Existing law, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1991, required the State Department of Public Health (formerly the State Department of Health Services) between July 1, 1992, and July 1, 1993, to adopt regulations establishing a standard of care at least as stringent as the most recent United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention screening guidelines, whereby all children are evaluated for risk of lead poisoning by health care providers during each child's periodic health assessment. The standard of care, among others, is required to provide that, upon evaluation, those children determined to be at risk for lead poisoning, according to the regulations, are required to be screened. Existing law defines "lead poisoning" to mean the disease present when the concentration of lead in whole venous blood reaches or exceeds levels constituting a health risk, as specified in the most recent United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for lead poisoning as determined by the department, or when the concentration of lead in whole venous blood reaches or exceeds levels constituting a health risk as determined by the department, as specified. Existing law creates the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund consisting of fees imposed on manufacturers and other persons formerly, presently, or both formerly and presently engaged in the stream of commerce of lead or products containing lead, or who are otherwise responsible for identifiable sources of lead that have significantly contributed historically, currently contribute, or both have significantly contributed historically and contribute currently to environmental lead contamination. The moneys in the fund are required to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of the act. This bill, among other things, would change the definition of "lead poisoning" to include concentrations of lead in arterial or cord blood. The bill would require that the regulations establishing a standard of care include the determination of risk factors for whether a child is at risk for lead poisoning and would require the department, when determining those risk factors, to consider the most significant environmental risk factors, as specified. The bill would require that the regulations be developed by July 1, 2019, in consultation with medical experts, environmental experts, appropriate professional organizations, the public, and others, as determined by the department. The bill would also clarify that the lead screening would not be paid for by funds from the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund. This bill would further require the department, by March 1, 2019, and by every March 1 thereafter, to prepare and prominently post on its Internet Web site information that, among other things, evaluates the department's progress in identifying children with high blood lead levels and reducing the incidence of excessive childhood lead exposure in this state, as provided. The bill would require the department to use an electronic database, as provided, to support electronic laboratory reporting of blood lead tests, management of lead-exposed children, and assessment of sources of lead exposure. The bill would make conforming and technical changes, and would delete obsolete provisions. Existing law provides for the regulation of health insurers by the Department of Insurance. Existing law requires health insurers issuing group disability insurance that covers hospital, medical, or surgical expenses to provide benefits for comprehensive preventive care for children 18 years of age and younger under the terms and conditions agreed upon by the group policyholder and the insurer. Existing law requires those benefits to include periodic health evaluations, immunizations, and laboratory services in connection with those periodic health evaluations. This bill, among other things, would add screening for blood lead levels in children who are at risk for lead poisoning to those required benefits, as specified.
Sponsored bills
Existing law allows an individual taxpayer to contribute amounts in excess of his or her personal income tax liability for the support of specified funds and accounts, including among others, to the Endangered and Rare Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Species Conservation and Enhancement Account. Existing law authorizes contributions to be made to this account pursuant to these provisions until January 1, 2018, or until an earlier date if specified minimum contributions are not received. Existing law requires all moneys contributed to this account pursuant to these provisions to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for the costs of collection and administration of the funds, and to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for specified purposes. This bill would authorize contributions to be made to this account pursuant to these provisions until January 1, 2025, or until an earlier date if the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount of $250,000. The bill would instead require moneys contributed to this account pursuant to these provisions to be continuously appropriated and allocated for the above-specified purposes. This bill would also allow an individual to designate on his or her tax return that a specified amount in excess of his or her tax liability be transferred to the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, which would be created by this bill. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to revise the tax return form to include a space for the designation of contributions to the fund when another voluntary designation is removed from the form or there is space, whichever occurs first. The bill would require money contributed to the fund to be continuously appropriated and allocated to the Franchise Tax Board and the Controller for reimbursement of costs, as provided, and to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a competitive grant program for the purposes of the recovery and rehabilitation of injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife, and conservation education, as specified. The bill would authorize a maximum of 5% of the funds allocated to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to be used by the department to defray administrative expenses. The bill would provide that these provisions would remain in effect only until January 1 of the 7th taxable year following the first appearance of the Native California Wildlife Rehabilitation Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund on the tax return, but would further provide for an earlier repeal if the Franchise Tax Board determines that the amount of contributions estimated to be received during a calendar year will not at least equal the minimum contribution amount of $250,000, in which case these provisions would be repealed on December 1 of that year.
