Asm. Blanca Rubio

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which provides a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University with a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies specified requirements, including a requirement that the student be exempt from paying nonresident tuition or meets equivalent requirements adopted by the Regents of the University of California, and that the student be enrolled in an instructional program, as defined, or, commencing with the 2020–21 academic year, a graduate program. This bill would, commencing with the 2024–25 academic year, authorize participating institutions to award DREAM grants to grant-eligible students, as defined, if the institution has unawarded funds in the institution's DREAM revolving fund, as specified. The bill would require the amount of the DREAM grant offered to an individual student to be determined by the institution, not to exceed the student's financial need, and would prohibit a DREAM grant awarded pursuant to these provisions from counting towards the annual or aggregate borrowing limits established for the California DREAM Loan Program.

Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016, to award funding to local health departments, local governmental agencies, or on a competitive basis to other organizations, as specified, to support or establish programs that provide naloxone or another opioid antagonist to first responders and at-risk opioid users through programs that serve at-risk drug users. Existing law exempts from civil liability a person who, in good faith and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an emergency other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, as provided. This bill would require each stadium, concert venue, and amusement park to maintain unexpired doses of naloxone hydrochloride or any other opioid antagonist on its premises at all times, and to ensure that at least 2 employees are aware of the location of the naloxone hydrochloride or other opioid antagonist. The bill would exempt from civil or criminal liability a person who, in good faith, administers naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist by nasal spray or auto-injector on the premises of a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, except as specified. The bill would exempt from civil or criminal liability a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, or its employees, or an entity that owns, occupies, or operates a stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, or its employees, for the administration of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist, or the failure to administer naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist, on the premises of the stadium, concert venue, or amusement park, as provided.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons. Existing law requires the board to adopt and administer standards for the continuing education of physicians and surgeons. Existing law provides that these standards may be met by educational activities that serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance that a physician and surgeon uses to provide care, or to improve the quality of care to patients, which may include educational activities that are designed to improve the physician-patient relationship. This bill would specify that these educational activities may also include activities that are designed to improve the quality of physician-patient communication. Existing law requires continuing education courses to contain curriculum that includes cultural and linguistic competency in the practice of medicine. Under existing law, associations that accredit continuing medical education courses are required to develop standards. Existing law authorizes the associations to update the standards, as needed, in conjunction with an advisory group that has expertise in cultural and linguistic competency issues. This bill would require the advisory group to be informed of federal and state threshold language requirements, as specified, and would require the authorized updates to be for the purpose of meeting the needs of California's changing demographics and properly addressing language disparities, as they emerge.

