Asm. Luz Rivas

Existing law establishes a statewide system for emergency medical services, through which the Emergency Medical Services Authority is responsible for the coordination and integration of all state activities concerning emergency medical services, including on matters of training, scope of practice, and continuing education for emergency medical technicians and other prehospital personnel. Existing law, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973, imposes safety responsibilities on employers and employees, including requirements that every employer furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and adopt and use practices that are reasonably adequate to render the employment and place of employment safe and healthful. Existing law makes a violation of those requirements a crime. This bill would, upon request by an emergency ambulance employee, require an emergency ambulance provider to provide that employee with multithreat body protective gear, defined as material or equipment that is worn by an employee and is bullet, strike, slash, and stab resistant, and, for these purposes only, to be considered as part of the above-described safety devices and safeguards. The bill would require the provider, once the provider has obtained the protective gear, to make the protective gear readily available for the requesting employee to use when responding to an emergency call, and to provide training to that employee on the proper fitting and use of the protective gear, as specified. The bill would require an emergency ambulance provider to inform each emergency ambulance employee, upon initial employment and subsequently on an annual basis, of the employee's right to request multithreat body protective gear. By creating new duties for emergency ambulance providers, a violation of which would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would not apply to the state or a political subdivision of the state. The bill would require the Emergency Medical Services Authority to develop and establish standards for the protective gear provided, to develop a process of certification for the protective gear, and to develop guidelines for the above-described training, as specified. 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 Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, grants agricultural employees the right to form and join labor organizations and engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. Existing law requires the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to certify the results of an election conducted by secret ballot of employees in a collective bargaining unit to designate a collective bargaining representative, unless the board determines there are sufficient grounds to refuse to do so. Existing law further provides that if the board refuses to certify an election because of employer misconduct that would render slight the chances of a new election reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified as the bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. This bill would refer to the secret ballot election as a polling place election. This bill would also permit agricultural employees, as an alternative election procedure, to select their labor representatives through a representation ballot card election by submitting a petition to the board supported by representation ballot cards signed by a majority of employees in the bargaining unit. This bill would require the board to conduct an immediate investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the supporting representation ballot cards and, within 5 days after receiving a petition, to make an administrative decision as to whether the petition meets certain requirements and as to whether the labor organization submitted the requisite number of cards. The bill would require the board to certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative if the board determines that the labor organization has submitted the required number of representation ballot cards and the cards meet specified criteria. Existing law authorizes a person aggrieved by the final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought for an unfair labor practice, to obtain a review of the order in a specified court of appeal by filing in the court a written petition requesting that the order of the board be modified or set aside. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees, to post an appeal bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions. This bill would state that its provisions are severable.

Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, under the direction of the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, which includes, among other departments, the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law establishes various programs for the prevention and control of communicable diseases, including programs that provide for the testing for, notifications of exposure to, and tracking by the state of, communicable diseases. This bill would establish, in the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Pathways Through Pandemics Task Force to study lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and to develop strategies to navigate future pandemics. The bill would require the task force to convene various entities to engage in discussions on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, develop and recommend best practices for an equitable response to future pandemics, and determine the impact of state laws on coordinating the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as specified. The bill would require the task force to report its findings to the Legislature, as specified, on or before December 1, 2024, and would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2025.

