Existing law establishes, within the Government Operations Agency, the Department of Technology under the supervision of the Director of Technology, who also serves as the State Chief Information Officer. Existing law provides that the department is generally responsible for the approval and oversight of information technology projects. Existing law requires the heads of state agencies and entities to appoint chief information officers, requires state agencies and entities to report certain information to the department, and further requires state agencies to take all necessary steps to achieve the targets set forth by the department in its information technology performance management framework and report their progress to the department on a quarterly basis. This bill, before July 1, 2019, and before July 1 biennially thereafter, would require the director of each state agency or entity and the chief information officer of that state agency or entity to post on the home page of the agency's or entity's Internet Web site a signed certification that the agency's or entity's Internet Web site is in compliance with specified accessibility standards. The bill would require the director to create a standard form that each state agency's or state entity's chief information officer would be required to use to determine whether the state agency's or state entity's Internet Web site is in compliance with the specified accessibility standards.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires a physician and surgeon, as defined, to give a patient diagnosed with breast cancer a standardized written summary, made available to physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California, containing recommendations of the Cancer Advisory Council, to inform the patient of the advantages, disadvantages, risks, and descriptions of the procedures with regard to medically viable and efficacious alternative methods of breast cancer treatment. The summary is required to be revised every 3 years and include any new or revised information, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, in the first revision of the summary made following the effective date of the bill, to include information relating to breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) mutations, in order to achieve increased genetic counseling and screening rates of individuals for whom BRCA test results can inform treatment decisions, as specified. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, 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 establishes eligibility requirements and requires families to meet at least one requirement in each of 2 specified areas, including the area relating to why the family has a need for the child care service. This bill would include in the area relating to need, as a requirement that may be satisfied for purposes of eligibility, that the family needs the child care services because the parents are engaged in an educational program for English language learners or to attain a high school diploma or general educational development certificate.
Existing law imposes various restrictions on employers with respect to applicants for employment. A violation of those restrictions is a misdemeanor. This bill would prohibit an employer from relying on the salary history information of an applicant for employment as a factor in determining whether to offer an applicant employment or what salary to offer an applicant. The bill also would prohibit an employer from seeking salary history information about an applicant for employment and would require an employer, upon reasonable request, to provide the pay scale for a position to an applicant for employment. The bill would not prohibit an applicant from voluntarily and without prompting disclosing salary history information and would not prohibit an employer from considering or relying on that voluntarily disclosed salary history information in determining salary, as specified. The bill would apply to all employers, including state and local government employers and the Legislature and would not apply to salary history information disclosable to the public pursuant to federal or state law. The bill would specify that a violation of its provisions would not be subject to the misdemeanor provision.
Existing law establishes the Sexual Assault Victims' DNA Bill of Rights, which, among other things, encourages a law enforcement agency assigned to investigate specified sexual assault offenses to perform DNA testing of rape kit evidence or other crime scene evidence in a timely manner to ensure the longest possible statute of limitations. Existing law also requires a law enforcement agency to inform victims of certain unsolved sexual assault offenses if the law enforcement agency elects not to analyze DNA evidence within certain time limits. This bill would require law enforcement agencies to report information regarding rape kit evidence, within 120 days of the collection of the kit, to the Department of Justice through a database established by the department. The bill would require that information to include, among other things, whether biological evidence samples were submitted to a DNA laboratory for analysis and if a probative DNA profile was generated. The bill would additionally require a public DNA laboratory, or a law enforcement agency contracting with a private laboratory, to provide a reason for not testing a sample every 120 days the sample is untested, except as specified. The bill would only impose these requirements for a kit collected on or after January 1, 2018. By imposing additional duties on local law enforcement, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require that money received by the Office of Emergency Services from the federal Office on Violence Against Women be used before appropriating money from the General Fund for purposes of reimbursing any costs determined by the Commission on State Mandates to be mandated by the state to a local law enforcement agency by the bill. This bill would require the department to file a report to the Legislature on an annual basis summarizing the information in its database. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies or laboratories from being compelled to provide any contents of the database in a civil or criminal case, except as required by a law enforcement agency's duty to produce exculpatory evidence to a defendant in a criminal case. 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. 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 specifies that a food facility that donates any food that is fit for human consumption at the time it was donated to a nonprofit charitable organization or a food bank is not liable for any damage or injury resulting from the consumption of the donated food, unless the injury resulted from negligence or a willful act in the preparation or handling of the donated food. This bill, the California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, would expand these provisions to persons and gleaners who donate food, as defined. The bill would narrow the exception to protection from liability to injury resulting from gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The bill would specify that the immunity from civil liability provided by these provisions applies to the donation of food that is fit for human consumption and that has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would authorize food facilities to donate food directly to end recipients for consumption. Existing law specifies that a nonprofit charitable organization or food bank is not liable for an injury or death from distributing food without charge that is fit for human consumption unless the injury or death is a direct result of negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. This bill would narrow the exception to protection from liability to injury or death as a direct result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Existing law authorizes a person engaged in the business of processing, distributing, or selling an agricultural product to donate, free of charge, a product that is in a condition that it may be used as food for human beings, to a nonprofit charitable organization. Existing law limits the liability of a county, its agencies, and persons who donate agricultural products. Existing law provides that these provisions do not relieve any nonprofit charitable organization