Existing law authorizes job order contracting, as provided, by the Los Angeles Unified School District, until December 1, 2012. Existing law requires the job order contracts to be competitively bid and awarded to the responsible qualified bidder with the lowest responsive bid. Existing law requires that the unified school district create a report of any job order contract procured and submit an interim report to certain committees in the Legislature and the Office of Public School Construction, as specified. Existing law requires the unified school district to provide specified notice of work for subcontractors, whose bids will be taken by the primary job order contractor. Existing law requires for contracts awarded pursuant to these provisions that the Los Angeles Unified School District pay a fee into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, which funds are continuously appropriated for the Department of Industrial Relations' enforcement of prevailing wage requirements on public works projects. This bill would extend the operation of these provisions until December 31, 2020, and would alter the dates for reporting requirements, as specified. This bill would require the job order contracts to be awarded to the most qualified bidder, as provided, so long as that bidder is in compliance with the unified school district's project stabilization agreement. This bill would require the primary job order contractor to provide the specified notice and take bids for work available for subcontractors. This bill would further require a primary job order contractor to provide notice and justification in order to make a substitution to the subcontractor list and would authorize the district to request a hearing to evaluate the request. Because any additionally authorized projects would require payment of fees into the State Public Works Enforcement Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.
Sponsored bills
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts, administered by a governing board, throughout the state. Existing law requires members of the governing board of the Los Angeles Community College District to be elected at large in a manner established by specified law. This bill would, commencing with the 2013 election, authorize the governing board of the Los Angeles Community College District to adopt a resolution by majority vote to enact an alternative method by which members of the governing board may be elected at large and by individual seat number, as specified. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Los Angeles Community College District.
Existing federal law provides for tax-qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts or individual retirement annuities by which private citizens may save money for retirement. This bill would enact the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust Act, which would create the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust to be administered by the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Investment Board, which would also be established by the bill. The bill would require eligible employers, as defined, to offer a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement so that eligible employees, as defined, could contribute a portion of their salary or wages to a retirement savings program account in the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, as specified. The bill would require eligible employees to participate in the program, unless the employee opts out of the program, as specified. The bill would specify risk management and investment policies that the board would be subject to regarding administration of the program. The bill would require a specified percentage of the annual salary or wages of an eligible employee participating in the program to be deposited in the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust, which would be segregated into a program fund and an administrative fund, both of which would be continuously appropriated to the board for purposes of the act. The bill would limit expenditures from the administrative fund, as specified. The bill would also authorize the board to establish a Gain and Loss Reserve Account within the program fund. The bill would, contingent upon sufficient interest and funding by vendors, as specified, require the board to establish a Retirement Investments Clearinghouse on its Internet Web site and a vendor registration process through which information about employer-sponsored retirement plans, and payroll deduction individual retirement accounts and annuities offered by private sector providers is made available for consideration by eligible employers. The bill would require the opt-out form disseminated by the Employment Development Department to be used to create an option for employees to elect to opt out of the program, as specified. The bill would, commencing 6 months after the program is ready to proceed, require the Employment Development Department to assess a penalty on any eligible employer that fails to make the program available to eligible employees, as specified. The bill also would make a statement of legislative findings. The bill would provide that the state would have no liability for the payment of the benefits under the program, as specified. The bill, upon sufficient funds being made available through a nonprofit or private entity or federal funding, would require the board to conduct a market analysis to determine whether the necessary conditions for implementation can be met, as specified. The bill would require moneys made available to conduct the market analysis to be deposited in the Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program Fund which would be created in the State Treasury. The bill would provide that the operational provisions of the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust Act shall be operative only if the board determines that, based on the market analysis, the provisions will be self-sustaining, and sufficient funds are made available through a nonprofit or private entity, federal funding, or the annual Budget Act, as specified, to allow the board to implement the program until the trust has sufficient funds to be self-sustaining. The bill would require the board to ensure that an insurance, annuity, or other funding mechanism is in place at all times that protects the value of individuals' accounts and protects, indemnifies, and holds the state harmless at all times against any and all liability in connection with funding retirement benefits pursuant to these provisions. The bill would prohibit the board from implementing the program if the IRA arrangements offered fail to qualify for the favorable federal income tax treatment ordinarily accorded to IRAs under the Internal Revenue Code, or if it is determined that the program is an employee benefit plan under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Existing law establishes the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System and vests the board with various powers and duties. This bill would authorize that board to administer funds in the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust, as specified.