Existing law governs the bidding and awarding of public contracts by various state agencies. Existing law imposes requirements on contractors awarded various public contracts, including, among others, certifying that no equipment, materials, supplies, apparel, garments, or accessories provided under specified contracts are produced by sweatshop labor, forced labor, convict labor, indentured labor under penal sanction, abusive forms of child labor, or exploitation of children in sweatshop labor. This bill would establish the California Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. The bill would require a contractor, as defined, and specified subcontractors, for any contract entered into, extended, or renewed on or after January 1, 2024, contracting with a state agency for the procurement of products comprised wholly or in part of forest-risk commodities to certify that the commodities were not grown, derived, harvested, reared, or produced on land where tropical deforestation occurred on or after January 1, 2022. The bill would exempt a credit card purchase of goods of $2,500 or less, not to exceed a total of $7,500 of goods per contractor per year, from these certification requirements. The bill would require specified contractors to have a No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation policy, as specified, and would require the contractors to make the policy and corresponding data publicly available. The bill would require, on or before July 1, 2023, the Department of General Services to issue an informational notice or memorandum on a Deforestation-Free Code of Conduct to be used by contractors that includes, among other things, a list of forest-risk commodities subject to these provisions. This bill would impose sanctions on contractors who knew or should have known that a product furnished to the state was comprised wholly or in part of a forest-risk commodity in violation of these provisions. The bill would specify that any person who certifies as true any material matter that the person knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The State Contract Act governs the bidding and award of public works contracts by specific state agencies and requires an awarding department, before entering into any contract for a project, to prepare full, complete, and accurate plans, specifications, and estimates of cost. The act prohibits, except in specified circumstances, a state agency responsible for letting public works contracts from drafting bid specifications in a manner that limits the bidding to any one concern or product, except under certain circumstances. This bill would prohibit a state agency from including in bid specifications for public works projects any wood or wood products whose importation and use are prohibited under the federal Lacey Act. 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.

(1) The Personal Income Tax Law, in conformity with federal income tax law, generally defines gross income as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income. Existing federal law, for purposes of determining a taxpayer's gross income for federal income taxation, requires that a person who is a United States shareholder of any controlled foreign corporation to include in their gross income the global intangible low-taxed income for that taxable year, as provided. This bill, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, would include a taxpayer's global intangible low-taxed income in their gross income for purposes of the Personal Income Tax Law, in modified conformity with the above-described federal provisions. The bill would exempt any regulation, standard, criterion, procedure, determination, rule, notice, or guideline established or issued by the Franchise Tax Board to implement its provisions from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Corporation Tax Law, when the income of a taxpayer subject to tax under that law is derived from or attributable to sources both within and without the state, generally requires that the tax be measured by the net income derived from or attributable to sources within this state, as provided. Notwithstanding this requirement, the Corporation Tax Law authorizes a qualified taxpayer, as defined, to elect to determine its income derived from or attributable to sources within this state pursuant to a water's-edge election, as provided. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2003, existing law requires that a water's-edge election be made on an original, timely filed return for the year of the election, as provided, and provides for the continued effect or termination of that election. This bill, beginning January 1, 2022, would require that a taxpayer that makes a water's-edge election under these provisions take into account 50% of the global intangible low-taxed income and 40% of the repatriation income of its affiliated corporations, as those terms are defined. The bill would allow a taxpayer, for calendar year 2022 only, the opportunity to revoke a water's-edge election if the taxpayer includes global intangible low-taxed income pursuant to these provisions. The bill would prohibit the total of all business credits, as defined, and all credits allowed under specified provisions of the Corporation Tax Law, with specified exceptions, from reducing the additional tax liability added by this bill's provisions by more than $5,000,000, as provided. The bill would exempt any regulation, standard, criterion, procedure, determination, rule, notice, or guideline established or issued by the Franchise Tax Board to implement its provisions from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature that any revenue resulting from the above-described changes to the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law be used for purposes of the Bring California Home Act, as described below. (2) Existing law requires the Governor to create the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council (council) . Existing law specifies the duties of the coordinating council, including creating partnerships among state agencies and departments, local government agencies, and specified federal agencies and private entities, for the purpose of arriving at specific strategies to end homelessness. Existing