(1) Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in consultation with specified entities, to adopt a biennial integrated energy policy report containing certain information, including an overview of major energy trends and issues facing the state. This bill would require, as part of the 2025 edition of the integrated energy policy report, the Energy Commission, in consultation with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) , to assess barriers to electricity interconnection and energization and provide recommendations on how to accelerate those processes, as appropriate. Existing law establishes the Voluntary Offshore Wind and Coastal Resources Protection Program that is administered by the Energy Commission for the purpose of supporting state activities that complement and are in furtherance of federal laws related to the development of offshore wind facilities and requires the program to award moneys to public and private entities through various mechanisms. Existing law authorizes the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for various purposes. The bill would additionally authorize the Energy Commission to allocate moneys under the program for workforce development grants in consultation with the California Workforce Development Board. (2) Existing law requires the PUC to identify a diverse and balanced portfolio of resources needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply that provides optimal integration of renewable energy in a cost-effective manner. Existing law requires the PUC to adopt a process for each electrical corporation, electric service provider, or community choice aggregator to file an integrated resource plan and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan, and to ensure that those entities meet other specified requirements. This bill would require that the portfolio of resources ensure a reliable electricity supply that also provides optimal integration of resource diversity in a cost-effective manner, as specified. The bill would require the PUC, on or before September 1, 2024, and consistent with a certain process and schedule, to determine if there is a need for the procurement of eligible energy resources, as described, would require the PUC to specify the eligible energy resources that should be procured to meet that need, and would authorize the PUC, within 6 months of making that determination, to request the Department of Water Resources to procure those specified resources that meet the portfolio of resources, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to procure those resources pursuant to that request only before January 1, 2035, as provided. The bill would authorize the PUC to order the procurement of resources with specific attributes by electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators as a result of the integrated resource planning process and require the PUC to enforce any resource procurement requirements on a nondiscriminatory basis. (3) Existing law prohibits an electrical corporation from beginning the construction of, among other things, a line, plant, or system, or of any extension thereof, without having first obtained from the PUC a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity require or will require that construction. Under existing law, the extension, expansion, upgrade, or other modification of an existing electrical transmission facility, including transmission lines and substations, does not require a certificate that the present or future public convenience and necessity requires or will require its construction. This bill would require the PUC, in a proceeding evaluating the issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a proposed transmission project, to establish a rebuttable presumption with regard to need for the proposed transmission project in favor of an Independent System Operator governing board-approved need evaluation if specified requirements are satisfied. (4) Existing law requires each local publicly owned electric utility serving end-use customers to prudently plan for and procure resources that are adequate to meet its planning reserve margin and peak demand and operating reserves, sufficient to provide reliable electric service to its customers. This bill would authorize a local publicly owned electric utility to meet its minimum planning reserve margin through individual contractual procurement or through an aggregated or pooled portfolio of resources, as specified. (5) Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund and continuously appropriates moneys in the fund to the department for purposes of (A) implementing projects, purchases, and contracts to carry out specified purposes, (B) constructing, owning, and operating, or contracting for the construction and operation of, contracting for the purchase of electricity from, or financing through loans, reimbursement agreements, or other contracts actions to secure resources for summer reliability or to preserve the option to extend the life of specified facilities, and (C) reimbursing electrical corporations for the value of imported energy or import capacity products that were delivered or capable of being delivered between July 1, 2022, and on or before October 31, 2023, and were procured at above-market costs or in excess of procurement authorizations set by the PUC and above the requirements needed to serve the electrical corporation's bundled customers in support of summer electric service reliability. This bill would require the PUC, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet a load-serving entity's identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each load-serving entity that during that same month fails to meet its system resource adequacy requirements, as specified. The bill would require the Energy Commission, on or before January 31, 2024, in consultation with the PUC, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and budget committees of the Legislature that includes an assessment of whether each local publicly owned electric utility exceeded, met, or failed to meet its minimum planning reserve margin and specified system resource adequacy requirements. Upon the submission of that report, the bill would require the executive director of the Energy Commission, on and before June 30, 2027, if the department determines that resources it procured through the Electricity Supply Strategic Reliability Reserve Program were used in a given month to meet an identified reliability need, to annually assess a capacity payment on each local publicly owned electric utility in the Independent System Operator balancing area that during that same month fails to meet its minimum planning reserve margin, as specified. The bill would authorize the Energy Commission to adopt regulations for this purpose, as specified. The bill would establish the Load-Serving Entity Capacity Payment Account and the Local Publicly Owned Electric Utility Capacity Payment Account in the Department of Water Resources Electricity Supply Reliability Reserve Fund, and would specify that moneys in those accounts would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be used for certain purposes. The bill would require capacity payments collected by the department from load-serving entities and local publicly owned electric utilities to be deposited into those 2 accounts, as provided. This bill would require the PUC, if the PUC requests the department to procure eligible energy resources and the department elects to conduct competitive solicitations or enter into contracts for eligible energy resources, to develop and adopt procedures and requirements that govern competitive procurement by, obligations on, and recovery of costs incurred by the department. The bill would require the department, in evaluating bids received through a solicitation to consider certain factors. The bill would require bids for the development of an eligible energy resource project to include the bidder's certification that certain labor requirements are met and that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all construction work on the eligible energy resource project, as provided. The bill would, at the request of the department, authorize the PUC to require an electrical corporation to act as the agent for the department or to assist the department in conducting the solicitation, bid evaluation, or contract negotiation for new eligible energy resource procurement. The bill would authorize the department to establish a schedule and mechanism for a local publicly owned electric utility to voluntarily obtain from the department eligible energy resources to be acquired by the department through its central procurement function on a contract-by-contract basis. The bill would provide electrical corporations, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators with a voluntary option to obtain incremental eligible energy resources from the department, as provided. At the request of the department, the bill would authorize the PUC to order an electrical corporation to transmit or provide for the transmission of, and distribute all electricity made available by the department, and, as an agent of the department, to provide billing, collection, and other related services on terms and conditions that reasonably compensate the electrical corporation for its services and adequately secure payment to the department. The bill would establish the Eligible Energy Resource Central Procurement Fund and continuously appropriate moneys in the fund to the department for specified purposes. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would require that all moneys collected by electrical corporations, electric service providers, community choice aggregators, and local publicly owned electric utilities and remitted to the department for eligible energy resources, and all moneys paid directly or indirectly to or for the account of the department for any sale, exchange, transfer, or disposition of those resources, be deposited into the fund. The bill would authorize the department, upon determining that it is necessary or desirable to issue bonds to support activities for the procurement of eligible energy resources, to issue bonds for purposes of, among other things, financing the procurement of those resources supporting the fund and other related expenses incurred by the department, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt regulations for purposes of administering these provisions. (6) This bill would provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the sum of no less than $6,000,000 from the General Fund is available in the 2024–25 fiscal year to support comprehensive, regional baseline environmental monitoring and research into the impacts of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the United States Department of the Interior, pending future legislation. The bill would provide that, upon appropriation by the Legislature, additional moneys from the General Fund will be made available for the 2024–25 fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years to support the California Coastal Commission's coastal development permitting of prospective offshore wind energy development in and around regions in which offshore wind energy areas have been leased by the bureau, pending future legislation. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature to appropriate additional resources for environmental permitting and related needs across applicable state entities upon the submission and review of a specified assessment. (7) Under existing law, a violation of the Public Utilities Act or any order, decision, rule, direction, demand, or requirement of the PUC is a crime. Because certain of the above provisions would be part of the act and a violation of a PUC action implementing this bill's requirements 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. (8) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

