This measure would honor the late civil rights pioneer Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
This measure would declare that the month of January 2024 be recognized as National Mentoring Month, would thank those who participate in quality mentoring programs, and would call upon residents to help close the gap between the availability of mentors and the number of children facing challenging circumstances, as specified.
Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. This bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to report to the department a collision on a public road that involved one of its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that is operating under a testing permit that resulted in damage of property, bodily injury, or death within 10 days of the collision. The bill would require a manufacturer of an autonomous vehicle to annually submit to the department specified information regarding the deactivation of the autonomous mode for its autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more that were operating under a testing permit that authorized the vehicle to operate on public roads. The bill would prohibit the operation of an autonomous vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more on public roads for testing purposes, transporting goods, or transporting passengers without a human safety operator physically present in the autonomous vehicle at the time of operation. The bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles, by January 1, 2029, or 5 years after commencement of testing, whichever occurs later, and upon appropriation by the Legislature, to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature evaluating the performance of autonomous vehicle technology and its impact on public safety and employment in the transportation sector for autonomous vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more. The bill would require the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Department of Transportation, the State Air Resources Board, and other relevant state agencies to provide additional information needed to research the report.
Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and 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. Under existing law, a hospital designated by the department as a critical access hospital, and certified as such by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the federal Medicare rural hospital flexibility program, is eligible for supplemental payments for Medi-Cal covered outpatient services rendered to Medi-Cal eligible persons. Existing law conditions those payments on receipt of federal financial participation and an appropriation in the annual Budget Act for the nonfederal share of those payments, with supplemental payments being apportioned among critical access hospitals based on their number of Medi-Cal outpatient visits. This bill, subject to appropriation and the availability of federal funding, would require the department to provide an annual supplemental payment, for services covered under Medi-Cal, to each critical access hospital that operates on an island that is located more than 10 miles offshore of the mainland coast of the state but is still within the jurisdiction of the state. The bill would specify the formula of the payment amount, which would be in addition to any supplemental payment described above. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for critical access hospitals operating on those islands.
Under existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Existing law requires the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control, upon request from the Legislature, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the department's activities and to post the report on its internet website. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those reporting requirements.
Existing law provides that all pupils have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that California's public schools have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and all other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions and correct cross-references in related provisions.
This measure would urge the federal Office of Management and Budget to update its Uniform Guidance in order to improve job creation, quality, and equity.