law requires the Governor to appoint up to 19 members of the council, including representatives from specified state agencies and departments, and a formerly homeless person and a formerly homeless youth who both live in California, and requires the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly to each appoint one member to the council from 2 different stakeholder organizations. This bill would delete the provisions relating to the appointment authority of the Governor and the Legislature, and would instead restructure the council, including requiring the council to be composed of prescribed individuals, including the directors of specified state agencies and departments, such as the State Department of Public Health. The bill would require the council to seek guidance from, and meet with, an advisory committee composed of specified individuals, including a survivor of gender-based violence who formerly experienced homelessness and a formerly homeless person who lives in California. This bill would require the council, its technical services provider, or an entity with which the council contracts to identify, analyze, and collect various data in regards to homelessness in this state, including identifying state programs that provide housing or housing-based services to persons experiencing homelessness, as provided. The bill would require the council to report on this information to specified committees of the Legislature by July 31, 2022. The bill would require the council to seek technical assistance offered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, if available, for purposes of conducting this statewide needs and gaps analysis. The bill would require a state department or agency with a member on the council to assist in data collection for the analysis by responding to data requests within 180 days, as specified. The bill would require the council to convene a funder's workgroup, composed of specified individuals, including staff of the council and staff working for agencies or departments represented on the council, to accomplish prescribed goals, and would authorize that workgroup to invite philanthropic organizations focused on ending homelessness, reducing health disparities, ending domestic violence, or ensuring Californians do not exit foster care or incarceration to homelessness to participate in specific meetings. The bill would require the workgroup to perform specified duties, including collaborating with state agency staff to develop a universal application for service providers and other entities to apply to agencies and departments represented on the council for funding for homeless services and housing, and to coordinate state agencies and departments to reduce the risk of long-term homelessness by developing specific protocols and procedures that accomplish prescribed goals, such as assisting individuals reentering communities from jails and prisons with housing navigation, housing acquisition support, and obtaining permanent housing. Existing law requires agencies and departments administering state programs to collaborate with the council to adopt guidelines to revise or adopt guidelines and regulations to incorporate core components of Housing First, as provided. Existing law defines "state programs" for these purposes to mean any programs a California state agency or department funds, implements, or administers for the purpose of providing housing or housing-based services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, but excludes federally funded programs with inconsistent requirements or programs that fund emergency shelters. This bill would delete the exclusion for programs that fund emergency shelters from this definition of "state programs," thereby expanding the scope of programs required to incorporate core components of Housing First, as described above. (3) Existing law establishes, among various other programs intended to address homelessness in this state, the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program for the purpose of providing jurisdictions with one-time grant funds to support regional coordination and expand or develop local capacity to address their immediate homelessness challenges informed by a best-practices framework focused on moving homeless individuals and families into permanent housing and supporting the efforts of those individuals and families to maintain their permanent housing. Existing law provides for the allocation of funding under the program among continuums of care, cities, and counties in 2 rounds, the first of which is administered by the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and the second of which is administered by the coordinating council. This bill would enact the Bring California Home Act, which would establish the Bring California Home Fund in the State Treasury and continuously appropriate moneys in that fund for the purpose of implementing that act. The bill would require the Controller to annually transfer specified amounts, determined as provided by the Franchise Tax Board based on the above-described changes made by this bill to the Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, to the Bring California Home Fund. The bill would require that recipients and subrecipients under the program ensure that any expenditure of moneys allocated to them serve the eligible population, unless otherwise expressly provided in the bill. The bill would define various terms for these purposes. The bill would require the council to administer allocations to counties and continuums of care that apply jointly and to large cities, as provided. The bill would require the council to set aside $200,000,000 for bonus awards, as provided. Of the remaining amount in the fund, the bill would require the council to allocate 60% to counties and continuums of care applying jointly and 40% to large cities, in accordance with a specified formula and subject to certain requirements. The bill would establish eligibility criteria for a county and continuum of care or a large city to receive an allocation under these provisions and specify the eligible uses for those moneys. The bill would authorize a jointly applying county and continuum of care to request that the State Department of Social