Existing law requires telephone corporations, as defined, to provide certain customer and subscriber services. This bill would require a telephone corporation, by January 1, 2012, and each January 1 thereafter, to post on its Internet Web site certain information relative to calls placed to a customer call center for the telephone corporation.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Law requires the legislative body of a city or county to adopt a comprehensive, long-term general plan that includes various elements, including, among others, a safety element for the protection of the community from unreasonable risks associated with, among other things, wildland and urban fires. The safety element includes requirements for state responsibility areas, as defined, and very high fire hazard severity zones, as defined. This bill would revise the safety element requirements for state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones, as specified, and require the safety element, prior to January 1, 2015, and thereafter upon each revision of the housing element, to be reviewed and updated as necessary to address the risk of fire in state responsibility areas and very high fire hazard severity zones, taking into account specified considerations, including, among others, the most recent version of the Office of Planning and Research's "Fire Hazard Planning" document, which this bill would require the office to update on or before January 1, 2012. By imposing new duties on a city or county with regard to reviewing and updating its general plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop guidelines for the implementation of CEQA by public agencies. This bill would require the office, on or after January 1, 2011, at the time of the next update of the guidelines for implementing CEQA, in cooperation with the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, to prepare, develop, and transmit to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency recommended proposed changes or amendments to the initial study for the inclusion of questions related to fire hazard impacts for projects in state responsibility areas and high fire hazard severity zones. This bill would also require the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt these recommended proposed changes or amendments. (3) 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.
This measure would declare February 19, 2010, as a Day of Remembrance in order to increase public awareness of the events surrounding the internment of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
This measure would memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to enact the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which would make supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and state and local fiscal stabilization.
This measure would recognize February 2010 as Black History Month, urge all citizens to join in celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans during Black History Month, and encourage the people of California to recognize the many talents, achievements, and contributions that African Americans make to their communities.
Existing law, the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) , enacts various health care coverage market reforms. With respect to plan years beginning on and after September 23, 2010, the act requires health insurance issuers to provide coverage, and not impose cost-sharing requirements, for certain preventive services. 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 that act a crime. Existing law also provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. This bill would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies issued, amended, renewed, or delivered on or after September 23, 2010, to comply with the provisions of PPACA regarding coverage of, and cost-sharing for, preventive services and any rules or regulations issued pursuant to those provisions to the extent required under federal law. Because a willful violation of this requirement 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.
The Public Employees' Retirement Law creates the Public Employees' Retirement System, which provides a defined benefit to its members based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation, as defined. The State Teachers' Retirement Law and the retirement laws for county employees and city employees also provide for a defined benefit based on age at retirement, service credit, and final compensation. Existing law requires the California Citizens Compensation Commission to establish the annual salary and the medical, dental, insurance, and other similar benefits of state officers. This bill would specify that, notwithstanding any other law, for the purposes of determining a retirement benefit paid to a person who first becomes a member of a public retirement system on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum salary or payrate upon which retirement benefits shall be based shall not exceed 125% of the salary recommended by the California Citizens Compensation Commission to be paid to the Governor of the State of California, effective December 7, 2009. The bill would require that this amount be adjusted annually based on changes in the All Urban California Consumer Price Index. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits to eligible individuals who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Existing law specifies that an individual is disqualified from receiving benefits if the Director of Employment Development finds that he or she left his or her most recent work voluntarily without cause or that he or she has been discharged for misconduct connected with his or her most recent work. Under existing law, an individual may be deemed to have left his or her most recent work with good cause if he or she leaves employment to accompany his or her spouse or domestic partner to a place from which it is impracticable to commute to the employment, and specifies that, for purposes of those provisions, "spouse" includes a person to whom marriage is imminent. Existing law authorizes any employer who is entitled to receive specified notice of an unemployment claim to, within 10 days after mailing of the notice, submit to the Employment Development Department specified facts disclosing whether the claimant for benefits left the employer's employ voluntarily and with good cause under certain circumstances. Existing law provides that if a claimant left under specified circumstances, including, among others, if he or she left the employer's employ to accompany his or her spouse or domestic partner to a place from which it is impracticable to commute to the employment, the benefits paid to the claimant are not charged to the employer's reserve account, as specified. This bill would specify that, for purposes of those provisions governing eligibility for benefits and employer's reserve accounts, "domestic partner" also includes a person to whom domestic partnership, as described, is imminent. Because the bill would provide for additional amounts payable for unemployment benefits from the Unemployment Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation. This bill would incorporate additional changes in Sections 1030, 1032, and 1256 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, proposed by AB 2364, to be operative only if AB 2364 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2011, and this bill is chaptered last.
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, 2011, additionally prohibit an employment contract for a local excluded employee, as defined, from including any clause that provides for an automatic renewal, an automatic compensation increase, as specified, or an automatic compensation increase in excess of a cost-of-living adjustment. The bill would also require the local agency, as defined, to complete a performance review of any excluded employee, as defined, before an increase in compensation in excess of a cost-of-living adjustment may be implemented for that individual. The bill would also specify that those records, procedures, and actions shall conform to the requirements of law, including, but not limited to, the Public Records Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act. By expanding the duties of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would express a legislative finding and declaration that, to ensure the statewide integrity of local government, the procedures for the appointment and compensation of excluded employees 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. 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. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
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 its provisions a crime. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law prohibits the cancellation or nonrenewal of individual or group health benefit plans by a health care service plan or a health insurer except in specified circumstances, including for nonpayment of premiums or for fraud or misrepresentation, as specified, and gives an enrollee of a health care service plan contract a right to appeal a cancellation or nonrenewal to the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care. Existing law prohibits a plan or insurer from engaging in postclaims underwriting, as defined, and from rescinding an individual contract or policy for any reason, or canceling the contract or policy due to misrepresentation, as specified, after 24 months following issuance of the contract or policy. This bill would make that 24-month limit apply to all health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies and would consolidate various cancellation and nonrenewal provisions with respect to health care service plans. The bill would also prohibit a plan or insurer from rescinding a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy, or limiting any of the provisions of the contract or policy, once an enrollee or insured is covered under the contract or policy unless the plan or insurer can demonstrate that the enrollee or insured has performed an act or practice constituting fraud or made an intentional misrepresentation of material fact as prohibited by the terms of the contract or policy. The bill would require a plan or insurer to send a notice to the enrollee or subscriber or policyholder or insured at least 30 days prior to the effective date of the rescission containing specified information. The bill would modify the cancellation and nonrenewal appeal rights that apply to health care service plans and would make those appeal rights apply to health insurers and rescissions, as specified. The bill would require that coverage under the plan or policy shall continue pending the appeal. The bill would make other related changes and authorize the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care and the Insurance Commissioner to issue guidance to health care service plans and health insurers on compliance, as specified. Existing law requires a plan or insurer to have written policies and procedures establishing the process by which the plan or insurer approves, modifies, denies, or delays requests for health care services based in whole or in part on medical necessity. Existing law requires that these decisions be made within 72 hours when the enrollee or insured faces an imminent and serious threat to his or her health, as specified. This bill would require that those decisions be made within 72 hours or, if shorter, the time period required under federal law. Because this bill would impose additional requirements on health care service plans, the willful violation of which would be a crime, it 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.
