Asm. Mike Gipson

Existing law establishes the county-administered In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, under which qualified aged, blind, and disabled persons are provided with services in order to permit them to remain in their own homes and avoid institutionalization. Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, 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 establishes, as part of the Coordinated Care Initiative, the In-Home Supportive Services Employer-Employee Relations Act, which serves to resolve disputes regarding wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment between the California In-Home Supportive Services Authority (Statewide Authority) and recognized employee organizations providing in-home supportive services. Existing law establishes the Statewide Authority and requires the authority to be the entity authorized to meet and confer in good faith regarding wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment with representatives of recognized employee organizations for any individual provider who is employed by a recipient of supportive services. Existing law provides, as part of the Coordinated Care Initiative, that IHSS is a Medi-Cal benefit available through managed care health plans in specified counties. Existing law requires enrollment of eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries into managed care pursuant to a specified demonstration project or other provisions, including managed care for long-term services and supports, as one of the conditions required to be completed before the Statewide Authority assumes specified responsibilities. Existing law requires the Statewide Authority, no sooner than March 1, 2013, to assume specified responsibilities in a county upon notification by the Director of Health Care Services that the enrollment of eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries described in specified provisions of law has been completed in that county. Under existing law, the date of assumption of these responsibilities by the Statewide Authority is known as the county implementation date. This bill would, instead, make the implementation date January 1, 2016, would delete the reference to the "county" implementation date, and would make conforming changes. Existing law conditions implementation of the Coordinated Care Initiative, as defined, on whether the Director of Finance estimates that the Coordinated Care Initiative will generate net General Fund savings, as specified. Existing law, with certain exceptions, specifies those provisions of law that are within the scope of the initiative to become inoperative if this condition is not met. This bill would modify the definition of the Coordinate Care Initiative for the purposes of determining which provisions become inoperative if the condition is not met, and exclude, among others, those provisions that establish the In-Home Supportive Services Employer-Employee Relations Act; establish the Statewide Authority and determine the duties of, and when those duties are assumed by, the authority; establish the IHSS Fund, which is used to fund the Statewide Authority; and require all counties, commencing July 1, 2012, to have a County IHSS Maintenance of Effort (MOE) and to pay the County IHSS MOE instead of paying the nonfederal share of IHSS costs, as specified. The bill would make conforming changes.

