Asm. Cristina Garcia

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, as specified. Existing law requires the department to maintain a program of maternal, child, and adolescent health. This bill would establish a maternal mortality review panel to conduct ongoing comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity in California to identify factors associated with the deaths and make recommendations for system changes to improve health care services for women in this state. The bill would also make information, documents, proceedings, records, and opinions created, collected, or maintained by the maternity mortality review panel or the State Department of Public Health in support of the maternal mortality review panel confidential and not subject to public inspection, discovery, or introduction into evidence in any civil action. The bill would also prohibit any person in attendance at a meeting of the maternal mortality review panel or who participates in the creation, collection, or maintenance of the panel's information, documents, proceedings, records, or opinions to testify in any civil action as to the content of those proceedings or the panel's information, documents, records, or opinions. The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to review department available data to identify maternal deaths and would mandate health care providers, health care facilities, clinics, laboratories, medical examiners, coroners, professionals, and facilities licensed by the State Department of Public Health to provide documents, as specified, upon request of the department. The bill also requires the State Department of Public Health to prepare and submit to the Legislature a biennial report on maternal mortality in California based on the data collected. 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 establishes and funds various research centers and programs in conjunction with the University of California. This bill would enact the California Firearm Violence Research Act. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the Regents of the University of California establish the California Firearm Violence Research Center to research firearm-related violence. The bill would declare legislative intent regarding the principles by which the university would administer the center and award research funds, as prescribed. The bill would require the university to report, on or before December 31, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter, specified information regarding the activities of the center and information pertaining to research grants. The bill would require the center and the grant recipients to provide copies of their research publications to the Legislature and specified agencies. The bill would specify that its provisions would apply to the university only to the extent that the regents, by resolution, make any of the provisions of the bill applicable to the university.

This act would declare June 10, 2016, as Portugal Day to celebrate Portuguese national heritage.

This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. The bill would require the Secretary of State to submit to the voters at the November 8, 2016, consolidated election a voter instruction asking whether California's elected officials should use all of their constitutional authority, including proposing and ratifying one or more amendments to the United States Constitution, to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 558 U.S. 310, and other applicable judicial precedents, as specified. The bill would require the Secretary of State to communicate the results of this election to the Congress of the United States. The bill would require the Secretary of State, if prohibited by court order from submitting the voter instruction to the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, as specified, to submit the voter instruction to the voters at the next occurring election. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an act calling an election.

This measure would proclaim that Monday, January 18, 2016, be observed as the official memorial of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth and his work in the Civil Rights Movement.

This measure would recognize May 2016 as Celiac Disease Awareness Month.

This measure would recognize the Lunar New Year Celebration on February 8, 2016.

This measure would commend the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on the celebration of its 150th anniversary and for the myriad contributions it has made to the health and well-being of animals nationwide and would extend best wishes for continued success in the future.