Existing law establishes various programs relating to health policy and planning in this state. Existing law establishes the California Health Benefit Review Program to assess legislation that proposes to mandate or repeal a mandated health benefit or service, as defined, and to prepare a written analysis with relevant data on specified information, including public health impacts and financial impacts. This bill would establish the Commission on Health Care Cost Review to study and report every 2 years to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Health on public policies affecting health care costs and access to health care coverage in California. The commission would be comprised of 5 members, with 3 members appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, subject to 4-year terms. The bill would authorize the Department of Managed Health Care to accept voluntary contributions to be deposited into the Health Care Affordability Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury, to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the costs of the operation of the commission. The bill would provide that the implementation of these provisions is contingent upon a determination of the department that sufficient voluntary contributions exist or will exist in the Health Care Affordability Fund. The bill would repeal these provisions on either January 1, 2020, if the department does not, by December 31, 2019, notify the Legislature that it has received sufficient voluntary contributions to fund the costs of operation of the commission, or on January 1, 2025, if the department, by December 31, 2019, notifies the Legislature that it has received sufficient voluntary contributions to fund the costs of operation of the commission.
Sponsored bills
Under existing law, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Existing law authorizes the PUC to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law, with certain exceptions, prohibits a public utility from changing any rate, except upon a showing before the PUC and a finding by the PUC that the new rate is justified. Existing law, enacted as part of the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, requires the PUC, in consultation with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) and the State Air Resources Board, to direct electrical corporations to file applications for programs and investments to accelerate widespread transportation electrification to reduce dependence on petroleum, meet air quality standards, achieve the goals set forth in the Charge Ahead California Initiative, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. That law requires that the programs proposed by electrical corporations seek to minimize overall costs and maximize overall benefits. The PUC is required to approve, or modify and approve, programs and investments in transportation electrification, including those that deploy charging infrastructure, through a reasonable cost recovery mechanism, if they are consistent with the above-described purposes, do not unfairly compete with nonutility enterprises, include performance accountability measures, and are in the interests of ratepayers, as specified. This bill would require an electrical corporation that offers time-of-use rates, critical peak pricing, real-time pricing, or peak time rebates for the charging of electric vehicles, as part of a program to encourage transportation electrification, to offer similar rates to low-carbon transportation fuel production facilities and public and private fueling stations dedicated to providing low-carbon fuels for transportation purposes. The bill would require the PUC, in consultation with the state board and the Energy Commission, to establish performance accountability measures for production facilities that elect to use the rates established pursuant to the bill's requirements and would require the PUC to ensure that those rates are in the interests of ratepayers. 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 the provisions of this bill are within the act, and because a violation of an order of the commission under these provisions 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.
This measure would commend Muslim Americans for their economic, political, and cultural impact on California and the United States. This measure would call upon Members of the United States Congress to respect the First Amendment, and to speak out against and reject efforts to monitor mosques, efforts to police and profile Muslim Americans, and efforts to prohibit Muslims from immigrating to the United States, and to speak out against and reject any efforts to pursue an immigration policy based on religion.
This measure would declare the month of April 2016 as Financial Aid and Literacy Month, with the theme of "Prosperity Through Education," to raise public awareness about the continuing need for increased financial literacy.
This measure would recognize May 2016 as National Mental Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of mental illness.
The measure would urge the Members of Congress to work to recognize Mexican American families' needs to visit family members in Mexico and increase commerce between our nations by reducing border delays through a more open border and to speak out against and to reject efforts to build a wall along the United States-Mexico border.
This measure would recognize Nowrūz, the Persian New Year celebration.
This measure would recognize the month of April 2016 as Citrus Strong Month for the purpose of celebrating California's vibrant citrus industry and the benefits it provides to the state's environment, economy, and people, and to affirm that California is citrus strong.