Asm. Blanca Rubio

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 provides for various proceedings under the Family Code, including, among others, dissolution of marriage, legal separation of the parties, paternity, and custody or support of a child. Existing law authorizes the Judicial Council to provide by rule for the practice and procedure of those proceedings. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to, among other things, assist courts in implementing mediation and conciliation proceedings under those provisions and establish and implement a uniform statistical reporting system relating to proceedings brought for dissolution of marriage, for nullity of marriage, or for legal separation of the parties, including a custody disposition survey. This bill would require the Judicial Council to include in the uniform statistical reporting system proceedings brought for parentage establishment. The bill would also require the Judicial Council to develop the above-mentioned custody disposition survey on or before January 1, 2024. The bill would require the custody disposition survey to collect data by county on custody disposition outcomes from mediators, child custody recommending counselors, and court files, as specified. The bill would require the survey to collect information on, among other topics, whether the parents entered into a custody agreement as a result of court mediation, divided by whether they used a mediator or a recommending counselor. The bill would require the Judicial Council to provide an annual report on that information to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and the Assembly Select Committee on Domestic Violence.

Existing law requires local educational agencies to identify, locate, and assess individuals with exceptional needs and to provide those pupils with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, with special education and related services as reflected in an individualized education program. Existing law requires, beginning not later than the first individualized education program to be in effect when a pupil is 16 years of age, or younger if determined appropriate by the individualized education program team, and updated annually thereafter, the individualized education program to include appropriate measurable postsecondary goals and transition services, as defined, needed to assist the pupil in reaching those goals. This bill would instead require an individualized education program, commencing July 1, 2024, to include measurable postsecondary goals and transition services beginning when an individual with exceptional needs is 14 years of age. By imposing additional requirements on local educational agencies in relation to individualized education programs, 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, 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 law provides various services and supports for individuals with cognitive impairments resulting from medical conditions and developmental disabilities, including, but not limited to, regional centers and the Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Center Program. Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Department of Aging and sets forth its mission 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 least restrictive homelike environments. This bill would establish the California Wandering Prevention Task Force, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice, to address, on a statewide basis, the issue of wandering by individuals with cognitive impairment. The task force would consist of 20 members, to be appointed by the Attorney General or their designee. The task force membership would include, among others, the Director of the California Department of Aging or their designee, and representatives of law enforcement, counties, service providers, hospital systems, and regional centers. The bill would require the task force to meet 4 to 6 times per year, and to report to the Legislature its recommendations for wandering prevention by June 30, 2024, as specified.

This measure would respectfully memorialize the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to take action to restore honor to Bernard B. James, and to take the necessary actions to ensure the treatment of Bernard B. James is rectified by a full exoneration, including having the military record of Bernard B. James cleared of any court judgment and less-than-honorable discharge.

This measure would designate a specified portion of Interstate Highway Route 405 in the County of Los Angeles as the Officer Tommy Scott Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, erect those signs.

This measure would declare March 13, 2022, to April 15, 2022, as Deaf History Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of April 2022 as Black April Memorial Month.

This measure would acknowledge the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and express the Legislature's respect to Muslims across California and throughout the world on this occasion.

This measure would recognize the value of all women's contributions to agriculture and resolve to help realize their success as leaders on the land.