The existing Long-Term Care, Health, Safety, and Security Act of 1973 establishes an inspection and reporting system and a provisional licensing mechanism, administered by the State Department of Public Health, to ensure that long-term health care facilities, as defined, are in compliance with state statutes, regulations, and federal standards pertaining to patient care. The act requires the department, if it determines that a violation of any state or federal law or regulation relating to the operation or maintenance of the facility warrants the issuance of a citation, to take specified actions regarding federal enforcement remedies and citations. The act prohibits the issuance of both a citation pursuant to state laws and the recommendation that a federal civil monetary penalty be imposed. This bill would delete this prohibition. The act establishes a citation and appeals process, that includes a citation review conference. This bill would repeal the citation review conference process and make conforming changes. Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid Program provisions. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to consider whether an undue hardship, as described, exists prior to finding that an applicant or recipient is subject to a period of ineligibility for medical assistance for home and facility care. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to also consider whether an undue hardship exists for an applicant for, or recipient of, home and facility care under additional circumstances relating to the transfer of assets.
Sponsored bills
(1) Existing law requires a charter commission to submit, among other things, a city charter to the voters of a city at either a special election called for that purpose, at any established municipal election date, or at any established election date, provided that there are at least 88 days before the election. Existing law also authorizes the governing body of any city or city and county to, among other things, propose a charter and submit the proposal for the adoption to the voters at either a special election called for that purpose or at any established municipal election date or at any established election date, provided there are at least 88 days before the election. This bill would require a city charter or charter amendment, whether submitted to the voters by a charter commission or the governing body of the city or city and county, to be submitted at the next established statewide general, statewide primary, or regularly scheduled municipal election date, provided there are at least 95 days before the election. This bill would also require a proposal to adopt a charter, whether submitted to the voters by a charter commission or the legislative body of a city or city and county to include in the ballot description an enumeration of new city powers as a result of the adoption of the charter, including, but not limited to, whether the city council will, pursuant to an adopted charter, have the power to raise its own compensation and the compensation of other city officials without voter approval. (2) The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act contains various provisions that govern collective bargaining of local represented employees. The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all meetings of a legislative body of a local agency be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. Existing law requires all contracts of employment between an employee and a local agency employer to include a provision which provides that regardless of the term of the contract, if the contract is terminated, the maximum cash settlement that an employee may receive shall be an amount equal to the monthly salary of the employee multiplied by the number of months left on the unexpired term of the contract, with a maximum of 18 months. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2012, additionally prohibit an employment contract for a local agency executive, as defined, from providing an automatic renewal of a contract that provides for an automatic compensation increase in excess of a cost-of-living adjustment or a maximum cash settlement in excess of certain limits, as specified. By expanding the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law sets forth the penalties for misuse of public resources or falsifying expense reporting, including, but not limited to, loss of reimbursement privileges, restitution to the local agency, civil penalties for misuse of public resources, and prosecution for misuse of public resources, including imprisonment for 2, 3, or 4 years, and disqualification from holding office, as specified. This bill would, on and after January 1, 2012, require a contract executed or renewed between a local agency and an officer or employee of the local agency to include a provision that requires an officer or employee of a local agency who is convicted of a crime involving an abuse of his or her office or position, as defined, to fully reimburse the local agency for specified payments made by that local agency to the officer or employee. The bill would also require an officer or employee of the local agency, who is convicted of a crime involving an abuse of his or her office, to fully reimburse any such payments that are made by the local agency in the absence of a contractual obligation between the agency and the officer or employee. (4) The Ralph M. Brown Act enables the legislative body of a local agency to call both regular and special meetings. The act requires the legislative body of a local agency to post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at a regular meeting, in a location that is freely accessible to members of the public. The act also requires the presiding officer of the legislative body to deliver written notice to each member of the legislative body, and to each local newspaper of general circulation and radio or television station requesting notice in writing if the presiding officer of the legislative body calls a special meeting. This bill would require the legislative body, or the presiding officer of the legislative body, to provide notice of each meeting, including special meetings, on the local agency's Internet Web site, if the local agency has one, as specified. In addition, this bill would prohibit any legislative body from holding a special meeting regarding the salary, salary schedule, or other form of compensation for any local agency executive. (5) The bill would express a legislative finding and declaration that, to ensure the statewide integrity of local government, the provisions of the act are an issue of statewide concern and that, therefore, all counties and cities, including charter counties, charter cities, and charter cities and counties, would be subject to the provisions of the bill. (6) 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 these statutory provisions.
The existing Hazardous Waste Source Reduction and Management Review Act of 1989 requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to establish a program for hazardous waste source reduction, including requiring specified generators of hazardous waste to maintain certain plans and reports with regard to hazardous waste reduction practices. The department is required to provide source reduction training and resources to various regional and local government assistance programs to identify and apply source reduction methods. This bill would require the department, as part of implementing this program, to develop a California Green Business Program that provides support and assistance to local government programs that provide for the voluntary certification of small businesses that adopt environmentally preferable business practices, including, but not limited to, increased energy efficiency, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, promotion of water conservation, and reduced waste generation. The department would be required to take specified actions with regard to implementing the California Green Business Program and would be authorized to provide support and assistance to a local government program to enable the program to meet certain requirements.
