Asm. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and 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. Under existing law, health care, as administered under the Medi-Cal program, is considered a component of public social services. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

The Corporation Tax Law imposes a franchise tax measured by, or according to, net income of a corporation doing business within the limits of this state, including a minimum franchise tax on specified corporations, as provided. The provisions of the Personal Income Tax Law generally apply to the income of an individual or partnership, imposing a tax on individuals at graduated rates. This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to subsequently amend this bill to include provisions that would provide tax relief to small businesses conducting business in Los Angeles County during the period of disruption caused by specified transit-related construction activities, conducted by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and resulting in decreased business revenue.

Existing law provides specified requirements in awarding certain public contracts. This bill would authorize the Governor to sign agreements required by the United States Olympic Committee as part of the bid process for the City of Los Angeles or the City and County of San Francisco to become the United States applicant city and candidate city for the 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations that, among other things, the endorsing municipality, as defined, has developed a self-sufficient bid for financing the games. This bill would authorize the Governor to enter into an agreement for the state to be jointly liable, not to exceed a specified amount, with the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG) , as specified, for obligations of the OCOG, and for any financial deficit relating to the games, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, and 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. Existing law provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to provide, to the extent practicable, for health care for those aged and other persons who lack sufficient annual income to meet the costs of health care, and whose other assets are so limited that their application toward the costs of care would jeopardize the person's or family's future minimum self-maintenance and security. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this statement of legislative intent.

This measure would proclaim January 26, 2016, as India Republic Day, and would urge all Californians to join in celebrating India Republic Day.

Existing law, the Vocational Nursing Practice Act, establishes the Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians and sets forth the qualification requirements and duties of members of the board. These duties include, protection of the public, the evaluation of applicants for licensing as a vocational nurse, and the issuing of licenses to practice as a vocational nurse. Existing law requires the board to prepare and maintain a list of approved schools of vocational nursing in the state. This bill would state that the board has the sole responsibility to assess and recommend approval for schools of vocational nursing and psychiatric technician education programs in the state. The bill would require the board to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education to delineate the powers of the board to review and approve schools of vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians and the powers of the bureau to protect the interest of students attending institutions governed by the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009. The bill would subject all approved schools of vocational nursing to specified fees for deposit into the Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians Fund. The bill would specify that only a nursing school approved by the board may accept applications to its vocational nursing and psychiatric technician program and would make is unlawful for anyone to conduct a school of vocational nursing and psychiatric technicians unless the school has been approved by the board. The bill would also deem it "unprofessional conduct" for a registered nurse, vocational nurse, or psychiatric technician to violate or attempt to violate, either directly or indirectly, or to assist or abet the violation of these provisions.

Existing law provides for the payment of unemployment compensation benefits and extended duration benefits to eligible persons who meet specified requirements. Existing law prohibits the payment of unemployment benefits to education employees of a public entity, as defined, including teachers, researchers, and administrators for the period between 2 academic years when there is a reasonable assurance that the employee will perform his or her regular services in the subsequent academic year, except as specified. Existing law similarly prohibits the payment of unemployment benefits to specified education employees of a public entity, other than teachers, researchers, or administrators between 2 academic years, except as specified, but provides a procedure for this 2nd category of educational employees, under certain conditions, to seek payment of retroactive unemployment benefits for the period between 2 academic years. Existing law requires specified notice regarding reasonable assurance of employment in the following academic term be sent to employees before the end of the current academic term. Existing law also authorizes payment of unemployment insurance benefits, using funds from the State Department of Education, to the 2nd category of educational employees at specified schools between academic terms in circumstances where benefits would otherwise be denied. This bill would delete the prohibition on the payment of unemployment benefits to education employees of a public school, other than teachers, researchers, and administrators, as specified, between 2 academic years. The bill would phase in up to 8 weeks of benefits available to those specified employees over a 4-year timeframe and would make conforming changes, including eliminating the provisions for payment of unemployment benefits to these employees at the specified schools. Because this bill would expand the categories of people who could receive benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, it would make an appropriation.

Under existing law, the Division of Occupational Health and Safety, within the Department of Industrial Relations, investigates complaints that a workplace is unsafe and the division is authorized to issue orders necessary to ensure employee safety. Existing law permits the division to declare and prescribe what safety devices, safeguards, or other means or methods of protection are well adapted to render employees of every employment and place of employment safe. Under existing law, an employer who violates any standard, order, or special order of the division, or who violates statutory provisions of existing law, may be subject to criminal, civil, and administrative penalties, as specified. This bill would require an employer who employs individuals in a general acute care hospital, as defined, to, minimize the risk of occupational exposure to virulent aerosol transmissible diseases, as defined, and to provide optimal protection from occupational exposure to pathogens and aerosolized body fluids, as specified. The bill would also require these employers to, among other things, provide any health care worker who enters the room of a specified patient with personal protection equipment and a powered air purifying respirator, as specified. By expanding the definition of an existing crime, this bill would result in 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 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement a plan that establishes reasonable child care standards and assigned reimbursement rates, as provided. Existing law requires the standard reimbursement rate to be increased annually by a cost-of-living adjustment, as provided. This bill would provide that the standard reimbursement rate is not intended to fund mandated costs imposed upon child development programs due to actions of law relating to minimum wage requirements, health insurance requirements, new or increased fees, new or expanded program requirements, or other cost increases due to legislative action. The bill would also require the standard reimbursement rate to be raised as needed to provide a living wage, reasonable health insurance, and retirement benefits for employees, to support the recruitment and retention of skilled and trained teachers, to support the financial stability of programs and educational quality, and to achieve gender pay equity. The bill would define cost-of-living adjustment to be, among other things, at least equal to the amount of the inflation adjustments given to K–12 education programs, as provided.

This measure would proclaim the month of January 2016 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, encourage all Californians to become educated about human trafficking and work to eradicate these criminal practices within and beyond our borders, and encourage Members of the Legislature, as well as organizations, businesses, and individuals, to host or sponsor and attend community events in order to bring visibility and support to efforts made by nongovernmental organizations to recognize and combat human trafficking.