Services contract with local agencies or nonprofit organizations providing the housing and housing-based services under the program in exchange for a percentage of the allocation to the county and continuum of care for administrative costs, as provided. The bill would require the council to allocate available funding in 2-year cycles, with the first round allocated no later than March 31, 2023, and to develop a simple application that an eligible entity may use to apply for funding, as well as common standards for recipients to monitor, report, and ensure accountability, provide services, and subsidize housing. The bill would require the council and each recipient to establish performance outcomes for the initial cycle and to establish outcome goals before each subsequent grant cycle, as provided, and require the council to award bonus funding to a recipient, if the recipient has achieved those performance outcomes, or reduce or deny that bonus funding the if the recipient has not achieved those performance outcomes. The bill, except as otherwise provided, would require each recipient to contractually obligate 100% of the amount allocated to it within 3 years, for the first grant cycle, or 1 year, for each subsequent cycle, and to expend the entirety of that amount within 4 years, for the first grant cycle, or 2 years, for each subsequent cycle. If a recipient fails to comply with these deadlines, uses moneys allocated to it for an unauthorized purpose, or fails to apply for an allocation within the initial award cycle, the bill would require the council to either select an alternative entity to administer the recipient's allocation in accordance with specified requirements or solely establish performance outcomes and program priorities for that recipient jurisdiction and work with local, regional, or statewide entities to administer the allocation on behalf of the recipient. The bill would require each recipient to annually report to the council specified information relating to allocations made under these provisions. The bill would require the council to conduct regular monitoring and audits of the activities and outcomes of recipients that are joint county-continuum of care applicants or large cities. No later than January 1, 2024, and every 5th January 1 thereafter, the bill would require the council to evaluate the outcomes of this program and submit a report, containing specified information, to specified committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the council to establish an advisory committee to inform state and local policies, practices, and programs with respect to the experiences of specified demographic groups experiencing homelessness. (4) 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 pursuant to a schedule of benefits. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid program provisions. By January 1, 2025, this bill would require the department to seek federal approval for a Medi-Cal benefit to fund prescribed services, including housing navigation and housing acquisition support services, for beneficiaries experiencing homelessness, to convene a stakeholder advisory group representing counties, health care consumers, and homeless advocates in developing this plan, to work with counties to determine an effective process for funding the state's share of the federal medical assistance percentage, and to pursue philanthropic funding to carry out the administrative duties related to these provisions. The bill would authorize the department to use up to 20% of the county-continuum allocation from the Bring California Home Fund, as described above, to pay for the state's federal medical assistance percentage associated with this benefit. (5) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) , governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. This bill would enact the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide employees of the Legislature, including some supervisory and managerial employees, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. The bill would prohibit the Public Employment Relations Board from including employees of the Legislature in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the Legislature. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable. 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 provides for the housing of juvenile wards of the court in juvenile facilities, including juvenile halls and forestry camps. Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to adopt minimum standards for the operation and maintenance of juvenile halls for the confinement of minors. Existing law requires the judge of the juvenile court of the county to annually inspect any jail or juvenile hall that was used for the confinement of any minor and to notify the operator of the jail or juvenile hall of any observed noncompliance with the minimum standards of the juvenile facility adopted by the board. This bill would prohibit the use or storage of a chemical agent, as defined, with the exception of oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray, inside, or on the grounds of, a juvenile facility. The bill would prohibit, commencing July 1, 2024, the use of a chemical agent against a juvenile who is under 18 years of age or in any space where a juvenile who is under 18 years of age is present. The bill would require an entity that manages, operates, or owns a juvenile facility to dispose of all chemical agents, with the exception of OC spray, in its possession on or before December 31, 2023, and to notify the board of that disposition. The bill would require the custodian of each juvenile facility to report quarterly to the board on the use of a chemical agent in the facility, as provided. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit to the Legislature a report on model practices and protocols for alternatives to the use of chemical agents in juvenile facilities, as specified. The bill would require the board to develop training, model practices, and regulations to implement the findings and recommendations of the report, as specified. By imposing new duties on local juvenile facilities, 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, 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.

