This measure would acknowledge April 2022 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and encourage Californians to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.
This measure would recognize the 30th anniversary of the Los Angeles Riots on April 29, 2022, as a time of building and reflection for the citizens of Los Angeles and the citizens of California.
This measure would declare April 28, 2022, as Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and would recognize the goals of introducing our daughters and sons to the workplace and commend all participants of Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day.
This measure would designate the week of May 1, 2022, through May 7, 2022, as Compost Awareness Week.
This measure would proclaim, in perpetuity, the month of April as California Wines: Down to Earth Month, to celebrate the sustainable leadership of California wineries and winegrape growers throughout the month of April.
Existing law, referred to as the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA) , prohibits an attorney from contracting for or collecting a contingency fee for representing any person seeking damages in connection with an action for injury or damage against a health care provider based upon alleged professional negligence in excess of specified limits. This bill would recast those provisions and base the amount of contingency fee that may be contracted for upon whether recovery is pursuant to settlement agreement and release of all claims executed before a civil complaint or demand for arbitration is filed, or pursuant to settlement, arbitration, or judgment after a civil complaint or demand for arbitration is filed, as specified. The bill would add and revise definitions for these purposes. Existing law provides that in any action against a health care provider based upon professional negligence, the injured plaintiff is entitled to recover noneconomic losses to compensate for pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, disfigurement, and other nonpecuniary damage. Existing law limits the amount of damages for noneconomic losses in an action for injury against a health care provider based on professional negligence to $250,000. This bill would remove the $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages and expand the recast provisions to include an action for injury against a health care institution, as defined. The bill would increase the applicable limitation based upon whether the action for injury involved wrongful death. The bill would specify that these limitations would increase by $40,000 each January 1st for 10 years and beginning on January 1, 2034, the applicable limitations on noneconomic damages for personal injury and for wrongful death would be adjusted for inflation on January 1st of each year by 2%. Existing law specifies that in any action for injury or damages against a provider of health care services, a superior court shall, at the request of either party, enter a judgment ordering that money damages or its equivalent for future damages of the judgment creditor be paid in whole or in part by periodic payments rather than by a lump-sum payment if the award equals or exceeds $50,000. This bill would increase the minimum amount of the judgment required to request periodic payments to $250,000. Existing law makes statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy or a general sense of benevolence relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person involved in an accident and made to that person, or to the family of that person, inadmissible as evidence of an admission of liability in a civil action. This bill would specify that statements, writings, or benevolent gestures expressing sympathy, regret, a general sense of benevolence, or suggesting, reflecting, or accepting fault relating to the pain, suffering, or death of a person, or to an adverse patient safety event or unexpected health care outcome, as specified, shall be confidential, privileged, protected, not subject to subpoena, discovery, or disclosure, and shall not be used or admitted into evidence in any civil, administrative, regulatory, licensing, or disciplinary board, agency, or body action or proceeding, and shall not be used or admitted in relation to any sanction, penalty, or other liability, as evidence of an admission of liability or for any other purpose.
Existing law establishes the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, administered by the State Department of Social Services and counties, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes. Existing law requires a county welfare department to assess each recipient's continuing monthly need for in-home supportive services at varying intervals as necessary, but at least once every 12 months. Existing law authorizes the county to extend an assessment for up to 6 months beyond the regular 12-month period if the county documents that certain conditions exist, including that the recipient has had at least one reassessment since the initial program intake assessment and there has not been a known change in the recipient's supportive service needs within the previous 24 months. This bill would eliminate the authority of the county to extend the annual assessment beyond 12 months and, instead, would require the department to establish an alternative annual reassessment process for recipients with stable needs. The bill would define "a recipient with stable needs" as a recipient who is 18 years of age or older, who has at least one active provider, and who had at least one initial in-person assessment and one in-person reassessment, and the most recent reassessment did not indicate an assessed need that changed more than 25% from the prior assessment. The bill would allow the alterative annual reassessment to be conducted by telephone, by video, or in-person, at the choice of the recipient, unless certain factors exist that trigger an in-person reassessment, as specified. Under the bill a recipient who is qualified to receive the alternative annual reassessment would be allowed to receive the alternative annual reassessment for 2 consecutive years. This bill would require the department to provide implementation instructions and forms to counties on the alternative annual reassessment process on or before October 1, 2023, and would require counties to implement the alternative annual reassessment process beginning on January 1, 2024, or when automation to support the alternative annual reassessment process is available through the Case Management Information and Payrolling System, whichever date is later. By imposing additional duties on counties, 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, 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.