Existing law states the policy of the State of California to afford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other specified characteristic, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state. Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of those specific characteristics in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls pupils who receive state student financial aid. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to assess whether local educational agencies have taken certain actions related to educational equity, including adopting a policy that prohibits, and adopting a process for receiving and investigating complaints of, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying based on those actual or perceived specified characteristics. This bill would expressly include immigration status in the specified characteristics for purposes of those provisions. This bill would prohibit school officials and employees of a school district, county office of education, or charter school, except as required by state or federal law or as required to administer a state or federally supported educational program, from collecting information or documents regarding citizenship or immigration status of pupils or their family members. The bill would require the superintendent of a school district, the superintendent of a county office of education, and the principal of a charter school, as applicable, to report to the respective governing board or body of the local educational agency in a timely manner any requests for information or access to a schoolsite by an officer or employee of a law enforcement agency for the purpose of enforcing the immigration laws in a manner that ensures the confidentiality and privacy of any potentially identifying information. The bill would encourage a school, when an employee of the school is aware that a pupil's parent or guardian is not available to care for the pupil, to work with parents or guardians to update the emergency contact information and not to contact Child Protective Services to arrange for the pupil's care unless the school is unable to arrange for care through the use of emergency contact information or instructions provided by the pupil's parent or guardian. The bill would require the governing board or body of a local educational agency to perform specified actions relating to pupils and immigration status, including, among others, providing information to parents and guardians, as appropriate, regarding their children's right to a free public education, regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs. The bill would require the Attorney General, by April 1, 2018, in consultation with appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement at public schools, to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law, and ensuring that public schools remain safe and accessible to all California residents, regardless of immigration status. The bill would require the Attorney General to, at a minimum, consider specified issues when developing the model policies. The bill would require all local educational agencies to adopt the model policies, or equivalent policies, by July 1, 2018. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, 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 federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude tribal-state gaming compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, 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, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. This bill would ratify the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, executed on August 18, 2017. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to that compact are not projects for purposes of CEQA. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law establishes the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (the conservancies) and prescribes the membership and functions and duties of the conservancies with regard to the protection, preservation, and development of certain lands along the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and surrounding areas. This bill would require the conservancies to collaborate with the Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Conservation Corps, and the State Lands Commission to develop a river ranger program to provide a network of river rangers who assist the public at sites along the Los Angeles River and its tributaries, as prescribed. The bill would require the conservancies, no later than June 30, 2018, to develop a plan for the design and implementation of the program, containing specified components and information, and to provide a copy of the completed plan to certain legislative committees by that date.
Existing law allows individuals, until January 1, 2018, to designate on their personal income tax return that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be contributed to the California Breast Cancer Research Fund, which is subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board, the Controller, and the University of California for purposes of carrying out these provisions. Existing law also allows individuals, until January 1, 2018, to designate on their tax returns that a specified amount in excess of their tax liability be contributed to the California Cancer Research Fund, which is subject to appropriation by the Legislature, to be allocated to the Franchise Tax Board, the Controller, and the University of California for purposes of carrying out these provisions. Existing law requires that each of these funds equal or exceed a minimum contribution amount, which initially was $250,000 and which was required to be and has been adjusted for inflation. Existing law provides that when extending the operation of these voluntary tax contribution funds the words "voluntary tax contribution" be included in the name of the fund, that the administering agency comply with specified Internet Web site reporting requirements, that the fund provisions remain in effect only until January 1 of the 7th calendar year following the first appearance of the voluntary tax contribution on the personal income tax return, that the required calendar year minimum contribution amount for the fund to continue appearing on the return is $250,000, and that the contributions be continuously appropriated from the fund to the administering entity. This bill would extend the operation of each fund's provisions to January 1, 2025, and would conform to the above provisions by renaming the funds as the California Breast Cancer Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund and the California Cancer Research Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund, respectively, by continuously appropriating those funds to the Franchise Tax Board, the Controller, and the University of California for purposes of carrying out each fund's provisions, and by requiring each fund to equal or exceed an unadjusted $250,000 minimum contribution amount to continue appearing on the return. By continuously appropriating these funds, the bill would make an appropriation. The bill would also provide that the Legislature requests the University of California and the Regents of the University of California, respectively, to post on their Internet Web sites the process for awarding money, the amount of money spent on administration, and an itemization of how program funds were awarded, including, but not limited to, information regarding recipients of funds.
Existing law establishes various programs that provide cash assistance and other benefits relating to health care, food, and housing, among other things, to qualified low-income families and individuals, including, among others, the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, the California Earned Income Tax Credit, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, the California Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC Program) , and the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program. This bill would establish the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force, for the purpose of submitting a report to the Legislature and the executive branch administration of the state, as specified, that recommends future comprehensive strategies to achieve the reduction of deep poverty among children and reduce the overall child poverty rate in the state. The bill would require the report to be completed by November 1, 2018. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to invite and convene the task force and to assist the task force in carrying out its duties, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2020.
Existing law provides the procedure by which a temporary restraining order and an injunction prohibiting harassment or abuse may be sought by, or on behalf of, specified persons. The existing Domestic Violence Protection Act authorizes a judicial officer to issue a protective order after notice and a hearing for the purpose of preventing acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and ensuring a period of separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence. This bill would authorize a minor or a minor's guardian to petition the court to keep all information regarding the minor obtained when issuing a protective order under either of the above provisions, including, but not limited to, the minor's name, address, and the circumstances surrounding the protective order with respect to that minor, in a confidential case file. The bill would authorize the court to order that the information be kept confidential if the court expressly finds that, among other things, the minor's right to privacy overcomes the right of public access to the information and no less restrictive means exist to protect the minor's privacy. If the request is granted, the bill would prohibit that information from becoming part of the public file in that proceeding or any other civil proceeding. The bill would make it civil contempt of court, punishable by a $1,000 fine, to disclose or misuse the confidential information and would require the notice served on the respondent to identify the specific information that is confidential and the penalty for disclosure or misuse of that information. The bill would authorize confidential information to be made available to law enforcement, as specified, to the extent necessary and only for the purpose of enforcing the order. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of specialty clinics, including rehabilitation clinics. Existing law defines a "rehabilitation clinic" as a clinic that, in addition to providing medical services directly, also provides physical rehabilitation services for patients who remain less than 24 hours. Existing law requires a rehabilitation clinic to provide at least 2 of certain specified rehabilitation services, including, among others, physical therapy and occupational therapy. This bill would define a "rehabilitation innovation center" as a not-for-profit or government-owned rehabilitation facility that meets specified criteria.
This measure would recognize September 11, 2017, as a day of solemn commemoration and extend the Legislature's deepest sympathies to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.