Existing law requires specified information to be provided to patients regarding their health care. Existing federal law requires a written report of the results of each mammography examination and requires a summary of that report to be sent to the patient within a specified time period. This bill, from April 1, 2013, until January 1, 2019, would require, under specified circumstances, a health facility at which a mammography examination is performed to include in the summary of the written report that is sent to the patient a prescribed notice on breast density.
The Public Employees' Medical and Hospital Care Act (PEMHCA) , which is administered by the Board of Administration of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) , authorizes the board to contract with carriers offering health benefit plans. Existing law also authorizes the board to contract for, or approve, health benefit plans that charge a contracting agency and its employees and annuitants rates based on regional variations in the costs of health care services and to contract for, or approve, health benefit plans exclusively for the employees and annuitants of contracting agencies, as specified. This bill would authorize the board to implement and administer risk adjustment procedures that require health benefit plans to adjust premiums and would authorize PERS to redistribute premiums based on rules and regulations established by the board. PEMHCA requires premiums charged for enrollment in a health benefit plan to reasonably reflect the cost of the benefits provided. Existing law permits the board to enter into contracts with carriers based on carrier performance, and to credit premiums to an employer for expenditures that are likely to improve the health status of employees and annuitants. Contributions and premiums paid under PEMHCA are deposited in the Public Employees' Health Care Fund and the Public Employees' Contingency Reserve Fund, both of which are continuously appropriated special funds. This bill would specify that the board has the authority to adjust premiums as part of programs for health promotion and disease prevention and develop procedures for risk adjustment of premiums across plans that encourage plans to offer benefits based upon medical and administrative efficiency and quality of care rather than on the employee's or annuitant's health status or service areas with low-risk populations. The bill would also specify that the Public Employees' Health Care Fund would include any moneys from health benefit plans for that risk adjustment. The bill would also authorize the board to use reserves generated by one or more self-funded health benefit plans for risk adjustment programs and procedures. By authorizing moneys in those funds to be used for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires each admitted insurer to provide information to the Insurance Commissioner on all of its community development investments and community development infrastructure investments in California. This bill would require that each admitted insurer with premiums written equal to or in excess of $100,000,000 submit to the commissioner, by July 1, 2013, a report on its minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned business procurement efforts, as specified. The bill would provide that the failure to file the report by July 1, 2013, subjects the admitted insurer to civil penalties to be fixed and enforced by the commissioner, as provided. The bill would require, among other things, that commencing July 1, 2015, each eligible admitted insurer biennially update its supplier diversity report and submit a new report, containing additional elements, to the commissioner no later than July 1. The bill would require that, by July 31, 2013, the commissioner establish and maintain a link on the department's Internet Web site that provides public access to the contents of each admitted insurer's report on minority, women, and disabled veteran-owned business procurement efforts. The bill would provide that these provisions shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019.
This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the United States to enact legislation that would add comprehensive, preventative dental care coverage to Medicare benefits.
This measure would recognize September 2012 as Recovery Month in California, in order to raise awareness of the importance of substance use disorders treatment and to help people living with substance use disorders and their families to receive treatment.
This measure would recognize the 25th anniversary of the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial on November 23, 2013, and encourage all Californians to take part in ceremonies, organized by the California State Council of Vietnam Veterans of America along with assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs and other veterans service organizations. This measure would call upon the state archives to display memorabilia in a special display on the Vietnam War, as provided, the California State Military Museum to prepare and display exhibits on the Vietnam War, as provided, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to add names to the memorial, as provided.
This measure encourages the California Community Colleges, the California State University, and the University of California to consider and adopt the American Council on Education credit recommendations to give veterans due credit for their military experience.