This measure would recognize April 24, 2022, through April 30, 2022, as Crime Victims' Rights Week.
Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to examine the causes of communicable diseases occurring, or likely to occur, in the state and sets forth the department's duties for disease inspection and reporting, including through state and local public health laboratories. Existing law requires the department and the Office of Emergency Services to establish a personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile, upon appropriation and as necessary, with PPE-related guidelines established for a pandemic or other health emergency. Existing law sets forth various provisions specific to COVID-19 testing, including, among others, provisions relating to health care coverage for testing and certain programs or requirements for the workplace or educational setting. This bill would require the department to make plans to ensure that the laboratory infrastructure in the state is sufficient and prepared for COVID-19 testing capacity to be scaled, within a period of 2 calendar weeks, to 500,000 tests per day, and for results of at least 90% of those COVID-19 tests to be returned to the individuals tested and to the department within 24 hours of collection of the testing samples. The bill would require the department, for purposes of making these plans, to prioritize local public health laboratories and the state laboratory and to consider sufficient staffing. The bill would authorize the department to make plans to use the laboratory infrastructure for public health applications other than COVID-19 testing, as the department deems reasonable and appropriate based on the circumstances, including, but not limited to, testing for other specified infections, so long as that testing is otherwise authorized under law and the laboratory infrastructure continues to meet the above-described COVID-19 testing conditions.
This measure would recognize the 30th anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots on April 29, 2022, as a time of building and reflection for the citizens of Los Angeles and the citizens of California.
This measure would declare April 28, 2022, as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and would recognize the goals of introducing our daughters and sons to the workplace and commend all participants of Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day.
This measure would designate the week of May 1, 2022, through May 7, 2022, as Compost Awareness Week.
This measure would proclaim, in perpetuity, the month of April as California Wines: Down to Earth Month, to celebrate the sustainable leadership of California wineries and winegrape growers throughout the month of April.
Existing law, referred to as the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) , prohibits an attorney from contracting for or collecting a contingency fee for representing any person seeking damages in connection with an action for injury or damage against a health care provider based upon alleged professional negligence in excess of specified limits. This bill would recast those provisions and base the amount of contingency fee that may be contracted for upon whether recovery is pursuant to settlement agreement and release of all claims executed before a civil complaint or demand for arbitration is filed, or pursuant to settlement, arbitration, or judgment after a civil complaint or demand for arbitration is filed, as specified. The bill would add and revise definitions for these purposes. Existing law provides that in any action against a health care provider based upon professional negligence, the injured plaintiff is entitled to recover noneconomic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damage. Existing law limits the amount of damages for noneconomic losses in an action for injury against a health care provider based on professional negligence to $250,000. This bill would remove the $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages and expand the recast provisions to include an action for injury against a health care institution, as defined. The bill would increase the applicable limitation based upon whether the action for injury involved wrongful death. The bill would specify that these limitations would increase by $40,000 each January 1st for 10 years and beginning on January 1, 2034, the applicable limitations on noneconomic damages for personal injury and for wrongful death would be adjusted for inflation on January 1st of each year by 2%. Existing law specifies that in any action for injury or damages against a provider of health care services, a superior court shall, at the request of either party, enter a judgment ordering that money damages or its equivalent for future damages of the judgment creditor be paid in whole or in part by periodic payments rather than by a lump-sum payment if the award equals or exceeds $50,000. This bill would increase the minimum amount of the judgment required to request periodic payments to $250,000. Existing law makes statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident and made to that person, or to the family of that person, inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability in a civil action. This bill would specify that statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy, regret, a general sense of benevolence, or suggesting, reflecting, or accepting fault relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person, or to an adverse patient safety event or unexpected health care outcome, as specified, shall be confidential, privileged, protected, not subject to subpoena, discovery, or disclosure, and shall not be used or admitted into evidence in any civil, administrative, regulatory, licensing, or disciplinary board, agency, or body action or proceeding, and shall not be used or admitted in relation to any sanction, penalty, or other liability, as evidence of an admission of liability or for any other purpose.
Existing law creates the California State Library under the control of the State Librarian. Existing law requires the State Librarian to establish and administer the Reading Initiative Program to, among other things, develop a list of recommended books in consultation with various groups, including, but not limited to, teachers, librarians, parents, writers, publishers, and employees of the State Department of Education. Existing law requires the State Librarian to develop a method of involving pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the program and to develop an appropriate form of recognition for pupils who succeed in the program. This bill would, contingent upon an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purpose or the receipt of funds from private sources, establish the Media Literacy Through Critical Thinking Program in the California State Library, to be administered by the State Librarian, for purposes of supporting media literacy across multiple languages for individuals and developing media literacy skills for individuals to help navigate issues of public health and representation, as provided. The bill would require the State Librarian to develop a list of recommended books, articles, digital multimedia resources, and any other materials for specified purposes to be made available to county and municipal libraries across the state. The bill would create the Media Literacy Through Critical Thinking Program Fund in the State Treasury and require state or private funds to be deposited in the fund, as provided.
The California Coastal Act of 1976 requires oceanfront land suitable for recreational use to be protected for recreational use and development unless present and foreseeable future demand for public or commercial recreational activities that could be accommodated on the property is already adequately provided for in the area. Existing law establishes the State Coastal Conservancy with prescribed powers and responsibilities for implementing and administering various programs intended to preserve, protect, and restore the state's coastal areas. Existing law establishes surfing as the official state sport. This bill would require, on or before July 1, 2023, the conservancy to establish criteria and an application process for purposes of designating an area of the coastline as a state surfing reserve, as defined. The bill would authorize a local government, as defined, to apply to the conservancy for purposes of designating an area of the coastline within the jurisdiction of the local government as a state surfing reserve. The bill would require the local government to include in its application, among other things, a description of the proposed surfing reserve. The bill would require the conservancy to approve the application if the area of the coastline meets the established criteria. The bill would require, once the application is approved, the conservancy to designate the area as a state surfing reserve and to include this designation, where appropriate, in publications or maps that are issued by the conservancy. The bill would authorize the conservancy to revoke the designation if the surfing reserve no longer meets the established criteria.
Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. The California State University comprises 23 institutions of higher education located throughout the state. This bill would establish the Cybersecurity Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships Pilot Program to address the cybersecurity workforce gap, as specified. The bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California State University to select any number of California State University campuses to participate in the pilot program through an application process developed by the chancellor's office on or before March 1, 2023. The bill would require the selected campuses to, among other things, annually share the impact and results of their created pilot program with the chancellor's office. The bill would require the chancellor's to annually report the impact and results of the campus's pilot programs to the Legislature.
