Asm. Patrick O'Donnell

This measure would recognize the month of August 2017 as Opportunity Youth Reengagement Month, and state the intent of the Legislature to encourage the expansion of schools authorized to specifically reengage "opportunity youth" 16 to 24 years of age by developing recommendations for a statewide student reengagement strategy and identifying the cost of the strategy compared to the cost of inaction; authorizing systems for accountability to students, parents, and families through transparency, active engagement, and outreach strategies; and highlighting, promoting, and uplifting evidence-based practices for successful student reengagement efforts that maintain multiple measures for evaluation of student success.

This measure would urge the Congress of the United States to support S. 349, the Access to Counsel Act, which would ensure that those persons held or detained while attempting to enter the United States, whether at a border crossing or a port of entry, would be guaranteed access to legal counsel.

This measure would urge the President and the Congress of the United States to continue to place an emphasis on increasing funding to NASA's budget and encouraging the expansive use of public-private partnerships to propel the industry forward into the next generation of advancement.

This measure would recognize adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) , also known as post-traumatic "street" disorder in communities of color, as having lasting negative outcomes to both physical and mental health with growing implications for our state.

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 by, and funded pursuant to, federal Medicaid program provisions. Existing law establishes the Administrative Claiming process under which the department is authorized to contract with local governmental agencies and local educational consortia for the purpose of obtaining federal matching funds to assist with the performance of administrative activities relating to the Medi-Cal program that are provided by a local governmental agency or local educational agency (LEA) . Existing law also provides that specified services provided by LEAs are covered Medi-Cal benefits and are reimbursable on a fee-for-service basis under the LEA Medi-Cal billing option. Existing law requires the State Department of Health Care Services to engage in specified activities relating to the LEA Medi-Cal billing option, such as amending the Medicaid state plan to ensure that schools shall be reimbursed for all eligible services and examining methodologies for increasing school participation in the LEA Medi-Cal billing option. Existing law requires that these activities be funded and staffed by proportionately reducing federal Medicaid payments allocable to LEAs for the provision of benefits funded by federal Medicaid program payments under the LEA Medi-Cal billing option in an amount not to exceed $1,500,000 annually. This bill would require the State Department of Education to, no later than July 1, 2018, establish an Office of School-Based Health Programs for the purpose of, among other things, administering health-related programs under the purview of the State Department of Education and advising on issues related to the delivery of school-based Medi-Cal services in the state. The bill would authorize the office to form additional advisory groups, as specified, and would require the State Department of Education to make available to the office any information on other school-based dental, health, and mental health programs. The bill would require the office to be supported through an interagency agreement with the State Department of Health Care Services, by federal matching funds available through the Administrative Claiming process for eligible staff time, and would authorize the office to receive additional funds from grants and other sources. The bill would increase the annual funding limit for the activities of the State Department of Health Care Services that support the LEA Medi-Cal billing option to $2,000,000, and require that $500,000 of that amount be available for transfer to the State Department of Education to support the office pursuant to that interagency agreement.

Existing law prohibits a person from operating a commercial motor vehicle unless the person has passed a written and driving test for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle that complies with specified federal standards and any other requirements imposed by the Vehicle Code. Existing law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to implement these provisions, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to establish performance goals to decrease the wait time to obtain an appointment to take the driving skills test to operate a commercial motor vehicle. The bill would require the department to convene a stakeholder group to make recommendations to the department on meeting these performance goals. The bill would require the department to submit a report to the relevant budget and policy committees of the Legislature detailing the recommendations of the stakeholder group, the recommendations that the department has adopted, the recommendations that were not adopted with an explanation of why they were not adopted, and how the department intends to implement these recommendations. The bill would additionally require the department to submit a subsequent report to these committees describing the department's performance in implementing the recommendations it has adopted and achieving the performance goals.

This measure would mark May 6, 2017, as the 135th anniversary of the enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act in order to recognize the harm caused by racially discriminatory immigration measures, and to honor the contributions of all immigrants and refugees who have enriched our communities. The measure would also declare the opposition of the Legislature to recent executive orders signed by President Trump relating to immigration, call upon the President to revoke those orders, condemn the expansion of deportations being undertaken under the current presidential administration, and reaffirm that the state is open and welcoming to immigrants and refugees who are integral to life in our state.