Existing law establishes the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program (program) in the California Physician Corps Program within the Health Professions Education Foundation, which provides financial incentives, including repayment of educational loans, to a physician and surgeon who practices in a medically underserved area, as defined. Existing law establishes the Medically Underserved Account for Physicians, a continuously appropriated account, within the Health Professions Education Fund, to primarily provide funding for the ongoing operations of the program. Existing law defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a community clinic, as defined, a clinic owned or operated by a public hospital and health system, or a clinic owned and operated by a hospital that maintains the primary contract with a county government to fulfill the county's role to serve its indigent population, that is located in a medically underserved area and at least 50% of whose patients are from a medically underserved population. Existing law also defines "practice setting," for these purposes, to include a physician owned and operated medical practice setting that provides primary care located in a medically underserved area and has a minimum of 50% of patients who are uninsured, Medi-Cal beneficiaries, or beneficiaries of another publicly funded program that serves patients who earn less than 250% of the federal poverty level. This bill also would define "practice setting" to include a program or facility operated by, or contracted to, a county mental health plan. By expanding the group of persons eligible for financial incentives payable from a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, requires the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) , in coordination with the California Behavioral Health Planning Council, to identify the total statewide needs for each professional and other occupational category utilizing county needs assessment information and develop a 5-year education and training development plan. Existing law requires OSHPD to include specified components in the 5-year plan, including expansion plans for the forgiveness and scholarship programs offered in return for a commitment to employment in California's public mental health system and making loan forgiveness programs available to current employees of the mental health system who want to obtain Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, master's degrees, or doctoral degrees. This bill would clarify that OSHPD needs to include in the 5-year plan both expansion plans for loan forgiveness and scholarship programs offered in return for a commitment to employment in California's public mental health system and expansion plans for making loan forgiveness programs available to current employees of the mental health system who want to obtain Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, master's degrees, or doctoral degrees. The bill would also make specified findings and declarations.
Sponsored bills
Existing law, until January 1, 2022, establishes the Social Innovation Financing Program to award grant funding to 3 counties to reduce recidivism through contracts between the government, private investors, and service providers pursuant to which private investors agree to provide financing to service providers to achieve social outcomes agreed upon in advance, and the government agency agrees to pay a return on the investment to the investors if successful programmatic outcomes are achieved by the service provider. Existing law, upon appropriation by the Legislature, requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to issue grants in an amount of not less than $500,000 and not more than $2,000,000 to each county selected, up to a maximum of $5,000,000. This bill would establish the Social Innovation Financing Program of 2018. The bill would require the board to select 3 counties to receive funding and would require the board to issue grants in an amount of not less than $300,000 and not more than $2,000,000, up to a maximum of $5,000,000. The bill would repeal the program as of January 1, 2025.
Existing law requires a person seeking to import a dog into this state for the purpose of resale or a change of ownership to obtain a health certificate for the dog that has been completed by a licensed veterinarian and is dated within 10 days prior to the date on which the dog is brought into the state. Existing law prohibits a breeder from knowingly selling a diseased dog. This bill would authorize the State Public Health Officer to monitor any report issued by a reliable and verifiable public source of an outbreak of a communicable disease occurring in another state caused by, or purported to be caused by, contact with a dog or cat. The bill would authorize the officer to issue an order to prohibit the importation of dogs or cats that could pose a risk of an outbreak of any communicable disease that is dangerous to individuals, if he or she makes a determination, as specified. The bill would impose a civil penalty for a violation of an order issued pursuant to these provisions.
Existing law provides for the implementation, by counties and foster family agencies, of the resource family approval process, which is a unified, family friendly, and child-centered approval process that replaces the multiple processes for licensing foster family homes, approving relatives and nonrelative extended family members as foster care providers, and approving adoptive families. This bill would require the State Department of Social Services to establish and facilitate a pilot program, as specified, in up to five counties that voluntarily apply and are selected by the department, to increase placement stability for foster youth and facilitate greater resource family retention through strengths-based, skills-based, trauma-informed coaching. The bill would set forth the components of the pilot program and would require the department, by June 30, 2019, to consult with relevant stakeholders and to consider the stakeholders' recommendations to the department regarding certain parameters of the pilot program, as specified. The bill would require a county that elects to participate in the pilot program to conduct at least one evaluation of the program's impact and effectiveness on increasing placement stability for foster youth and retaining resource families in accordance with, and upon issuance of guidance from, the department, and to submit the evaluation to the department, no later than December 31, 2021. The bill would require the department to report the information provided by the counties to the Legislature, as prescribed. The provisions of the bill would be repealed on January 1, 2022.
This measure would mark May 6, 2018, as the 136th 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 executive orders and a presidential proclamation signed by President Trump relating to immigration, call upon the President to revoke those orders and that proclamation, 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.
This measure would declare the intent of the Legislature to further support the housing needs of individuals with developmental disabilities by exploring models that facilitate the private donation of homes in perpetuity and would recognize the work of organizations that have developed a property donation program.
This measure would recognize the history and significance of the Eagle Staff to Native American tribes. The measure would express the Legislature's commitment to inclusiveness for all Native Americans and respect for the traditions and symbolism of the Eagle Staff and would urge state government departments to incorporate these principles into their policies and practices.
This measure would proclaim June 2018 as California Grown Flower Month to recognize and honor the people of the California grown flower industry for their dedication and productivity.