Existing federal law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , requires each state to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange to facilitate the purchase of qualified health benefit plans by qualified individuals and qualified small employers. PPACA defines a "qualified health plan" as a plan that, among other requirements, provides an essential health benefits package. Existing state law creates the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California, to facilitate the enrollment of qualified individuals and qualified small employers in qualified health plans as required under PPACA. 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. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. 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. This bill, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, would create the California Guaranteed Health Care for All program, or CalCare, to provide comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the state. The bill, among other things, would provide that CalCare cover a wide range of medical benefits and other services and would incorporate the health care benefits and standards of other existing federal and state provisions, including the federal Children's Health Insurance Program, Medi-Cal, ancillary health care or social services covered by regional centers for persons with developmental disabilities, Knox-Keene, and the federal Medicare program. The bill would require the board to seek all necessary waivers, approvals, and agreements to allow various existing federal health care payments to be paid to CalCare, which would then assume responsibility for all benefits and services previously paid for with those funds. This bill would create the CalCare Board to govern CalCare, made up of 9 voting members with demonstrated and acknowledged expertise in health care, and appointed as provided, plus the Secretary of California Health and Human Services or their designee as a nonvoting, ex officio member. The bill would provide the board with all the powers and duties necessary to establish CalCare, including determining when individuals may start enrolling into CalCare, employing necessary staff, negotiating pricing for covered pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, establishing a prescription drug formulary, and negotiating and entering into necessary contracts. The bill would require the board, on or before July 1, 2024, to conduct and deliver a fiscal analysis to determine whether or not CalCare may be implemented and whether revenue is more likely than not to pay for program costs, as specified. The bill would require the board to convene a CalCare Public Advisory Committee with specified members to advise the board on all matters of policy for CalCare. The bill would establish an 11-member Advisory Commission on Long-Term Services and Supports to advise the board on matters of policy related to long-term services and supports. This bill would provide for the participation of health care providers in CalCare, including the requirements of a participation agreement between a health care provider and the board, provide for payment for health care items and services, and specify program participation standards. The bill would prohibit a participating provider from discriminating against a person by, among other things, reducing or denying a person's benefits under CalCare because of a specified characteristic, status, or condition of the person. This bill would prohibit a participating provider from billing or entering into a private contract with an individual eligible for CalCare benefits regarding a covered benefit, but would authorize contracting for a health care item or service that is not a covered benefit if specified criteria are met. The bill would authorize health care providers to collectively negotiate fee-for-service rates of payment for health care items and services using a 3rd-party representative, as provided. The bill would require the board to annually determine an institutional provider's global budget, to be used to cover operating expenses related to covered health care items and services for that fiscal year, and would authorize payments under the global budget. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would develop a revenue plan, taking into consideration anticipated federal revenue available for CalCare. The bill would create the CalCare Trust Fund in the State Treasury, as a continuously appropriated fund, consisting of any federal and state moneys received for the purposes of the act. Because the bill would create a continuously appropriated fund, it would make an appropriation. This bill would prohibit specified provisions of this act from becoming operative until the Secretary of California Health and Human Services gives written notice to the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Clerk of the Assembly that the CalCare Trust Fund has the revenues to fund the costs of implementing the act, the people of California have approved the necessary revenue mechanisms, and the Legislature has approved implementation of the CalCare by statute. The California Health and Human Services Agency would be required to publish a copy of the notice on its internet website. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Existing law establishes the Department of Transportation and vests it with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. Existing law authorizes the department to establish maintenance programs related to highway cleanup, as specified. Existing law establishes the Independent Office of Audits and Investigation within the department, whose director has the title of Inspector General. Existing law requires the office to ensure that the department, and external entities that receive state and federal transportation funds from the department, are spending those funds efficiently, effectively, economically, and in compliance with applicable state and federal requirements. This bill would require the department to coordinate cleanup activities related to state highways, rights-of-way, off ramps, and homeless encampments on department-owned property and solicit information from, and coordinate with, other agencies about highway cleanup activities, as specified. The bill would also require the department to submit a specified report of cleanup activities to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023. The bill would require the Inspector General to submit a specified report to the Legislature on cleanup activities within each local department district to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter. This bill would also require the department to establish an advisory board of the relevant state and local agencies for the ongoing planning and coordination of cleanup activities related to state highways, rights-of-way, off ramps, and homeless encampments. The bill would require each local department district to develop cleanup schedules once every two weeks and post these schedules on their internet website.