Existing law provides for various state programs and services for the purpose of attracting and retaining businesses in the state. Existing law creates the Office of Small Business Advocate in the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor's office. Executive Order S-05-10 created the Office of Economic Development in the Governor's office, for the purpose of coordinating economic development activities in the state. This bill would create, within the Governor's office, the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development, which would be administered by a director appointed by the Governor. The bill would require that the office serve the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth, and would authorize the office to exercise various powers, including, among others, making recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and actions to advance statewide economic goals. The bill would create the California Business Investment Services Program, as specified, within the office, under the authority of the director, for the purpose of serving employers, corporate executives, business owners, and site location consultants who are considering California for business investment and expansion. The bill would also move the Office of Small Business Advocate to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.
Existing law gives control of the state park system to the Department of Parks and Recreation. Existing law authorizes the department to enter into agreements with an agency of the United States, a city, county, district, or other public agency or any combination thereof, for the care, maintenance, administration, and control by a party to the agreement of lands under the jurisdiction of a party to the agreement, for the purpose of the state park system. This bill would authorize the department to enter into an operating agreement for the development, improvement, restoration, care, maintenance, administration, or operation of a unit or units, or portion of a unit, of the state park system, as identified by the director, with a qualified nonprofit organization, as provided. This bill would require the operating agreement to include, among other things, a requirement that the nonprofit organization annually submit a report to the department, to be available on the Internet Web site of both the department and the nonprofit organization. The bill would require the nonprofit organization and the district superintendent for the department to hold a joint public meeting for discussion of the report. The bill would require the department to notify a Member of the Legislature of an intention to enter into an operating agreement relating to a park in the member's district, as well as notify specified committees of the Legislature. The bill would also require the department to report to the Legislature, on a biennial basis, the status of any operating agreement. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2019.
The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may by statute prohibit retirement board investments if it is in the public interest to do so, and providing that the prohibition satisfies specified fiduciary standards. The California Public Divest from Iran Act prohibits the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) from investing public employee retirement funds in a company with business operations in Iran that is invested in or engaged in business operations with entities in the defense or nuclear sectors of Iran, or the company is invested or engaged in business operations with entities involved in the development of petroleum or natural gas resources of Iran, and that company is subject to sanctions under federal law, as specified, or the company is engaged in business operations with an Iranian organization that has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the United States government. Existing law requires the Board of Administration of PERS and the Teachers' Retirement Board of STRS to sell or transfer any investments in a company with business operations in Iran, until Iran is removed from the United States Department of State's list of countries that have been determined to repeatedly provide support for acts of international terrorism and the President of the United States determines and certifies that Iran has ceased its efforts to design, develop, manufacture, or acquire a nuclear explosive device or related materials and technology, as specified. Existing law requires the boards of PERS and STRS, on or before June 30, 2008, to determine the companies that are subject to divestment and to notify those companies and request that those companies take substantial action to curtail or end business operations, as described above, in Iran. Existing law provides that the board is not required to divest if the board determines that the company has taken substantial action in a 90-day period to curtail or end those operations. Existing law excepts certain investments from these requirements, including those in companies providing humanitarian relief and promoting health, education, journalistic, religious, or welfare activities. Existing law provides that nothing in those provisions requires the Board of Administration of PERS or the Teachers' Retirement Board of STRS to take action as described in those provisions unless the board determines, in good faith and based on specified information, that the action is consistent with the fiduciary responsibilities of the board as described in a specified provision of the California Constitution. This bill would prohibit the boards from investing in a company that has an investment of $20,000,000 or more in the energy sector of Iran, as defined, including in a company that provides oil or liquefied natural gas tankers, or products used to construct or maintain pipelines used to transport oil or liquefied natural gas. The bill would require the boards to review their investments annually and would require that the boards' determinations that a company is taking substantial actions to end or curtail its operations, as described above, be supported by findings adopted by a rollcall vote of the boards following a presentation and discussion of the findings in open session, during a properly noticed public hearing of the full board. The bill would require all proposed findings to be made public 72 hours before they are considered by the board, and that the board maintain a list of interested parties to be notified of proposed findings 72 hours before the board's consideration. The bill would require the findings and any public comments regarding the adopted findings and determinations to be included in a report to the Legislature. The bill would make the same notice, rollcall vote, and public hearing requirements for adopted findings and determinations of the boards regarding divestments that are found to disadvantage the retirement funds. The bill would eliminate the exception provided for investments in certain companies providing humanitarian relief and promoting health, education, journalistic, religious, or welfare activities. The bill would revise the circumstances under which these provisions would cease to be operative to conform with current federal law. The bill would make findings regarding the California Public Divest from Iran Act and would provide that its provisions are severable.
Existing law regulates various subjects relating to the protection and preservation of personal health, including infant, child, and adolescent health, reproductive privacy, and the prevention of the practice of female genital mutilation. This bill would preclude a city, county, or city and county ordinance, regulation, or administrative action from prohibiting or restricting the practice of male circumcision, or the exercise of a parent's authority to have a child circumcised. This bill would provide that the Legislature finds and declares that the laws affecting male circumcision must have uniform application throughout the state. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
This measure would recognize October 2011 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and urge all Californians to take a stand against domestic violence.
This measure would urge the United States government to consider the California jobs and economic stimulus provided by the California floriculture industry when advancing free trade agreements, specifically with Colombia.
This measure would proclaim February 28, 2011, as Rare Disease Day.