(1) Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to operate an aircraft in pest control unless, among other things, the pilot operating the aircraft holds a valid manned or unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate issued by the Director of Pesticide Regulation. Existing law requires each unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate to designate the pilot's status as a journeyman, apprentice, or vector control technician, and requires an applicant for a manned or unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate to pass an examination as a condition of licensure. This bill would additionally include the status of private applicator as a designation under the unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate. The bill would prohibit an individual with a private applicator unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate from applying pesticides except for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity on property owned, leased, or rented by the pilot or their employer. The bill would require a pilot to submit satisfactory documentary proof demonstrating the pilot's completion of a program accredited by the director and possession of a valid private applicator certificate to be eligible for an unmanned pest control aircraft pilot's certificate under the status of private applicator, and to pass an examination as a condition of licensure. (2) Existing law prohibits the issuance of a journeyman's certificate until the applicant has served as an apprentice under an apprentice certificate for one year and until the applicant presents to the director satisfactory documentary proof that the applicant operated an aircraft in pest control activities for a specified amount of time within the previous 2 years, as provided. This bill would, notwithstanding the above limitation, authorize the director to establish specific requirements for obtaining an unmanned journeyman certificate, as specified. (3) Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to act as a pest control aircraft pilot in any county without first registering with the appropriate county agricultural commissioner. Under existing law, it is unlawful to use any fraud or misrepresentation in connection with meeting any license requirement relating to pest control operations. A violation of any of these provisions is a crime. To the extent the bill would expand the scope of existing crimes, 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 the Department of General Services to perform various duties relating to state real property, including by authorizing the Director of General Services to let a building located at Patton State Hospital to a nonprofit corporation or local government, for a period not to exceed 20 years, for the purpose of providing services to elderly persons. This bill would delete the 20-year lease maximum and would additionally authorize the Director of General Services to lease the building described above for the purposes of providing housing to homeless individuals and providing mental health services to those individuals.

Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, prohibits a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products, as defined, to a person under 21 years of age. Under existing law, violations of the act are punishable by civil penalties, as specified, and primary enforcement of the act is the responsibility of the State Department of Public Health. Existing law prohibits a tobacco retailer, or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees, from selling, offering for sale, or possessing with the intent to sell or offer for sale, a flavored tobacco product or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, as those terms are defined, except as specified. Under existing law, a violation of this prohibition is punishable as an infraction. This bill would provide for the enforcement of these provisions in a manner similar to the STAKE Act, and, instead of an infraction, make the provisions of the flavored tobacco ban punishable by civil penalties in the same manner as the STAKE Act, as specified.

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's requirements a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires a health care service plan or health insurer to develop a maternal mental health program designed to promote quality and cost-effective outcomes. Existing law encourages a plan or insurer to include coverage for doulas. This bill would require a health care service plan or health insurer, on or before January 1, 2025, to develop a maternal and infant health equity program that addresses racial health disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes through the use of doulas. Under the bill, a Medi-Cal managed care plan would satisfy that requirement by providing coverage of doula services so long as doula services are a Medi-Cal covered benefit. The bill would require the Department of Managed Health Care, in consultation with the Department of Insurance, to collect data and submit a report describing the doula coverage and the above-described programs to the Legislature by January 1, 2027. Because a willful violation of the provisions relative to health care service plans 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 establishes, within the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan, a low-cost automobile insurance program for all counties in California. Existing law, until January 1, 2025, requires the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan to report to the Insurance Commissioner on an annual basis on the status of the program and, on or before March 15 of each year, requires the commissioner to prepare and propose a plan in a report to the Legislature setting forth the commissioner's methods to inform households eligible for the program about the availability of low-cost automobile insurance. Existing law, on or before March 15 of each year, requires the commissioner to submit a combined report to the Legislature. This bill would, instead, require the commissioner to submit the combined report to the Legislature on or before March 15, 2024, and on or before March 15 every 5 years thereafter. The bill would, instead, require the commissioner to submit the annual report on the methods to inform households eligible for the program to the Legislature on or before March 15, 2024, March 15, 2025, and March 15, 2026, and every 5 years thereafter. The bill would require this annual report to be posted on specified internet websites beginning with the report due on or before March 15, 2024. The bill would remove the January 1, 2025, sunset date, thereby extending the operation of the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan indefinitely, and would make conforming changes.

Existing law specifies procedures for manual vote counts for a semifinal official canvass in a precinct, including, among others, after the polls have closed, commencing a public count of the ballots cast, unopened, to ascertain whether the number of ballots corresponds with the number of signatures on the roster. These manual vote count procedures apply to all elections in which ballots are counted by hand. Ballots counted manually in a central place are required to be counted by precinct, separately, under the direction of the elections official or their authorized deputies, in the same manner as provided where ballots are counted at the polling place. This bill would prohibit an elections official from performing a manual vote count in a semifinal official canvass pursuant to the above procedures in any contest held on an established election date, as specified, where there are more than 1,000 registered voters eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election, or in any contest held on a date other than an established election date, where there are more than 5,000 registered voters eligible to participate in that election as of 154 days in advance of the election. The bill would only allow an elections official to conduct a manual vote count for a semifinal official canvass in a precinct pursuant to the above procedures if the count is conducted pursuant to a plan approved by the Secretary of State, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to adopt regulations regarding manual vote counts. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a local jurisdiction to adopt a voting system for use in an election if the system has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State. This bill would require an elections official or the governing body of a jurisdiction that administers elections to use a certified voting system, as specified. This bill would make the termination of a contract for a certified voting system provisional unless and until the jurisdiction has a transition plan and has finalized and signed a new contract for a certified voting system. By requiring local elections officials to perform additional duties, 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.