Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services, including federally qualified health center (FQHC) services and rural health clinic (RHC) services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. Under existing law, to the extent that federal financial participation is available, FQHC and RHC services are reimbursed on a per-visit basis, as specified. "Visit" is defined as a face-to-face encounter between a patient of an FQHC or RHC and a physician or other specified health care professionals. Under existing law, "visit" also includes an encounter using video or audio-only synchronous interaction or an asynchronous store and forward modality, as specified. This bill would authorize reimbursement for a maximum of 2 visits that take place on the same day at a single site, whether through a face-to-face or telehealth-based encounter, if after the first visit the patient suffers illness or injury that requires additional diagnosis or treatment, or if the patient has a medical visit and either a mental health visit or a dental visit, as defined. The bill would require the department, by July 1, 2024, to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reflecting those provisions. The bill would include a licensed acupuncturist within those health care professionals covered under the definition of a "visit." The bill would also make a change to the provision relating to physicians and would make other technical changes.

Existing law generally provides for the placement of foster youth in various placement settings and governs the provision of child welfare services, which is defined to mean public social services that are directed toward the accomplishment of specified purposes, including protecting and promoting the welfare of all children, preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and restoring to their families children who have been removed. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to ensure that, among other things, emergency response services are coordinated with the implementation of specified program models. Existing law also requires each county to provide the department with a disaster response plan describing how county programs that receive federal assistance for child and family services would respond to a disaster. Existing law also requires the department to review its disaster plan, revise the plan to clarify the role and responsibilities of the state in the event of a disaster, and consult with counties to identify opportunities for collaboration in the event of a disaster. This bill would establish the Child Welfare Disaster Response Program, to be administered by the department. The bill would establish the Child Welfare Disaster Response Account to fund the program. The bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, $2,000,000 to be allocated from the General Fund to the Child Welfare Disaster Response Account for purposes of the program and to support the needs of foster children and youth and their caregivers during a disaster. The bill would require the department to determine eligibility criteria for applicants and would authorize county child welfare departments to apply for funds. The bill would require funds awarded pursuant those provisions to be available to meet the housing, clothing, transportation, and other tangible needs of foster children and youth and their caregivers that occur within 180 days of a local emergency proclamation by a local government or a state of emergency proclamation by the Governor.

Existing law requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services to be responsible for oversight and coordination of programs serving people living with Alzheimer's disease and related conditions, and their families. Existing law establishes the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Committee in the California Health and Human Services Agency, and specifies the committee's duties, including requirements for making policy and plan recommendations. This bill would rename the advisory committee to the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Conditions Advisory Committee, and expand the number of members serving on the committee from 14 to at least 21, but not more than 25, members. This bill would specify the qualifications of certain members on the committee. The bill would, in the provisions governing the committee, revise references to Alzheimer's disease to also refer to related conditions.

The California Constitution provides that the University of California constitutes a public trust, and requires the university to be administered by the Regents of the University of California, a corporation in the form of a board, with full powers of organization and government, subject to legislative control only for specified purposes. The California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 2001 requires all agencies and museums, which is defined to include higher education institutions, that receive state funding and have possession or control over collections of California Native American human remains and associated funerary objects to inventory those remains and objects for repatriation to the appropriate California Indian tribes, as specified. As a condition for using state funds to handle and maintain Native American human remains and cultural items, this bill would require the office of the President of the University of California to comply with various requirements regarding repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items, as provided.

Existing law establishes the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program in the Department of Water Resources. Existing law requires the department, upon an appropriation for purposes of the program, to research climate forecasting and the causes and impacts that climate change has on atmospheric rivers, to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves flood protection, and to reoperate flood control and water storage facilities to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers. This bill would rename that program the Atmospheric Rivers Research and Forecast Improvement Program: Enabling Climate Adaptation Through Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations and Hazard Resiliency (AR/FIRO) Program. The bill would require the department to research, develop, and implement new observations, prediction models, novel forecasting methods, and tailored decision support systems to improve predictions of atmospheric rivers and their impacts on water supply, flooding, post-wildfire debris flows, and environmental conditions. The bill would also require the department to utilize relevant information to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves flood protection in the state and to reoperate flood control and water storage facilities to capture water generated by atmospheric rivers and other storms.

The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities and requires the Department of Cannabis Control to administer its provisions. Existing law governs the cultivation of industrial hemp in this state and establishes a registration program administered by county agricultural commissioners and the Department of Food and Agriculture for growers of industrial hemp, hemp breeders, and established agricultural research institutions, as defined. The Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, among other things, regulates the labeling of food, beverages, and cosmetics and makes it a crime to distribute in commerce any food, drug, device, or cosmetic if its packaging or labeling does not conform to these provisions. Violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law is a misdemeanor. Existing law also requires hemp manufacturers who produce specified products that include industrial hemp or who produce raw hemp extract, as defined, to complete a registration process, under the State Department of Public Health, and to meet various requirements for testing and labeling on products. Existing law exempts industrial hemp, as defined, from the definition of cannabis and from MAUCRSA, but requires the Department of Cannabis Control to prepare a report, on or before July 1, 2022, to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the steps necessary to allow for the incorporation of hemp cannabinoids into the cannabis supply chain. This bill would state that MAUCRSA does not prohibit a licensee from manufacturing, distributing, or selling products that contain industrial hemp or cannabinoids, extracts, or derivatives from industrial hemp, if the product complies with all applicable state laws and regulations. The bill would revise and recast the provisions with the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, regulating industrial hemp to redefine certain terms, expand the prohibition that raw hemp extract not exceed 0.3% of a tetrahydrocannabinol comparable cannabinoid, and prohibit the manufacture, distribution, or sale of an industrial hemp product that contains a cannabinoid that is not present in nature in commercially meaningful quantities, unless authorized by the department in regulation. The bill would require an out-of-state hemp manufacturer who produces an industrial hemp product that is a food or beverage for sale in this state to register with the department. By creating a new 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 federal law provides for allocation of federal funds through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant program to eligible states. Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of state and county funds and federal funds received through the TANF program, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits, including allowances for other purposes such as pregnancy, homeless assistance, and recurring special needs, to qualified low-income families. This bill would, beginning April 1, 2025, make a menstruating person who is qualified for aid under the CalWORKs program and between 10 and 55 years of age, inclusive, entitled to $20 per month to assist with menstrual product costs. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to work with the County Welfare Directors Association of California and the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) to develop and implement the necessary system changes on or before April 1, 2025. By increasing the duties of counties administering the CalWORKs program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would instead provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. 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.

This measure would recognize July 17, 2023, to July 23, 2023, as Outdoor Worker Appreciation Week.

This measure would declare the month of October 2023 as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month.

This measure would designate the month of November 2023 to be California's Sikh American Awareness and Appreciation Month. The measure would recognize and acknowledge the significant contributions made by Californians of Sikh heritage to our state and would seek to afford all Californians the opportunity to better understand, recognize, and appreciate the rich history and shared principles of Sikh Americans. The measure would condemn all hate crimes and bias incidents against Sikh Americans and would encourage all Sikhs to practice their faith freely and fearlessly.