Existing law, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, revises and expands the scope of various programs relating to cash assistance and other services to and for the benefit of certain foster and adopted children, and other children who have been placed in out-of-home care, including children who receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) , Adoption Assistance Program, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) , and Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment (Kin-GAP) benefits. Among other provisions, the act extends specified foster care benefits to youth up to 21 years of age, if specified conditions are met. Existing law defines a nonminor dependent for these purposes as a foster child who is a current dependent child or ward of the juvenile court, or who is a nonminor under the transition jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to a voluntary reentry agreement, and in accordance with a transitional independent living case plan who has attained 18 years of age while under an order of foster care placement by the juvenile court and is not older than 21 years of age. Existing law defines a nonminor former dependent or ward as a person who meets these criteria who reached 18 years of age while subject to an order for foster care placement, for whom dependency, delinquency, or transition jurisdiction has been terminated, and who is still under the general jurisdiction of the court. This bill would revise the definition of a nonminor dependent and former nonminor dependent to include a person who has not attained 21 years of age, if he or she was adjudged a ward of the court on the basis of criminal activity, was subject to an order for foster care placement at the time the petition to adjudge him or her a ward of the court was filed, and was held in secure confinement when he or she attained 18 years of age. This bill would make conforming changes to allow a court to assume or resume dependency jurisdiction or transition jurisdiction over a nonminor who satisfies this criteria. Because the bill would expand the application of the above county administered programs, 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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs that offer a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. Existing law requires the Superintendent to administer all California state preschool programs, including, but not limited to, part-day and full-day age and developmentally appropriate programs for 3- and 4-year-old children. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, authorize the department, as part of a pilot program, to accept monetary contributions made to the California Preschool Investment Fund, which this bill would create, by a person for purposes of preschool education, as provided. The bill would require the money in the fund to be used to, among other things, fund state preschools part of the California state preschool program located in one of the 5 counties participating in the pilot program, as provided. The bill would require participating counties to report to the department's Early Education & Support Division regarding the county's assessment of how the pilot program is performing. The bill would require any moneys remaining in the fund after January 1, 2021, to be transferred to any other state fund identified by the department that provides funding for increased access to preschool programs for low-income children. The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law allow various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws. This bill, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, and before January 1, 2020, would allow a credit equal to 40% of the amount contributed by the taxpayer during the taxable year to the California Preschool Investment Fund, as provided. The bill would limit the aggregate amount of credit allowed under both laws to not exceed $250,000,000 and would require the State Department of Education to establish a procedure for a person to obtain from the department a receipt indicating specified information, including the amount of monetary contributions made, for purposes of the tax credits allowed under these provisions. This bill would, until January 1, 2021, require the total annual amount of credits claimed pursuant to these provisions to be treated as though they were proceeds of taxes for purposes of calculating the moneys to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts pursuant to a specified provision of the California Constitution.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which qualified low-income individuals receive health care services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Qualified individuals under the Medi-Cal program include medically needy persons and medically needy family persons who meet the required eligibility criteria, including applicable income requirements. Existing law requires the department to establish income levels for maintenance need at the lowest levels that reasonably permit a medically needy individual to meet his or her basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter, and for which federal financial participation will still be provided under applicable federal law. In calculating the income of a medically needy individual in a medical institution or nursing facility, or a person receiving institutional or noninstitutional services from a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly organization, the required monthly maintenance amount includes, among other things, an amount providing for the upkeep and maintenance of the individual's home. This amount is also referred to as the home upkeep allowance. Existing law requires that the maintenance of need amount provide for personal and incidental needs in an amount not less than $35 for a person in a medical institution or nursing facility, or for a person receiving institutional or noninstitutional services from a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly organization. Existing law authorizes the Director of Health Care Services to adopt, amend, or repeal reasonable rules and regulations to carry out the purposes and intent of the Medi-Cal program, that are not inconsistent with any state statute. The department has adopted regulatory requirements relating to the determination of the home upkeep allowance described above. This bill would establish eligibility and other requirements for providing the home upkeep allowance or transitional personal needs fund, to Medi-Cal patients residing in a long-term care facility, as specified. The bill would prescribe general requirements as well as specific requirements both for facility residents who intend to leave the facility and return to an existing home, who would receive the home upkeep allowance, and residents who intend to leave the facility and establish a new home, who would establish a transitional personal needs fund, as part of the personal needs allowance provided to the resident. The bill would require the department to adopt implementing regulations, and to advise appropriate long-term care facility residents and other specified personnel and health care facilities of the existence and availability of the home upkeep allowance and transitional personal needs fund. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2016, to seek federal approval to implement these provisions, and would require these provisions to be implemented only if, and to the extent that, federal financial participation is available and any necessary federal approvals have been obtained. Because counties are required to make Medi-Cal eligibility determinations and this bill would impose new eligibility requirements for purposes of these allowances, this 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 these statutory provisions.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation by the State Department of Public Health of long-term health care facilities, as defined. Existing law establishes procedures to be followed when the department receives a written or oral complaint about a long-term health care facility. A complaint is defined to mean any notice to the department, other than a report from the facility, of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation. Existing law establishes the time period for which an investigation of a complaint is required to be completed, and authorizes an extension of that time period under extenuating circumstances. This bill would require the department to apply the existing time periods for the investigation, inspection, and issuance of a citation under these provisions to a report from the facility of an alleged violation of applicable requirements of state or federal law or any alleged facts that might constitute a violation of those requirements. The bill would also require the department to analyze its compliance with the time periods for investigations on a quarterly basis and post those findings on its Internet Web site.

This measure would declare June 6, 2015, to June 14, 2015, inclusive, as the 2015 California Invasive Species Action Week and would urge all Californians to participate in activities that raise awareness of invasive species issues and to take action to prevent their spread.

This measure would commemorate the centennial of the founding of Locke, California, would recognize and honor Locke, California, as the last remaining Chinatown in North America, and would urge all Californians to learn about the important history of Locke, California, and its inhabitants.

This measure would congratulate the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls on the celebration of its 50th anniversary, and recognize and commend the commission for its various contributions and accomplishments.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to support H.R. 167, the federal Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, in order to provide a long-term, stable source of funding for federal agencies to conduct the necessary fuels management on national forest lands, while retaining resources to suppress catastrophic wildfires.