies, procedures, and protocols adopted by a local EMS agency.

The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 establishes the State Air Resources Board as the state agency responsible for monitoring and regulating sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. The act authorizes the state board to include the use of market-based compliance mechanisms. Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board from a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the Department of Finance to annually submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the status of the projects funded with moneys from the fund. This bill, no later than January 1, 2021, would require an agency that receives an appropriation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to post on the internet website of the agency's program from which moneys from the fund are being allocated the guidelines, as specified, for how moneys from the fund are allocated for competitive financing programs, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Pierce's Disease Control Program in the Department of Food and Agriculture and requires the Governor to appoint a statewide coordinator. Existing law establishes the Pierce's Disease Management Account in the Food and Agriculture Fund and allows certain money in this account to be expended to combat Pierce's disease and its vectors, including the glassy-winged sharpshooter, and for purposes relating to other designated pests and diseases, as provided. Existing law makes these provisions inoperative on March 1, 2021, and repeals them on January 1, 2022. This bill would extend to March 1, 2026, the date on which the above provisions become inoperative, and would repeal those provisions on January 1, 2027. The bill would require the Secretary of Food and Agriculture to appoint a statewide coordinator. By extending the operative date for a partially continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law creates in the department the Pierce's Disease and Glassy-winged Sharpshooter Board, which consists of specified members, and prescribes the functions and duties of the board with respect to implementation of the Pierce's disease program. Existing law provides for an annual assessment to be paid by grape processors, as defined, into the Food and Agriculture Fund and continuously appropriates the collected funds for the purposes of, among other things, research and other activities related to the Pierce's disease program. Existing law repeals these provisions on March 1, 2021. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to March 1, 2026, and would make related conforming changes. By extending the date until which the assessments are collected, the bill would make an appropriation.

This measure would condemn regulations recently adopted by the Department of Homeland Security to prescribe how a determination of inadmissibility for a person who is not a citizen or national is made based on the likelihood that the person will become a public charge. This measure would also urge the federal government to repeal the new regulations.