Existing law establishes the State Supplementary Program for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (SSP) , which requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments to SSP recipients to supplement Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments made available pursuant to the federal Social Security Act. Under existing law, benefit payments under SSP are calculated by establishing the maximum level of nonexempt income and federal SSI and state SSP benefits for each category of eligible recipient. The state SSP payment is the amount required, when added to the nonexempt income and SSI benefits available to the recipient, to provide the maximum benefit payment. Existing law, commencing January 1, 2022, requires the amount of aid paid under SSP that is in effect on December 31, 2021, less the federal benefit portion received, to be increased by a percentage increase that the State Department of Social Services and the Department of Finance determines can be accomplished with $291,287,000, and, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2023, requires an additional grant increase commencing January 1, 2024, subject to the same calculations, notifications, and implementation as the first increase. Existing law continuously appropriates funds for the implementation of SSP. This bill would, if there is a surplus in the state budget and subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, require a recipient of aid paid under SSP to receive a monthly supplemental payment in the amount of $600 for the following calendar year. The bill would provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing these provisions.
Existing law authorizes the Public Utilities Commission to fix the rates and charges for every public utility, and requires that those rates and charges be just and reasonable. Existing law authorizes an electrical corporation to file an application requesting the commission to issue a financing order to authorize the recovery of costs and expenses related to a catastrophic wildfire that ignited during the 2017 calendar year or on or after July 12, 2019, through the issuance of bonds by the electrical corporation that are secured by a rate component, as provided. Existing law requires the commission, upon application, to issue the financing order if the commission determines that certain conditions are satisfied, including the condition that the issuance of a recovery bond is consistent with the public interest and the recovery of the recovery costs through a fixed recovery charge that is assessed as a rate component, to the maximum extent possible, reduces the rate on a present value basis that consumers within the electrical corporation's service territory would pay as compared to the use of traditional utility financing mechanisms, as specified. This bill would authorize electrical corporations to file an application requesting the commission to issue a financing order to authorize the recovery of costs and expenses arising from or incurred as a result of a catastrophic wildfire that ignited during the 2018 calendar year, and of costs and expenses related to electrical corporations' wildfire mitigation plans, including operational and maintenance expenses associated with wildfire mitigation, as defined. The bill would require the commission to presume that the financing order provides short-term rate stability in furtherance of the public interest if the commission has authorized an amortization period under traditional utility financing mechanisms in excess of 12 months for the just and reasonable costs.
Existing federal law establishes the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing law establishes a statewide electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system, administered by the State Department of Social Services, for the purpose of providing financial and food assistance benefits, including CalFresh benefits. Existing law establishes the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project and requires the department, in consultation with the Department of Food and Agriculture and specified stakeholders, to include within the EBT system a supplemental benefits mechanism that allows an authorized retailer to deliver and redeem supplemental benefits. Existing law defines the term "supplemental benefits" for these purposes to mean additional funds delivered to a CalFresh recipient's EBT card upon purchase of California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables using CalFresh benefits. Existing law requires the department, upon the deposit of sufficient moneys into the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Grant Fund, and upon the appropriation of moneys from the fund by the Legislature for this purpose, to provide a minimum of 3 grants to nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies for pilot projects to implement and test the supplemental benefits mechanism, as specified. This bill would establish the California Fruit and Vegetable Supplemental Benefits Expansion Program and create the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Expansion Fund in the State Treasury. The program would include a process and guidelines for the State Department of Social Services to, upon the deposit of sufficient moneys in the fund, enroll authorized retailers to enable those authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits to CalFresh recipients who purchase California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. The bill would authorize the department to initially allocate from any appropriation made for the purposes of the program, $140,000,000 for large authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits, $40,000,000 for small authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits, and $60,000,000 for direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to provide supplemental benefits. The bill would also require the department to provide grants to small authorized retailers that are not direct farm-to-consumer authorized retailers to offset the cost of technological upgrades required to offer supplemental benefits and would authorize the department to allocate up to $1,000,000 from any appropriation made for the purposes of the program to provide those grants. The bill would authorize the department, 6 months or later after the enrollment of authorized retailers as a result the first round of application solicitation, to reallocate those funds. The bill would require supplemental benefits to be provided using the EBT system supplemental benefits mechanism established for purposes of the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project. The bill would also require the department, as part of the program, to contract with one or more vendors to develop at least 2 technology solutions that allow authorized retailers to wirelessly accept EBT CalFresh benefits and offer supplemental benefits, to develop marketing materials that authorized retailers that have been enrolled in the program and community groups can use for outreach efforts to promote supplemental benefits, and to submit specified reports to the Legislature. The bill would require, if the department fails to submit one of the reports, if the report recommends stopping further expansion of supplemental benefits programs, or if supplemental benefits are not distributed pursuant to the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Pilot Project, all unencumbered state funds in the California Fruit and Vegetable EBT Expansion Fund to revert to the General Fund. The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture to establish a process to conduct periodic audits of enrolled authorized retailers to verify that supplemental benefits are only being earned when a CalFresh recipient purchases California-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. The bill would also require the Department of Food and Agriculture to develop a grant program to award funds to nonprofit organizations to recruit, train, and support authorized retailers participating in supplemental benefit programs. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to seek any necessary federal waivers or approvals to implement these provisions.
