Existing law, contingent upon the appropriation of funds for that purpose by the Legislature, establishes the Aging and Disability Resource Connection (ADRC) program, to be administered by the California Department of Aging, to provide information to consumers and their families on available long-term services and supports (LTSS) programs and to assist older adults, caregivers, and persons with disabilities in accessing LTSS programs at the local level. This bill would require the department to establish an LTSS Benefit Task Force, or utilize an existing board, commission, committee, or task force, to focus on LTSS benefit needs in the State of California. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature by July 1, 2023, on the specified findings and recommendations of the LTSS Benefit Task Force.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, such as the California Cultural and Historical Endowment Act and other statutes, has the goal of encouraging the preservation and protection of items and places of cultural and historical interest. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to later enact legislation to protect precious and irreplaceable items and places of cultural and historical interest by prohibiting public entities from, and urging private entities to refrain from, engaging with individuals and entities who have destroyed, vandalized, scavenged, stolen from, or otherwise despoiled, artifacts, items, or structures in any place of cultural and historical interest anywhere in the world.
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 property tax law authorizes a county board of supervisors to adopt ordinances that allow assessees whose property was damaged or destroyed to apply for a reassessment of that property, as provided, if certain conditions are met. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Existing law establishes a system of public education in this state, under which local educational agencies throughout the state provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and the segments of public postsecondary education, consisting of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, provide instruction to postsecondary students. Numerous provisions of the Education Code provide for the exercise of authority, including the joint exercise of authority by 3 or more public officers or other persons, within the public education system by officials of these local educational agencies, public postsecondary segments, and other governmental entities. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes in a provision that requires that, with respect to the Education Code, words giving a joint authority to 3 or more public officers or other persons are construed as giving that authority to a majority of those public officers or other persons, unless it is otherwise expressed in the provisions of the code giving that authority.
Existing law requires the Emergency Medical Services Authority to develop and implement guidelines that address designated components for emergency medical services systems. Existing law allows the authority to establish guidelines for hospital facilities according to critical care capabilities in cooperation with affected medical organizations. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to this provision.
Existing law establishes the California Department of Aging to provide leadership to the area agencies on aging in developing systems of home- and community-based services that maintain individuals in their own homes or the least restrictive homelike environments. Existing law permits age restrictions in connection with housing and defines senior citizen housing developments for these purposes as a residential development for senior citizens that has at least 35 dwelling units. This bill would require the department to establish and administer the Housing Plus Services Nursing Pilot Program in the Counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, and Sonoma. The program would provide grant funds to qualified nonprofit organizations that specialize in resident services for the purposes of hiring one full-time registered nurse to work at 3 senior citizen housing developments in each county to provide health education, navigation, coaching, and care to residents. The bill would require the department to submit a report to specified legislative committees and state agencies on or before January 1, 2026, and would repeal the program as of January 1, 2027.
Existing law authorizes the Employment Development Department to administer the state unemployment and disability compensation programs. Existing law requires the department, among other duties, to make unemployment and disability compensation payments, as prescribed. This bill would establish the Unemployment Insurance Oversight Advisory Board (board) in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency as an advisory body to review the operations of the Employment Development Department (department) under the state unemployment and disability compensation programs and make recommendations to the department, the Governor, and the Legislature to, among other things, enhance the efficiency of those operations and ensure equitable access to benefits administered by the department. The bill would require the board to consist of 7 members, as specified, who serve without compensation, but would require members to be reimbursed for their necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in performing their duties and responsibilities, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would require, beginning on and after January 1, 2022, the board to hold at least 2 public meetings a year, during which the board members would be required to accept public comment. The bill would also require, beginning on and after July 1, 2022, the board to issue biannual public reports with its recommendations. The bill would require the department to submit a yearly report to the Assembly Committee on Budget and the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review regarding the recommendations of the board for state disability insurance and paid family leave benefits, as provided.
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 provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy that provides coverage for outpatient prescription drugs to cover medically necessary prescription drugs and subjects those policies to certain limitations on cost sharing and the placement of drugs on formularies. Existing law limits the maximum amount an enrollee or insured may be required to pay at the point of sale for a covered prescription drug to the lesser of the applicable cost-sharing amount or the retail price, and requires that payment to apply to any applicable deductible. This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to furnish specified information about a prescription drug upon request by an enrollee or insured or their health care provider. The bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer to, among other things, respond in real time to a request for the above-described information. The bill would prohibit a health care service plan or health insurer from, among other things, restricting a health care provider from sharing the information furnished about the prescription drug or penalizing a provider for prescribing a lower cost drug. Because a willful violation of these provisions by a health care service plan would be a crime, the 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 law authorizes counties, cities, and other local agencies to impose various taxes and fees in connection with activity or property within those jurisdictions. The California Constitution also authorizes a charter city to levy local taxes to raise revenues for local purposes, subject to restrictions imposed by that city's charter or preemption in matters of statewide concern. The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose a local sales and use tax in accordance with that law for tangible personal property sold at retail in the county or city, or purchased for storage, use, or other consumption in the county or city. That law requires the county or city to contract with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for the administration of the taxes and requires the department to transmit those taxes to the city or county. Existing law, until January 1, 2031, prohibits the imposition, increase, levy and collection, or enforcement by a local agency of any tax, fee, or other assessment on groceries, except as provided, and allows a local agency to continue to levy and collect, enforce, or reauthorize any tax, fee, or other assessment on groceries imposed, extended, or increased on or before January 1, 2018. Existing law also requires the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to cease administering the Bradley-Burns local sales and use tax of a local agency that is found by a court, as provided, to have violated the grocery tax prohibition. This bill would repeal the prohibition on the imposition, increase, levy and collection, or enforcement by a local agency of any tax, fee, or other assessment on groceries, including the requirement that the department cease administering a local sales and use tax.