from any liability for any injury, including, but not limited to, injury resulting from the ingesting of an agricultural product, as a result of receiving, accepting, gathering, or removing any donated agricultural product. This bill would expand this provision to include a gleaner and also authorize food facilities to donate food directly to end recipients for consumption. The bill would specify that these donations are protected under this act if the donated food has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would repeal these provisions relating to not relieving nonprofit charitable organizations from liability for injuries. Existing law authorizes a food facility to donate food to a food bank or to any other nonprofit charitable organization for distribution to persons free of charge. Existing law exempts a food facility that donates food from civil or criminal liability or penalty for violation of any laws, regulations, or ordinances regulating the labeling or packaging of the donated product or, with respect to any other laws, regulations, or ordinances, for a violation occurring after the time of the donation. This bill would also authorize a person or gleaner to donate food to a food bank or to a nonprofit charitable organization and exempt the person or gleaner from civil or criminal liability relating to the donated food. The bill would also expand these provisions to include the donation of food by food facilities directly to end recipients. The bill would specify that the immunity from civil or criminal liability or penalty applies to the donation of food that has exceeded the labeled shelf life date recommended by the manufacturer, provided, in instances of perishable food, the person that distributes the food to the end recipient makes a good faith evaluation that the food is wholesome. The bill would require enforcement officers to promote the recovery of food fit for human consumption, as specified. Because the bill would require local officials to perform additional duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make other conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 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 law authorizes counties to establish a child abuse multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined, to allow provider agencies to share confidential information in order to investigate reports of suspected child abuse or neglect or for the purpose of child welfare agencies making detention determinations, as specified. This bill would authorize counties to also establish a homeless adult and family multidisciplinary personnel team, as defined, with the goal of facilitating the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of homeless individuals to housing and supportive services within that county and to allow provider agencies to share confidential information, as specified, for the purpose of coordinating housing and supportive services to ensure continuity of care. The bill would require the sharing of information permitted under these provisions to be governed by protocols developed in each county, as specified, and would require each county to provide a copy of its protocols to the State Department of Social Services. This bill would authorize the homeless adult and family multidisciplinary personnel team to designate qualified persons to be a member of the team for a particular case and would require every member who receives information or records regarding adults and families in his or her capacity as a member of the team to be under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or records. The bill would also require the information or records to be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.
Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments to post a notice, as specified, that contains information related to slavery and human trafficking, including information related to specified nonprofit organizations that provide services in support of the elimination of slavery and human trafficking. Existing law makes a violation of this requirement punishable by a civil penalty. This bill would additionally require hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns, as defined, not including personal residences, to post the notice relating to slavery and human trafficking, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 52.6 of the Civil Code proposed by SB 225 that would become operative if this bill and SB 225 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments to post a notice, as developed by the Department of Justice, that contains information relating to slavery and human trafficking, including information regarding specified nonprofit organizations that a person can call for services or support in the elimination of slavery and human trafficking. This bill would require the notice to specify that a person can also text a specified number for services and support and would revise the names of the nonprofit organizations listed in the notice. The bill, by January 1, 2019, would also require the department to revise and update the notice, as specified. The bill would provide that any business or establishment required to post the model notice would not be required to post the updated model notice until on and after January 1, 2019. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 52.6 of the Civil Code proposed by AB 260 to be operative only if this bill and AB 260 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law establishes the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program under which, through a combination of federal, state, and county funds, each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families. As part of the CalWORKs program, a homeless family that has used all available liquid resources in excess of $100 is eligible for homeless assistance benefits to pay the costs of temporary shelter if the family is eligible for aid under the CalWORKs program. This bill would also provide that homeless assistance is available to homeless families that would be eligible for aid under the CalWORKs program but for the fact that the only child or children in the family are in out-of-home placement pursuant to an order of the dependency court, if the family is receiving reunification services and the county determines that homeless assistance is necessary for reunification to occur. This bill would also require the department to work with county human services agencies, the County Welfare Directors Association, and advocates of CalWORKs recipients to gather information regarding actual costs of a nightly shelter and best practices for transitioning families from a temporary shelter to a permanent shelter and to provide that information to the Legislature on an annual basis. Under existing law, when the federal government provides funds for the care of a needy relative with whom a needy child is living, aid to the child for any month includes aid to meet the need of that relative, if CalWORKs payments are made with respect to the child for that month, except as prescribed. Existing law provides that the parent or parents shall be considered living with the needy child for a period of up to 180 consecutive days of the needy child's absence from the family assistance unit, and the parents shall be eligible for CalWORKs services, except as specified, if certain conditions are met, including that the child has been removed from the parents and placed in out-of-home care, and that the county has determined that the provision of services is necessary for family reunification. This bill would include the previously described homeless assistance benefit to pay the costs of temporary shelter as a service provided to those eligible parents. Because this bill would increase the administrative duties of counties, it would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law continuously appropriates moneys from the General Fund to defray a portion of county costs under the CalWORKs program. This bill would, instead, provide that the continuous appropriation would not be made for purposes of implementing the bill. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11450 of the Welfare and Institutions Code proposed by AB 557 and AB 607 to be operative only if this bill and AB 557, this bill and AB 607, or all 3 bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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.